The Seasons, Some colours, More verbs

 De Jaargetijden   The Seasons

Zomer  -  Summer
Herfst - Autumn   ( ook Najaar )
Winter  -  Winter
Lente  -  Spring

De lente begint op 22 Maart.                            Springs starts on March 22nd
De herfst brengt regen.                                     Autumn often brings rain
In de Winter sneeuwt het vaak.                         It often snows in winter
Ik heb zin aan de zomer!                                   I'm looking forward to summer

De Kleuren  The Colours

Rood  -  Wit  -  Blauw  -  Oranje  -  Groen  -  Geel  -  Bruin  -  Zwart  -  Paars  -  roze  -  Grijs

Some more verbs:
Kleuren: to Colour or Colouring in
ik kleur  -  jij kleurt  -  hij/zij kleurt  -  wij kleuren  -  jullie kleuren  -  zij kleuren
Wat kan jij mooi kleuren!
Zin hebben aan:   Looking forward to              Zin hebben in : Fancying Something
ik heb zin aan  -  jij/U hebt zin aan  -  hij/zij heeft zin aan  -  wij/jullie/ zij hebben zin aan
Heb jij zin in koffie?
Beginnen:  To start, to begin
ik begin -- jij,U begint  -  hij/zij begint  -  wij beginnen  -  jullie beginnen  -  zij beginnen
Jullie beginnen met 'ochtendkring'
Weten: To know
ik weet  -  jij/U weet  -  zij/ hij weet  -  wij weten  -  jullie weten  -  zij weten
Hij weet niets.
Proberen: to Try
ik probeer  -  jij/U probeert  -  hij/zij probeert  -  wij proberen  -  jullie proberen  -  zij proberen
Ik probeer Nederlands te spreken.
Vragen: to Ask
ik vraag  -  jij/U vraagt  -  hij/zij vraagt  -  wij vragen  -  jullie vragen  -  zij vragen
Jij vraagt en ik antwoord.
Een vraag = a question      Een antwoord = an answer  Antwoorden: to Answer

Gezellig

If you google the word 'Gezellig' you will find:

'Gezellig is word that encompasses the heart of Dutch culture.

Gezellig is a word that you will hear a lot and locals and foreigners alike will tell you it cannot be translated.
Its meaning includes everything from cozy to friendly from comfortable to relaxing, and from enjoyable to gregarious...

According to Wikipedia, a perfect example of untranslatebility is seen in the Dutch language through the word gezellig, which does not have an English equivalent. Literally it means cozy, quaint, or nice, but can also connote time spent with loved ones, seeing a friend after an absence or general togetherness.

You'll hear the word a lot, so here are some indications as to how to understand and use it:
A Brown cafe is gezellig, a dentist's waiting room is definitely ongezellig.
Having drinks with friends ( especially if they are gezellige friends) in your cozy sittingroom listening to good music with your dog and cat on the rug in front of the fire is very gezellig. Having dinner with the in-laws from hell is most ongezellig...
Going out with friends for a meal in a restaurant with good ambiance is gezellig. Grabbing a bite at a MacDonald's is ongezellig, unless you're with friends who are gezellig, that can turn it round and make the experience gezellig.
Gezellig can be used as an affirmative when someone asks you to join them for something you're keen on.
'Fancy going for a drink after class?'   'Ja, gezellig!'
People can be gezellig (Oprah Winfrey) or ongezellig ( George W. Bush)
Houses can be gezellig, think lots of plants, nice lighting, warmly furnished,  fresh flowers and nicely arranged.
Cities can be gezellig (Amsterdam) or ongezellig (Rotterdam).'
The list goes on, you'll get the hang of it....'

Queen Beatrix is perceived as a warm and friendly person who puts others at their ease. Probably a more gezellige personality than Queen Elizabeth, who is perceived as more remote... Just illustrating a point here, don't sue me!

Class Change for this Friday, 18th March

As discussed, we'll have an earlier class on the 18th of March.
We'll meet at 11.15 in room 139.
I'm hoping you'll all be there, it's week 7 and we're making fast progress.
We'll revise the weekdays, the months and telling the time.
Also, I'll introduce you to the word 'GEZELLIG', without a doubt one of the most important words you'll learn in this course!
See you on Friday,
Ellen

Klok kijken (Telling the time) en onderwerpen (Subjects)

_____________Klok kijken - telling the time.

Hoe laat is het?

Het is twaalf uur. Het is vijf over twee.Het is kwart over drie

Het is half vier ( In Dutch 'Half ' means before the hour , so in this case half past 3- half an hour to four....)

Het is tien voor half vier, het is tien over half vier. Het is zeven uur.

Het is al laat ( it is already late) het is nog vroeg ( It is still early).

Het is kwart voor zes, het is bijna (almost) zes uur.

If in doubt when trying to tell someone the time, you may use the digital clock. So you can say 'Vijf uur vijf-en-veertig' instead of  'kwart voor zes.'     Drie uur twintig instead of tien-voor-half-vier.

________________________________

Some important vocabulary for school:

Kring     - circle time

Ochtendkring - morning circle             Boekenkring     - bookcircle                    Nieuwskring-    news circle

Taal   - language

Spelling    - spelling

Rekenen    - arithmetic

Lezen   - reading

Wereld orientatie:       aardrijkskunde en geschiedenis-    geography and history
Tekenen    - drawing (art)

Handvaardigheid    -   craft

Muziek

Drama en Dans

Engels ( from group 7 but now increasingly from nursery)

Gym

Meester, juf, kinderen, meisjes, jongens      -   Sir, Miss, children, girls, boys

Schoolbord   - blackboard

School plein   - playground

A typical day would start with 'ochtendkring'. Most schools work with 'een week plan'. The children partly plan their own work and know what they have to achieve that week. They often work in small groups in various corners of the class. At break time – 'Pauze'- they first have a drink and snack – 'eten en drinken'- and then outside play - 'buiten spelen'-.

There is often an instruction table -'een instructie tafel' - in the class room where pupils -'leerlingen'- can go if they need more explanation on topics or extra support.

Gym, like here, is usually about twice a week.

You already have notes on the school system in the Netherlands. Here is a little simple graph to remind you how it works....

So where are we now?

Last Friday we revised the verbs ( doing words ) covered so far;  hebben ( to have), zijn (to be), willen (to want), spreken ( to speak), mogen ( to be allowed - may) , wonen ( to live), heten ( to be called) en houden van ( to love)

Some of the words describing moods, feelings etc that we have covered so far:
Blij - happy, glad
Groot -  big
Knap - clever
Moe - tired
Aardig - nice, kind
Mooi - beautiful
Snel - fast

We touched on the months of the year which are very similar in Dutch:
Januari
Februari
Maart
April
Mei
Juni
Juli
Augustus
September
Oktober
November
December

A handy online tool is http://www.freedict.com/onldict/onldict.php for instant dictionary help.
For instant translation you may want to consider a version of Babylon.
We have already done a fair amount of nouns and will do more next Friday, with an emphasis on words that reflect classroom situations.

I'm planning to start with the days of the week and telling the time as well and we'll work a little more on how to ask questions.

Wie is dat?
Hoe heet hij?
Hoe oud is zij?
Waar is dat?
Wat is dit?
Waarom heb jij dat niet?
Hoeveel kost dit?
Welke is het?  Welke dag is her vandaag?
Wanneer kom jij?

Spreek jij Engels? Ik spreek Engels, Spaans en Duits maar geen Nederlands.
Wil jij koffie? Nee, dank je. Mag ik thee?
Mag ik een glas water? Ja, graag. Heb je lekker water?
Heb jij een pen? Of een potlood?Of een kleur potlood?
Woont hij in Breda? Wonen zij in Nederland?
Heet jij Jan? Heet zij Lies?

Maandag  -  Monday
Dinsdag  -  Tuesday
Woensdag  -  Wednesday
Donderdag  -  Thursday
Vrijdag  -  Friday
Zaterdag  -  Saturday
Zondag  -  Sunday

Some revision pointers

So far we have covered introductions, numbers, some verbs and a fair amount of vocabulary.
Try to mix and match and write new sentences with the phrases you have so far. I'll happily correct any work on Fridays and you'll find this hands on approach an effective learning tool.
Just a recap on the verbs:

Ik ben     -I am
Jij/ U (polite form) bent  - You are
Hij/Zij  is   -  He/ She is
Wij zijn   - We are
Jullie zijn   - You (plural) are
Zij zijn   - They are
____________________________
Ik ben moe - I am tired       Hij is ziek  - He is sick     Zij zijn blij- They are happy   
Jij bent boos- You are cross      Jullie zijn klein - You (pl) are small      Ik ben twee en twintig- I am 22
Ik ben Nederlander (masculine) Ik ben Nederlandse- I am Dutch.

Ik heb   -   I have
Jij hebt   -  You have
Hij/Zij heeft   -  He/ She has
Wij hebben   -   We have
Jullie hebben   -   You (pl) have
Zij hebben   -   They have
_______________________________

Ik heb een huis -   I have a house      Jij hebt geld  -  You have money  Zij heeft een taart  -  She has a cake
Wij hebben een auto  -  We have a car     Jullie hebben een boek  -  You (pl) have a book
Zij hebben een pen   - They have a pen
If you want to say you don't have something:   Ik heb geen potlood - I don't have a pencil
Zij heeft geen zin  -  Shedoesn't feel like it ( She has no inclination)
Heb jij, voor mij, van de serie ' in de keuken', een mes?
_________________________________
Remember to go over the numbers so you don't need to look at them to remind yourself.
Once you get to 'twintig' you continue by counting up one and twenty, two and twenty and so on. Exaggerate the 'g' sounds, it actually makes your pronounciation more authentic!
twee-en-twintig (22), drie-en-twintig (23)   dertig (30) vijf-en-dertig (35)  veertig (40) acht-en-veertig (48)
vijftig (50), zestig (60), zeventig(70), tachtig (80), negentig (90) negen-en-negentig (99) honderd (100)  honderd-veertien (114) honderd-drie-en-veertig (143)

Some background information on the Netherlands

The Netherlands is often called 'Holland'. This is an inaccurate name. North and South Holland are just 2 of the 12 provinces which make up the united kingdom of the Netherlands.
Historically, those 2 provinces have been very important as they house the Capital, Amsterdam, and the seat of government, den Haag. Calling the Netherlands 'Holland' can be compared with calling the UK 'England' though most Dutch people don't feel as strongly about it as Scotts might do and often make the mistake themselves.
Things you probably know about the Netherlands; almost everyone has a bike and cycle paths make life easier and safer for cyclists. Its 16.000 sq miles are densely populated and the polders are well known abroad as they've been reclaimed from the sea and have been turned into agricultural land and livingspace.
Amsterdam has some very famous museums among them the van Gogh Museum and het Rembrandt Huis.
Many tourists also visit the famous 'Achterhuis' where Anne Frank wrote her diary during the war years and which has been preserved as a memorial to her and all the Jews who perished in concentration camps.
Amsterdam has many some 160 canals criss crossing the city. It is sometimes called Venice of the North. A canal trip is well worth taking as you get a real feel for the city from the canal boat vantage point.
The diamond industry is big in Amsterdam and it's worth  visiting a diamond factory.
We watched a couple of youtube films on the country last Friday. This is the link to one of them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYGKuwqksz0

If you are going to be absent for lessons for any reason, please e-mail or text me, but remember, we only have 10 weeks in this course, so please make a point of being at classes.
I was impressed with the level of understanding of Dutch last Friday. It's really an achievement after 4 weeks.
Keep up the revising as I'm keen to introduce more vocabulary and verbs next week...