Question Words in Dutch
Watch the video about question words in Dutch and read the explanation below.
Question Words in Dutch
Here is a list of Dutch question words with an example from the dialogues
| wie | who | Wie ben jij? |
| wat | what | Wat doe je? |
| waar | where | Waar ben je? |
| wanneer | when | Wanneer zie je hen? |
| hoe | how | Hoe gaat het met je cursus? |
| hoeveel | how many | Hoeveel woorden ken je nu? |
| welk, welke | which | Op welk nummer woon je? |
Word order
In questions formed with question words, the word order is as follows:
question word – verb – subject …. and the rest.
| Wie ben je? | Who are you? |
| Waar woont jouw zus? | Where does your sister live? |
| Wanneer ga je naar Italië? | When do you go to Italy? |
| Wat studeert je broer? | What does your brother study? |
| Hoe gaat hij naar Berlijn? | How does he go to Berlin? |
Hoe
Hoe can be used on its own:
| Hoe gaat het? | How is it going? |
But it is often used in combination with a specification:
| Hoe oud zijn de kinderen? | How old are the children? |
| Hoe duur is de bus? | How much is the bus? |
| Hoe laat is het nu? | What time is it now? |
| Hoeveel woorden ken je? | How many words do you know? |
Welk
The use of welk depends on the gender of the noun Welke is used with a de-woord and welk is used with a het-woord.
| de cursus | welke cursus? | which course? |
| het nummer | welk nummer? | which number? |
Yes/No Questions in Dutch
Yes/no questions are questions to which the answer is always “yes” or “no”.
In a yes/no question the word order is as follows:
verb – subject – rest
| Woon je in Groningen? | Do you live in Groningen? |
| Wil je koffie? | Do you want coffee? |
| Hebben jullie ook vakantie? | Do you also have a holiday? |
Practise with Quizlet
Dutch Grammar Practice
Would you like to practice Dutch grammar? Please visit our grammar section on question words on Quizlet (if you prefer Quizlet to open in a separate window, click the CTRL key while clicking the link).
