Dutch Grammar - Word Order

Word Order

Structurally, Dutch is a V2 language, which means that the inflected verb is raised to the second position in the main clause. Word order is SVO in main clauses and SOV in subordinate clauses. Research has led to the general assumption that Dutch has an underlying SOV word order.

Jan	zei	dat	hij	zijn	moeder	wilde	gaan	helpen
Jan	said	that	he	his	mother	wanted	go.	help.
"Jan said that he wanted to go help his mother."

Inversion of the subject and verb is used in interrogative sentences:

Jij	ging	naar	de	winkel
You	went	to	the	store
"You went to the store."

Ging	jij	naar	de	winkel?
went	you	to	the	store
"Did you go to the shop?"

It also occurs when the first phrase in a sentence is not its subject.

Here are some rules about where to place the words in a Dutch sentence:

• Adjectives always come before the noun to which they belong.

rode appels – red apples

• In statements, the subject always comes first or third and the auxiliary verb comes second. If there is no auxiliary verb, the main verb comes second. If there is a separable prefix, the prefix goes on the end of the sentence, as does the main verb (with separable prefix on the beginning of the verb) if there is an auxiliary verb.
• In yes/no questions, the verb usually comes first and the subject comes second. If there is an auxiliary verb or separable prefix, it follows the same rules as the previous one outlined for putting parts on the end. If the subject comes before the verb, this often implies disbelief, like in English: "The prisoner escaped?" vs. "Did the prisoner escape?".
• In a command, the verb comes first.
• Time modifiers usually come before place modifiers:

Ik	ben	dit	jaar	naar	Frankrijk	geweest
I	am	this	year	to	France	been
"I went to France this year."

In the following example, the SOV order in the subordinate clause causes the various noun phrases to be separated from the verbs that introduce them:

Ik zie dat	de ouders	de kinderen	Jan	het huis	hebben	laten	helpen	schilderen.
I see that	the parents	the children	John	the house	have	let	help	paint
"I see that the parents have let the children help John paint the house."