Dutch sentence structure follows a strict and dependable pattern. In standard spoken statements, the person or thing doing the action comes first, and the verb always sits in the second position. In this deck, you will learn how to build natural declarative sentences using this verb-second rule.

In a Dutch main clause, the subject occupies Position 1, and the conjugated verb occupies Position 2. Everything else follows in Position 3. For example, 'Ik ben in Amsterdam' means 'I am in Amsterdam'. The subject 'ik' comes first, followed immediately by the verb 'ben'. Similarly, 'in Nederland' means 'in the Netherlands'.

When stating a profession or role, Dutch keeps this exact same word order: subject first, verb second, followed by the description. 'Hij is leraar in Utrecht' means 'He is a teacher in Utrecht'. Notice that Dutch leaves out the word for 'a' before 'leraar'.