Dutch sentence types, statements, questions, commands and exclamations
How Dutch builds statements, yes/no questions, question-word questions, commands, exclamations and if-sentences, with one clear word-order table.
Dutch has a small number of sentence types, and almost all of them are defined by one thing: where the conjugated verb goes. Put it second and you make a statement. Put it first and you ask a question, give a command or say "if". Put it at the end and you're in a subordinate clause. Once you see the pattern, you can recognise the type of almost any Dutch sentence from its first two words.
The three verb positions
Linguists talk about V2 (verb second), V1 (verb first) and verb-final. The "verb" here is always the conjugated verb, the one that changes with the subject (ik werk, hij werkt). Infinitives and participles go to the end regardless.
| Sentence type | Verb position | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statement | 2nd (V2) | X – verb – … | Ik woon in Utrecht. — I live in Utrecht. |
| Yes/no question | 1st (V1) | verb – subject – … ? | Woon je in Utrecht? — Do you live in Utrecht? |
| Question-word question | 2nd (V2) | question word – verb – subject – … ? | Waar woon je? — Where do you live? |
| Command | 1st (V1) | verb – … ! | Kom binnen! — Come in! |
| Conditional without als | 1st (V1) | verb – subject – …, (dan) verb … | Heb je vragen, bel dan even. — If you have questions, give us a call. |
| Wish | 1st (V1) + maar | verb – subject – maar … ! | Was ik maar thuis! — If only I were at home! |
| Exclamation | 2nd (V2) or none | Wat / Hoe … ! | Wat is het koud! — It's so cold! |
| Subordinate clause | last | conjunction – subject – … – verb | …omdat ik in Utrecht woon. — …because I live in Utrecht. |
The rest of this guide goes through each type.
Statements: verb second
In a normal Dutch statement, the conjugated verb is the second element. The first element can be the subject, but it can also be a time, a place or an object. When something other than the subject comes first, the subject moves to just after the verb (this is called inversion).
- Ik ga morgen naar Utrecht. — I'm going to Utrecht tomorrow.
- Morgen ga ik naar Utrecht. — Tomorrow I'm going to Utrecht.
- Naar Utrecht ga ik morgen. — To Utrecht I'm going tomorrow (contrast: not somewhere else).
"Second" means second element, not second word: Mijn oudere broer woont in Leiden. — My older brother lives in Leiden. Here mijn oudere broer is one element.
A frequent mistake from English is putting the subject before the verb after a time word. Wrong: Morgen ik ga naar Utrecht. Our post on Dutch word order has much more on this.
Questions: verb first or question word first
Yes/no questions: V1
For a question that you can answer with ja or nee, start with the conjugated verb, followed by the subject. There's no helper like English "do".
- Spreek je Nederlands? — Do you speak Dutch?
- Heb je een fiets? — Do you have a bike?
- Komen jullie morgen? — Are you coming tomorrow?
- Kun je me helpen? — Can you help me?
Watch the -t with je/jij: when je or jij comes after the verb, the -t disappears. Jij werkt but Werk jij? — Do you work? With u, hij and zij (she), the -t stays: Werkt u hier? — Do you work here?
Question-word questions: V2
With a question word (wie, wat, waar, wanneer, waarom, hoe, welke, hoeveel), the question word comes first and the verb second, followed by the subject:
- Waar woon je? — Where do you live?
- Wanneer begint de film? — When does the film start?
- Hoeveel kost dit? — How much does this cost?
- Met wie ga je op vakantie? — Who are you going on holiday with?
Prepositions go to the front together with the question word: Met wie…?, Voor hoelang…? See asking questions for all the question words.
Questions without inversion
In speech, a statement with rising intonation also works as a question, often to check something you think you know:
- Je komt morgen? — You're coming tomorrow?
Tag questions
English has a whole system of tag questions (isn't it, don't you, won't they). Dutch keeps it simple. Add one of these to the end of a statement:
| Tag | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| toch? | checking something you're fairly sure of | Je komt morgen, toch? — You're coming tomorrow, right? |
| hè? | seeking agreement, informal | Lekker weer, hè? — Lovely weather, isn't it? |
| of niet? | a more open, sometimes challenging question | Je gaat mee, of niet? — You're coming along, aren't you? |
The tag never changes with the verb or the subject. Toch and hè cover most situations.
Commands: verb first
The imperative is just the stem of the verb (the ik form), at the start of the sentence:
- Kom binnen! — Come in!
- Doe de deur dicht. — Close the door.
- Wacht even. — Wait a moment.
- Bel me morgen. — Call me tomorrow.
To be polite, use the u form with u after the verb: Komt u binnen. — Do come in. And to soften a command, Dutch adds little words like even, maar and eens: Kijk maar even. — Go ahead and have a look. Find all the details in the Dutch imperative and modal particles.
Suggestions with "let's" use laten we or zullen we, also with the verb first:
- Laten we gaan. — Let's go.
- Zullen we een film kijken? — Shall we watch a film?
If-sentences without als
You can say "if" without als by putting the verb first. This is very common in instructions, emails and spoken Dutch:
- Heb je vragen, bel dan gerust. — If you have any questions, feel free to call.
- Komt hij niet, dan gaan we zonder hem. — If he doesn't come, we'll go without him.
- Regent het morgen, dan blijven we thuis. — If it rains tomorrow, we'll stay home.
The second part usually starts with dan followed by the verb. Compare the version with als: Als je vragen hebt, bel dan gerust. Same meaning, but now the verb in the first part goes to the end because als starts a subordinate clause. The V1 version is shorter and very efficient.
The same V1 pattern with maar expresses a wish:
- Was ik maar thuis! — If only I were at home!
- Had ik het maar geweten! — If only I had known!
See Conditional and past conditional for more "if" structures.
Exclamations
Dutch exclamations usually start with wat or hoe.
Wat + adjective or adverb
The shortest form has no verb at all:
- Wat mooi! — How beautiful!
- Wat lekker! — How tasty!
- Wat jammer! — What a pity!
When you add a verb, it comes second, with the subject after it:
- Wat is het koud! — It's so cold!
- Wat ben jij groot geworden! — How tall you've grown!
Wat een + noun
Wat een means "what a" and works with singular and plural nouns. Note that een stays even with a plural, and the adjective follows the normal rules for adjective endings:
- Wat een mooi huis! — What a beautiful house!
- Wat een mooie bloemen! — What beautiful flowers!
- Wat een mooi huis hebben jullie! — What a beautiful house you have!
Hoe and dat
Hoe is used for surprise or indignation:
- Hoe kan dat nou! — How is that possible!
- Hoe durf je! — How dare you!
A dat clause with the verb at the end can also be an exclamation of surprise: Dat je dat nog weet! — Fancy you still remembering that!
Subordinate clauses: verb last
For completeness: inside a subordinate clause (after dat, omdat, als, toen, of, a question word used indirectly, and so on), the conjugated verb goes to the end. This applies to indirect questions too, which is why a question inside a sentence doesn't use V1:
- Weet jij waar hij woont? — Do you know where he lives?
- Ik vraag me af of ze komt. — I wonder whether she's coming.
See Dutch conjunctions for all the words that send the verb to the end.
Quick summary
- The conjugated verb's position tells you the sentence type.
- Statements: verb second, inversion when something else comes first (Morgen ga ik).
- Yes/no questions: verb first (Woon je hier?). Question-word questions: verb second (Waar woon je?).
- Je/jij after the verb drops the -t: Werk je?
- Tags: toch?, hè?, of niet?, never changing form.
- Commands: verb first (Kom binnen!); suggestions with laten we or zullen we.
- Verb first can mean "if": Heb je vragen, bel dan. With maar it's a wish: Was ik maar thuis!
- Exclamations: Wat mooi!, Wat een mooi huis!, Wat is het koud!, Hoe kan dat nou!
- Subordinate clauses and indirect questions: verb last.
Practise it
Build questions of every type in Questions, make suggestions with zullen we and laten we in Invitations, and try verb-first if-sentences in Conditional.