A2 — Grammatica · Grammar

Grammar · A2

Everyday life, work, the past tense, subordinate clauses

A1 A2 B1 B2 C1lessons in this section: 20

A2nederlands

Simple past: werkte, woonde

De onvoltooid verleden tijd: -te of -de

The second past tense: how to form the -te / -de form and when it sounds more natural than the perfect tense.

◷ 25 min

A2nederlands

Irregular past tense verbs: was, had, ging

Onregelmatige werkwoorden in de verleden tijd

Forty forms to memorise, grouped for easier learning.

◷ 25 min

A2nederlands

Perfect or imperfect: Which to choose?

Perfectum of imperfectum: welke verleden tijd?

Two past tenses and a clear rule for choosing: news in the perfect, stories and background in the imperfect.

◷ 22 min

A2nederlands

Subordinate clauses with dat, omdat, als

De bijzin: het werkwoord gaat naar achteren

A core A2-level construction: after a conjunction, the verb moves to the end. We'll look at dat, omdat, als and others.

◷ 28 min

A2nederlands

Conjunctions: which word order follows which

Voegwoorden: hoofdzin of bijzin?

Three groups of conjunctions and three different word orders — one table that resolves most A2-level errors.

◷ 25 min

A2nederlands

The three “whens”: toen, als, wanneer

Toen, als of wanneer?

One English “when” — three Dutch words. The rule for choosing between them is two lines long and almost always works.

◷ 20 min

A2nederlands

Which: die and dat

Relatieve bijzinnen: de man die… het huis dat…

How to combine two sentences into one: the choice between die and dat depends on the article, and the verb goes to the end again.

◷ 24 min

A2nederlands

The word er: four functions

Er: plaats, aanwezigheid, aantal en voorzetsel

One word, four different jobs — and clear signs to tell them apart.

◷ 28 min

A2nederlands

Verbs with fixed prepositions

Vaste voorzetsels: denken aan, wachten op, kijken naar

A list of verb + preposition pairs that you need to learn as a whole, and what happens to them in questions and with “er”.

◷ 25 min

A2nederlands

Reflexive verbs: zich voelen, zich haasten

Reflexieve werkwoorden: me, je, zich

Verbs that don't exist without a pronoun: how it's conjugated, where it goes, and which verbs always require it.

◷ 22 min

A2nederlands

Constructions with te: proberen te, om … te

Te + infinitief: proberen te, hoeven te, om te

When to use te before an infinitive, when not to, and how to express purpose with om … te.

◷ 24 min

A2nederlands

Modals in the past tense and the polite zou

Kon, moest, wilde, mocht — en zou

How to say what you could, had to, or wanted to do, and how to sound polite using zou.

◷ 24 min

A2nederlands

Comparison: groter dan, het grootst

Comparatief en superlatief: -er en -st

How to compare: -er and -st endings, irregular forms, the difference between dan and als.

◷ 24 min

A2nederlands

The future: gaan, zullen and the present tense

De toekomst: gaan, zullen of gewoon presens

Three ways to talk about the future and the clear difference between them: a plan, a promise, or simply a schedule.

◷ 22 min

A2nederlands

The passive: het formulier wordt ingevuld

De passieve zin met worden

The language of announcements, instructions, and letters from the municipality: how the passive is formed and when it's needed.

◷ 24 min

A2nederlands

Word order in the middle of a sentence

Het middenstuk: tijd, manier, plaats en de plaats van niet

What goes where between the verbs: pronouns, time, manner, place and niet — with a working order and checks.

◷ 26 min

A2nederlands

Someone, no one, everyone: indefinite words

Onbepaalde voornaamwoorden: iemand, niets, elke, sommige

A set of words for indefinite quantities and people — and the differences that are noticeable by ear: elke/alle, iets/wat, sommige/een paar.

◷ 22 min

A2nederlands

Diminutives and compound words

Verkleinwoorden en samenstellingen

Why the Dutch say biertje and kopje, how to choose -je, -tje or -etje, and how to read words that are a whole line long.

◷ 22 min

A2nederlands

al, nog, pas: small words about time

Al, nog, pas, nog niet, niet meer

Five words that change the entire meaning of a phrase: already, still, only, not yet, and no longer.

◷ 22 min

A2nederlands

Particles: even, eens, maar, toch, hoor

Modale partikels: de kleine woordjes die alles zachter maken

Untranslatable words that turn a command into a request, and a dry phrase into natural, human speech.

◷ 24 min