Declarative sentences
 

Declarative sentences present statements, and are therefore different in form from questions and orders. The finite verb always comes in second position in a Dutch declarative main clause. The subject (the person or thing carrying out the action expressed by the verb) either immediately precedes or follows the finite verb. The latter is the case if another element is inserted in the first position, e.g. an expression of time. In the examples below, the finite verb is in red, and the subject is bold. For examples of this grammatical item in use, have a look at leesteksten 2


Example
Ik heb nog geen e-mailadres.
I haven’t got an e-mail address yet.

Morgen
heb ik wel een e-mailadres.
Tomorrow I will have an e-mail address.

If you want to know more about declarative sentences, please follow this link to the Lagelands Beginners’ Grammar website.

Exercises on declarative sentences can also be found on this page.