Yes/no questions

To make a yes/no question in Dutch, put the conjugated verb first and the subject after it. Do not add do or does as you often do in English: Jij woont in Nijmegen. → Woon jij in Nijmegen? (You live in Nijmegen. → Do you live in Nijmegen?) Hij werkt vandaag. → Werkt hij vandaag? (He is working today. → Is he working today?) U bent leraar. → Bent u leraar? (You are a teacher. → Are you a teacher?) U is the formal word for you. Jullie means you when speaking to more than one person.

There is one extra rule: when the subject jij or je comes after the verb, the verb ending -t disappears: jij woont → woon jij?, je hebt → heb je?, jij bent → ben jij? A t that belongs to the stem stays: jij wacht → wacht jij?

With u, hij and singular zij (she), the verb keeps the same form: u bent → bent u?, zij heeft → heeft zij?, hij is → is hij?

In conversation, people usually use je, we and ze instead of jij, wij and zij: Woon je hier? (Do you live here?) Werken we morgen? (Are we working tomorrow?) Ze is thuis. (She is at home.) The full forms jij, wij and zij often add emphasis or contrast.

Answers: Ja, ik woon hier. (Yes, I live here.) Nee, ik woon in Nijmegen. (No, I live in Nijmegen.)