Numbers 0-1000, ordinals, clock time (half drie = 2:30!), dates
Can use numbers, tell time (including half-hour trap), and state dates
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Het is half drie, we moeten gaan.
It is half past two, we have to go.
Ik heb drieëntwintig euro en vijfenveertig cent.
I have twenty-three euros and forty-five cents.
De afspraak is op dinsdag vijftien maart om kwart over tien.
The appointment is on Tuesday March fifteenth at quarter past ten.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
| Range | Dutch |
|---|---|
| 0-10 | nul, een, twee, drie, vier, vijf, zes, zeven, acht, negen, tien |
| 11-20 | elf, twaalf, dertien, veertien, vijftien, zestien, zeventien, achttien, negentien, twintig |
| tens | twintig, dertig, veertig, vijftig, zestig, zeventig, tachtig, negentig |
| 21-99 | eenentwintig, tweeëntwintig, drieëndertig, vierenveertig... |
| 100 and up | honderd, tweehonderd, duizend, elfhonderd (1100) |
From 21 to 99 Dutch says the units first, the way English nursery rhymes do with "four and twenty blackbirds": drieëntwintig is "three-and-twenty", 23. It is written as one word, with a trema on ën after a vowel: tweeëntwintig. Say "hundred" and "thousand" without "one": honderd euro, duizend mensen. Prices: Een stroopwafel kost twee euro vijftig.
Ordinals: eerste, tweede, derde, vierde, vijfde, zesde, zevende, achtste, negende, tiende, twintigste, honderdste. Dates use ordinary numbers: op 27 april (zevenentwintig april).
| Time | Dutch | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | drie uur | three o'clock |
| 3:10 | tien over drie | ten past three |
| 3:15 | kwart over drie | quarter past three |
| 3:20 | tien voor half vier | ten before half (to) four |
| 3:30 | half vier | half (to) four |
| 3:40 | tien over half vier | ten past half (to) four |
| 3:45 | kwart voor vier | quarter to four |
The big trap: half drie is 2:30, not 3:30. Dutch counts the half hour towards the coming hour: it is "half of the way to three". British English "half three" means 3:30, so English speakers arrive an hour late. German halb drei works like Dutch.
The minutes from :20 to :40 are counted around the half hour: vijf voor half acht is 7:25, vijf over half acht is 7:35. It takes practice, but it is how everyone speaks.
Timetables and official times use the 24-hour clock, written with a full stop: De trein naar Zwolle vertrekt om 14.12 uur (veertien uur twaalf). Asking: Hoe laat is het? - What time is it? Hoe laat begint de film? - What time does the film start?
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesInterpreting half drie as 3:30 instead of 2:30
Half + number = 30 minutes BEFORE that hour. Half drie = 2:30, half zes = 5:30.
Saying *twintigdrie instead of drieëntwintig
Units come FIRST: 23 = drieëntwintig (three-and-twenty), not *twintigdrie.
Het is half drie, we moeten gaan.
It is half past two, we have to go.
⚠️ Half drie = 2:30, NOT 3:30! 'Half' refers to the NEXT hour.
Ik heb drieëntwintig euro en vijfenveertig cent.
I have twenty-three euros and forty-five cents.
Numbers 21-99: units before tens (drieëntwintig = 3-and-20). Same as German.
De afspraak is op dinsdag vijftien maart om kwart over tien.
The appointment is on Tuesday March fifteenth at quarter past ten.
'Op' for days/dates. 'Om' for clock time. 'Kwart over tien' = 10:15.
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Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises