You
add an -s if doing so does not have any consequenses on the
pronounciation of the word:
tante -> tantes (aunt)bureau -> bureaus (office)printer ->
printers (printer)If adding the -s might make one doubt about
the pronounciation, you add -'s:auto -> auto's (car)without the
-'s, 'autos' would be pronounced autòs, instead of, with a long
'oo', autós.baby -> baby'salinea -> alinea's
jury -> jury's (judge)
Words
that end with -ik
You write two k's if the accent lies upon the ik: snik
-> snikken, tik -> tikken
You write only one k if the accent does not lie upon the ik:
monnik -> monniken, viezerik
-> viezeriken words that end with -ie or -ee
You add ën to the end if the accent lies upon the -ie or -ee:
fee -> feeën, (faerie)
genie -> genieën (genius)You add -n and a
diaeresis if the accent lies upon another part of the word:
bacterie -> bacteriën
porie -> poriën
Words that end with -f or -s
The f usually becomes a v and the s
usually becomes a z when you pluralize words ending
with -f or -s.
laars -> laarzen (boot)
kluis -> kluizen (locker)
kloof -> kloven (ravine)
However: fotografen, parafen,
kluisen en kaarsen!
Please note:
Some words may have a Latin plural form: politici, medici,
mediums/media, museum/musea.
2) Substantively used adjectives, numerals and pronouns
- substantively used words end with an -n if they refer to
people not being mentioned in the sentence in case.
Hoeveel verslaafden kunnen er in Rotterdam nog
afkicken?
(How many more addicts can go into rehab in Rotterdam?)
They don't end with an -n if they refer to people who are
being mentioned in the same sentence.
Veel supporters reisden met de trein en enkele
met de eigen auto.
(Many supporters travelled by train and a few in their own cars.)
If the substantively used words refer to animals, plants or
objects, they never end with an -n.
3)
Medial letters: s or e(n) the
medial -e or -en
Main rule:
You use the medial -en whenever the first word of the
contraction is a noun that has only one plural form, ending with
-en.
It is kippenei, because 'kip' has only got one
plural: kippen. (chickens)
But it is aspergesoep and gedaanteverwisseling, because the
plural of asperge is asperges, whereas gedaanteverwisseling
doesn't get a medial -en because it has two plural forms:
gedaanten and gedaantes.
Exceptions
Some words keep their medial -e, even though according to the
main rule, they should be written with -en:
a) words that refer to a unique person or object: zonnestraal, maneschijn en Koninginnedag, for there is only one
of those.
) In adjectives of which the first part is only there to
accentuate the second part: apetrots, boordevol, reuzeleuk and beregoed.
c) Since 2005 words of the type "animal+plant" must be written
following the main rule: eendenkroos becomes
eendekorrs and rattekruid becomes rattenkruid.
d) The first part of the word is a noun without a plural:
rijstepap and roggebrood. 'Rijst' does not have a pluralform, 'rijsten'
is a non-existing word.
e) Some words should historically seen be considered
contractions, but are no longer recognized as such, the
so-called ' versteende samenstellingen' – "petrified"
contractions: ruggespraak, elleboog and paddestoel.6) The
first part of the word is a noun with only one plural form: -s.aspergekweker,
etagewoning.7) The first part of the word is an adjective:
hogeschool, blindedarm.
4)
(Punctuation) marks: Hyphen ( - ), diaeresis (
¨
) and apostrophe ( ' )
a. hyphen and diaeresis
Main rule: If the first part of a contracted word ends with a
vowel and the second part begins with a vowel, you add a hyphen
to prevent the two parts from sounding like one. It's
auto-ongeluk (caraccident), radio-omroep (radiochannel)
en na-apen.
Words that end with -achtig, must be written with a hyphen as
well (zebra-achtig, lente-achtig).
Exceptions
- If the word isn't a contraction, you use a diaeresis: poëzie (poetry),
zeeën (seas), coördinatie (coordination).
- In numbers you have to use a diaeresis as well: tweeënvijftig
(52), zeshonderddrieëntachtig (683). Please note: Latin or
French words ending with -ei, -eus, -um or -ien do not get a
diaeresis.(museum, opticien, petroleum)
b. Hypen
You use a hyphen to- cut a word
When a word no longer fits onto a line, you may cut it by using
a hyphen. You must always cut a word at the end of a sylla-ble.
- prevent pronunciation problems
You use a hyphen when two parts of a word can be said out loud
in a wrong way without it: zee-eend, zo-even.
- couple two (parts of) words:
- In names of married women: mevrouw Jansen-Van
Kempen
-
after prefixes like ex-, niet-, vice-, loco-
- in contracted geographical names: Noord-Hollands,
Zuid-Amerikaans, Zuidoost- Duitsland
- In contractions of titles and profession: loco-burgemeester,
minister-president
c. Apostrophe
You use an apopstrophe:
- when you leave out letters: des nachts -> 's nachts
(at night), het schaap -> 't schaap (the sheep)- To
prevent wrong pronunciation: auto's, piano's, alinea's - when a
genitive ends with an s-sound: Floris' boek, Beatrix'
verjaardag- in certain combinations of letters: havo'er, NEC'er,
KPN'er
5)
CAPITALS or smalls letters
Only the first word of a sentece begins with a capital.
When a sentence starts with an apostrophe, the second word is
written with a capital:'s Middags sliep ik. (I slept in the
afternoon.)When a sentence starts with a number, none of the
words begin with a capital:
10 leraren waren ziek. (10 teachers were ill) - Names of people,
peoples, streets, companies etc. are written with a capital: Gerrit
M. Betzema
mevrouw Ten Brink
Marianne Betzema-Ten Brink
Boschstraat
Gelderland
Het hemelse gerecht
Ajax
de Tweede Wereldoorlog
Tweede-Kamerlid
Arabieren
Bosjesmannen The names of days, months and seasons are written
with small letters: winter, maandag, februari.
According to new spellingrules, eras should be written with
small letters as well: de middeleeuwen, renaissance.As well as
from names derived words: luthers, victioriaans The first line
of a letter should be written with a capital: Geachte
redactie,
Beste tante Truus,
Geachte heer/mevrouw,
De heer Mertens
Jasmijnplantsoen 76
5453 DB Renkum
Aan de redactie van het Brabants Dagblad
Postbus 333
2020 BD Den Bosch
Acronyms of companies, political parties etc. are written with
capitals and without dots.
NAVO, RTL4, VVD
But: PvdASome acronyms have become current, and should now be
written with small letters: btw, cao
6)
Numbers
All
numbers under twenty should be written without digits.
Digits are used for all numbers above twenty.
Tens and numbers like honderd and dertig miljoen
however, should be written with letters.
Amounts, years, dates etc. are written with digits: $5,00 , 3
kilo, 25 juli 1990
Write, if possible, all numerals 'til twenty with letters:
eerste (een), twee(de), twintig(ste).
7)
Puntuation marks Dots:
- are placed at the end of a sentence.
- are used within/at the end of abbreviations: enz. etc. J.P.
Pietersen
- however, not all abbreviations: CDA, SP, VARA
Commas
- Commas are used to make a sentence easier to read. They are
placed where the reader pauses if they read a sentence out loud.
- In long sentences, commas separate clauses from the main
sentence:
Het schilderij, dat verplaatst moest worden, is
beschadigd geraakt.
(The painting, that had to be moved, has
been damaged.)
- Commas are placed within two finite verbs.
Toen ze thuis kwam, zag ze dat
de deur open was.
(When she came home, she saw that the
door was open.)
- Appositions are set off by commas:
Janneke, het leukste meisje uit 4h5, is
ziek.
(Janneke, the cutest girl from 4h5, is
ill.)
- The different parts of enumerations are separated by commas.
Hij kocht appels, sinaasappels,
wortelen, aardappelen en een CD.
(He bought apples, oranges, carrots,
potatoes and a cd.)
Semicolon
A semicolon indicates a separation within a sentence.
You may replace it by a dot.
Example:
Van de zomer gaan we naar Spanje; daar is het weer
altijd mooi.
(This summer we're going to France; over there the weather's
always nice.) Colon
Colons are placed before enumerations or explanations/examples:De
bezwaren tegen Athene in de zomer zijn: de hitte, de drukte en
de smog.(Objections to visiting Athens in summer are: the heat,
the crowdedness and the smog. )
Ik wil van de zomer niet naar Ahene: het is me daar te warm.(I
don't want to go to Athens this summer: it's too hot over there.)
A colon is placed before a citate.
Ik zei: 'Ik wil van de zomer niet naar Athene.'
(I said: "I don't want to go to Athens this summer.") Quotation
marks
Quotation marks are used for citates.
'Als je het mij vraagt,' zei Bush, 'ben ik wél een leuke
president.'
'According to me,' said Bush, 'I am a pretty nice
president.'
Quotation marks are used when you want to give a word a
different meaning (i.e. sarcasm)
Ik zei: 'Goh, nou, wat ben je toch 'leuk'.'
(I said: 'Gee, yeah, how 'nice' you are.')
Exclamation mark
You end a sentence with an exclamation mark if it's an
exclamation or an order.Geweldig! (Amazing!)Kom terug! (Come
back!) Question
mark
Question marks are used at the end of sentences.Was jij de
eerste die de berg beklom?
(Were you the first one to climb the mountain?)
De leraar vroeg: 'Was jij de eerste?'
(The teacher asked: 'Were you the first one?' Don't use a
question mark in cases similar to the following:Hij vroeg me of
ik de eerste was. (He asked me if I were the first one.)
