Dutch adverbs

In this chapter you will learn about the different adverbs in Dutch. These adverbs differ in their meaning and usage. When to use which adverb, will be described in detail in the subchapters. 

Definition and usage of Dutch adverbs 

The Dutch adverbs are words that give more information about the word they are connected to. The adverbs are able to alter verbs, adjectives, clauses, sentences and other adverbs.  

Example:

• Hij vond het een zeer goed verhaal. (He found it a very good story.)  
  ​'Zeer' defines the word 'goed', which is an adjective. 
• Zij komt morgen naar jou toe. (She comes to you tomorrow.) 
  'tomorrow' defines the word 'komt', which is a verb. 

The Dutch language has 7 categories of adverbs: 

1. Adverbs of time 
2. Adverbs of manner 
3. Adverbs of place 
4. Adverbs of quantity 
5. Adverbs of frequency 
6. Adverbs of degree  
7. Sentence adverbs 

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Placement of Dutch adverbs

The adverbs are mostly placed as closely after the finite verb as possible, but if you want to emphasize the adverb, you can start the sentence with that particular adverb.

When you use more than one adverb, the following sequence is most common in Dutch:

1. time
2. manner
3. place

This means that adverbs of time come before adverbs of manner and place, but adverbs of manner come before adverbs of place. 

Adverbs of time (gisteren, straks)

An adverb of time gives you information about when something takes place. 

Examples:

• Hij ging gisteren naar de supermarkt. (Yesterday he went to the supermarket.)
• Ik ga straks werken. (I'm going to work later.)

Adverbs of manner (snel, goed)

An adverb of manner gives you information about the way in which something takes place. 

Examples:

• Jullie willen graag betalen. (You would like to pay.)
• Hij danst mooi. (He dances beautifully.)

Adverbs of place (hier, daar)

Adverbs of place provide information about where something takes place. 

Examples:

• Hij kwam hier vaak. (He came here often.)
• Wij zijn laat thuis vanavond. (We are late at home tonight.)

Adverbs of quantity (veel, weinig)

Adverbs of quantity express the quantity of something. 

Examples:

• Er is een beetje sneeuw gevallen vandaag. (A little snow has fallen today.)
• Er is genoeg te drinken voor iedereen. (There is enough to drink for everyone.)

Adverbs of frequency (altijd, vaak)

An adverb of frequency provides information about how often something takes place. 

Examples:

• Ik ga altijd op tijd weg. (I always leave early.)
• Wij gaan af en toe zwemmen. (We ocasionally go for a swim.)

Adverbs of degree (heel, erg) 

Adverbs of degree tell you the extent or degree to which something is true. 

Examples:

• Hij heeft helemaal geen zin in het feest. (He does not feel like going to the party at all.)
• Het is heel warm buiten. (It is very hot outside.)

Sentence adverbs (gelukkig, misschien)

Sentence adverbs give information about a complete sentence. 

Examples:

• Misschien zijn wij ontevreden met dit idee. (Perhaps we are unhappy with this idea.)
• Jij kan duidelijk niet zwemmen. (You clearly cannot swim.) 

Have a look at the subchapters for a more detailed explanation.