Questions can also come with a 'query word,' usually at the start of the sentence
hoe
how
- wie
2 who
- wat
what
- waar
where
- welk
2
/ welke
2 which
- wanneer
when
- waarom
2
why
| query word | working verb | subject | (object / complement / ... / other verbs) |
|---|
| Wie is die man?
2
|
Who is that man? |
| Wie zijn die mensen?
2
3
|
Who are those people? |
|
Waar moet dat heen, hoe zal dat gaan,
waar komt die rotzooi toch vandaan?
2
3
~ Where [can it possibly go] is it going, how will it go, where in heaven's name does all that garbage come from? ('Barend Servet') | |
| Hoe heet je?
|
[~What are you called?] What's your name? |
| Hoe doe je dat?
| How do you do that? |
| Hoe werkt 't?
2
| How does it work? How does it go? (What's the mechanism or procedure? ) |
| Hoe zeg je dat in het
Nederlands?
2
| How do you say that in Dutch? |
| Hoe kan dat?
2
| How can that be? How is it possible? (I wonder) |
| Hoe kan 't gebeuren?
2 |
[How is it possible that things like that happen?] - How can it be? |
| Hoe kan iemand zoiets doen?
| How can someone do a thing like that? How is it possible for someone to do something awful like that? |
| Hoe maakt U het?
|
How are you? (polite) |
| Hoe gaat 't?
| How are you? (informal) - ‑>> |
| Hoe is 't weer bij jou?
| How is the weather where you're at, at your place? |
| Hoe laat is het?
2
| ['How late is it?'] What's the time? |
| Hoe laat gaat de volgende trein?
2
| What time [goes] is the next train? |
| Hoe duur is 't?
2
3
| [How expensive is it?] What's the price? ‑>> |
| Hoe bedoel je?
2
3
| [How] What do you mean? |
| Wie ben jij?
| Who are you? |
| Wie is hij?
2
| Who is he? |
| Met wie spreek ik?
2
| Who am I talking to? Who's calling? (mystery caller on the telephone) |
| Wie heeft de wedstrijd gewonnen?
| Who has won the match, the game? |
| Wie heeft je dat verteld?
2
| Who told you (singular) that? |
| Wie zal dat betalen?
2
| Who'll pay for that? |
| Waar is het station?
2
|
Where is the station? |
| Waar is de uitgang?
|
Where is the exit? |
| Waar is de sleutel?
2
3
|
Where is the key? |
| Waar is 't gebleven?
2
3
|
Where did it go? (Something is lost, cannot be found) |
| Waar ben je?
2
|
Where are you? |
| Waar doet 't pijn?
|
Where does it hurt? |
| Waar ga je heen?
2
3
|
Where are you going? |
| Waar kom je vandaan?
2
3
|
Where are you (coming) from? (either country of origin or recent travel) |
| welke auto?
|
which car? |
| Welke dag komt je het beste uit?
| [Which] What day would suit you best? |
| Wanneer kom je terug?
| When are you coming back? |
| Wanneer kom je thuis?
| When will you be back home? |
| Wanneer ben je jarig?
| When is your birthday? |
| Wanneer is 't klaar?
2
3 |
When will it be ready? |
| Wanneer mag je liegen?
2
3
4
|
When [are you] is it allowed to lie, tell untruths? |
| (onder welke omstandigheden
2
|
under which circumstances) |
| Wat is er?
2
3
|
What is it? - usually: What's wrong? |
| Wat zeg je?
2
3
4
|
What [do] did you say? (informal 'you') |
| Wat denk jij d'rvan?
2
|
What do you think [of it]? |
| Wat zou U aanraden?
2
3
|
What would you recommend? (like in a restaurant) |
| Wat is Uw naam?
2
| What is your name? (polite 'you') |
| Wat wil je drinken?
2
| What would you like to drink? |
| Wat is er aan de hand?
2
|
What's going on? |
| Wat kan ik voor U doen?
2
|
What can I do for you? How can I help you? |
| Wat is de weersverwachting?
2
|
What is the weather (expectation) forecast? |
| Wat betekent dat woord?
2
3
slow
|
What does that word mean? |
| Waarom ben je boos?
|
Why are you angry? |
| Waarom zijn de bananen krom?
2
3
|
Why are (the) bananas crooked, not straight? (said when someone poses an unanswerable question) |
| Waarom doe je dat?
2
3
|
Why are you doing that? |
| Waarom is dat?
2
|
Why is that? Why is it like that? |
| Occasionally there is no subject or verb in a query sentence | |
| Wie gaat er mee?
2
3
|
Who'll come (along) with us? Join us! |
| Welke kant op?
2 |
Which way? Which direction? |
| Advanced: Occasionally, after verbs like for instance zeggen (to say) or weten (to know) query words function as conjunctions, and the word order is regular subject‑verb (more later) | |
| Weet jij wie hij is?
|
Do you know who he is? |
| Weet jij hoe je 't moet zeggen?
|
Do you know how to say it? |
|
more Hoe
- more Wie
- more Welk/Welke
- more Wanneer
- more Wat - more Waar - more Waarom - 2 |
|---|
| Shorts |
| Previous: 1. Subject - Verb -
2. Subject - Verb - Object
- 3. Subject - Verb - Complement - 4. Adjectives, Adverbs and Nouns 5A. Past Participles and Verb Infinitives at the End of the Line 5B. Past Participles, Infinitives, and the use of 'te' 6. Questions |
|
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'Thou shalt not steal'
|