The Focus of This Lesson is Using the Present Tense to Talk About the Present or Past
Waar heeft u eerder gewerkt?
"Where have you worked before?"

In this lesson, you will learn how to:

1. Use a present tense to talk about the past

2. Change the word order to ask a question

3. Use adjectives

1. How to use the present tense to talk about the past

The Dutch verb hebben ("to have") is very widely used. The formal first person singular is heb, although heeft is also widely used (more often, some think). U heeft gewerkt is the Present Perfect of "You have worked." So a present tense is used to talk about something that happened in the past. The Simple Past would be U werkte ("You worked.") As in many other languages there are several ways to refer to the past.

Below you will find some common tenses and conjugations of the verb Hebben.

For example:

1. Ik heb al gegeten.
   "I have already eaten."
2. Zij zijn verleden jaar in Italiẽ geweest.
   "They have been to Italy last year."

2. How to change the word order to ask a question

In Dutch, turning a statement into a question is relatively easy. In many cases, just changing the word order is all it takes. Sometimes the verb has to be conjugated differently, but usually not. For a simple statement the sentence is usually made up of a subject, a verb and a direct object, or some other clause (in that order.) For example Jan slaat de hond ("John beats the dog,") becomes Slaat Jan de hond? ("Does John beat the dog?)

This is basically the whole grammatical theory for turning statements into questions. But of course there are also different ways (see below).

For example:

3. How to use adjectives

Adjectives are always placed before the noun to which they refer. Adjectives in Dutch are conjugated. Both the article before it and the gender of the noun have their influence on the conjugation of the adjective. Please see the table below for some examples that should make things clear.

Examples from the dialogue:

1. En wilt u nu op een hoger niveau werken?
   "And you want to work at a higher level?"
2. Ja dat is mijn belangrijkste motivatie.
   "Yes that's my main motivation."

Sample Sentences

1. Ik heb de laatste twee jaren helemaal geen vakantie gehad.
   "I haven't had any holidays in the last two years."
2. Ik ga vanavond naar het feest. Ga jij ook?
   "I'm going to the party tonight. Are you going as well?"
3. Op goede scholen zijn er altijd moeilijke examens.
   "Good schools always have difficult examinations."

Ik heb belangstelling voor...("I'm interested in...")

Literally this means "I have (an) interest in." The infinitive (dictionary form) of the verb "to have" is Hebben. The first person singular is ik heb. The word belang used without the suffix can also mean "Importance." While belangstelling is a noun, the verb form "To be interested in" is belang stellen, which can also be said as Ik stel belang in... Note that the verb is split into two parts, a common grammatical construction in Dutch.

This expression is used to show or to express that you are interested in a certain thing (or person). If, for example, you are interested in philosophy, you can say Ik heb belangstelling in filosofie. On the other hand, it is also used in a polite way to say "No." If somebody tries to sell you something, instead of a blunt "No," you say Nee dank u wel ik heb geen belangstelling, meaning "No thank can you. I'm not interested." This phrase can be used in both formal and informal conversations, although it might be a bit on the formal side. To go back to the above mentioned example, a more informal way would be to say Ik hou van filosofie, literally "I like philosophy."

The adjective derived from the noun belangstelling is belangstellend. In English "Interested." For example, Een belangstellend luisteraar would be "An interested listener."

For example:

1. Hij informeerde belangstellend hoe het ging.
   "He inquired sympathetically how things were."

een paar verschillende ("several different")

The Dutch word paar officially means "a pair" as in "a pair of shoes," meaning two. But it is very often used in a broader way, in the same way as the word "couple" or "few" in English. For example, Ik ga een paar dagen weg means "I'm going away for a few days," so not especially two days. It could be a little more. Verschillend is "different" So the translation for een paar verschillende becomes "a few different" or "a couple of different."

The expression is mostly used to point out that there are more possibilities or that there have been some different things. It says that there are at least two, but often more, items being referred to. So it is less precise than using numbers or words like "a dozen." The word verschillend of course points out that they are or were all different items. If you say een paar onderdelen, it means "a few parts," theoretically they could be the same parts. However when you say een paar verschillende onderdelen, ("several different parts") it is obvious that they are all different from each other.

In more formal language, enkele verschillende would be used instead of een paar verschillende.

Verschillend is an adjective or adverb. It is linked to the noun verschil ("difference") and to the verb verschillen ("to differ, to be different.")

It has many uses. For example, the answer to the question Hoe is het weer in April?"How is the weather in April?" can be Oh, dat verschilt ("Oh, that's always different.")

Another example:

1. Het betreft hier een paar verschillende onderwerpen.
   "This concerns several different subjects."

hoger niveau ("higher level")

As in many other European languages, the noun niveau ("level") has a few slightly different meanings. It may refer to a physical level like waterniveau ("water level"), but also to more abstract facts, like onderwijsniveau ("level of education") or even the level of a conversation or a joke. Hoog niveau ("high level") or laag niveau ("low level") are expressions that could be used in those situations.

As mentioned above, this expression can be used in combination with many different topics. It also has a certain subjectivity in it. When using laag niveau ("low level") or lager niveau ("lower level,") one should be careful. It can easily be interpreted as negative or degrading. 

For example:

1. De universiteiten zijn in dit land altijd van een hoger niveau.
   "The universities in this country are always on a higher level."

Job Interviews in the Netherlands

As in any other country, in the Netherlands job interviews are nerve-racking and unpleasant situations, for the person being interviewed at least. Employers want the best and therefore put a lot of pressure on the person being interviewed. The potential future employee obviously wants the job, if not he/she wouldn't be sitting there! Still, in comparison to other countries, Holland is fairly relaxed regarding the interview process. In interviews in other countries they may suddenly ask interviewees to play a role, give a demonstration or some other unexpected thing, but this sort of interview is fairly rare in Holland.

Useful expression:

1. En? Wat vond u zelf van dit gesprek?
   "And? What did you think about this conversation yourself?"