Intermediate
Sentence Structure
Dutch main clauses follow one non-negotiable rule: the verb always comes second. Everything else — time, manner, place — falls into place around it. Pick the sentence with the right word order, see why, and get the logic.
Question 1 of 10
Correct: 0
PICK THE CORRECT WORD ORDER
Quick tips to build the right order
The verb-second rule (V2)
- ✓The finite verb is always the 2nd element in a Dutch statement — no matter what comes first.
- ✓If something other than the subject leads the sentence, the subject moves after the verb: Morgen ga ik…, not Morgen ik ga…
- ✓This is called inversion, and it happens every time — it is not optional.
Time, Manner, Place (TMP)
- ✓When you stack multiple adverbials, they follow this order: Time → Manner → Place.
- ✓Ik ga morgen met de trein naar Utrecht — morgen (time), met de trein (manner), naar Utrecht (place).
- ✓With a modal verb (wil, kan, moet, ga), the infinitive moves all the way to the end of the sentence.
Golden tip
Say it as a chant: subject, verb, then time – manner – place. If a sentence ever starts with something other than the subject, flip the next two words (verb, then subject) and the rest falls into place.
Want to master this for good?
Sentence structure is just the beginning
In the A1 course you learn to build full Dutch sentences from scratch — word order, verbs, and vocabulary — all explained in English.