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Dutch Word Order Question | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| tracker465 Senior Member United States Joined 5350 days ago 355 posts - 496 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 1 of 12 01 July 2010 at 9:33pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have a minor question with my Dutch studies that concerns proper word order. It is as follows:
Which of the following sentences is correct, or would both of them be correct? 1) Ik weet niet, waar ik het kan kopen. 2) Ik weet niet, waar ik het kopen kan. In the Michel Thomas Dutch course, it has the speakers using the first sentence structure, where the conjugated verb is placed before the infinitive (kan kopen). On the other hand, in some of the other books I own, I have seen the second structure, in which the infinitive is placed before the conjugated verb (kopen kan), although in one of these books, the author claims that it is moreso a matter of style and that the student should not trouble him or herself over it too much. I am just wondering if both of these constructions are correct and interchangeable or not. I personally like the second structure better, as it mimicks the German and feels a bit more natural to me, but at the end of the day, I just would like to know the correct structure, whatever it may be. Thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ReneeMona Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5333 days ago 864 posts - 1274 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2 Studies: French | Message 2 of 12 01 July 2010 at 9:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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First off, I don't think you have to put a comma in either of the sentences.
Apart from that, both are perfectly fine and like your books said, it's a matter of style. I myself prefer the first one which I think is slightly more common but if the resemblance to German somehow makes the second more natural and maybe easier to remember to you then that's fine too. Nobody will consider it a mistake or unnatural sounding. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| tracker465 Senior Member United States Joined 5350 days ago 355 posts - 496 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 3 of 12 01 July 2010 at 10:20pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks a lot, that is what I wanted to know!
Yes, I personally find the second construction to be easier for me, when I speak aloud or try to think in Dutch. Since I have studied German for so long, I am more used to this choice, as its construction is more German-esque, and thus it is one more grammar construction to which my mind does not have to adjust. Also, thanks for the information about the comma. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| bushwick Tetraglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 6242 days ago 407 posts - 443 votes Speaks: German, Croatian*, English, Dutch Studies: French, Japanese | Message 4 of 12 02 July 2010 at 1:31am | IP Logged | ||
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however wouldn't the first word order be correct in most cases? that is, in different situations?
I understand how it might work in this case fine, but I was led to believe that Dutch prefers a word order resembling the first example. if I am correct (please do correct me, I don't want to go against a native speaker) I suggest you go for internalizing the first example's word order; it will pay off in the long run to see it now as a common occurence 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Genocyde Groupie United States Joined 5770 days ago 56 posts - 75 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Russian, Mandarin, Persian | Message 5 of 12 02 July 2010 at 1:50am | IP Logged | ||
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nevermind Edited by Genocyde on 02 July 2010 at 1:50am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Genocyde Groupie United States Joined 5770 days ago 56 posts - 75 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Russian, Mandarin, Persian | Message 6 of 12 02 July 2010 at 1:51am | IP Logged | ||
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Wow...second time in a row I tried to post a new topic and it ended up replying to this thread... Edited by Genocyde on 02 July 2010 at 1:52am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ReneeMona Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5333 days ago 864 posts - 1274 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2 Studies: French | Message 7 of 12 02 July 2010 at 1:56am | IP Logged | ||
Please don't be afraid to challenge or correct me when you think you can. Native speaker or not, whatever I say is always based on my own dialect, age and experience and heavily clouded by my knowledge of other languages. ;-) Like I said, I'm pretty sure the difference between these two sentences is a matter of style. The first sounds a little more natural to my ears but I wouldn't raise an eyebrow at any native speaker using the second. It's true that following German syntax rules doesn't always work in Dutch since there are subtle differences. Bushwick, could you maybe come up with some sentences in which you think the second sentences' word order would be incorrect? I can't think of a good example at the moment and since you know German and have studied Dutch grammar from a foreign point of view, it's probably easier for you to point out the differences between German and Dutch syntax. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ellasevia Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2011 Senior Member Germany Joined 6140 days ago 2150 posts - 3229 votes Speaks: English*, German, Croatian, Greek, French, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian Studies: Catalan, Persian, Mandarin, Japanese, Romanian, Ukrainian | Message 8 of 12 02 July 2010 at 2:14am | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you, I was just wondering this same thing myself--for the same exact reasons too!
1 person has voted this message useful |
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