English for Beginners
Your first steps in English
Why English is easier than you think
English and Dutch share Germanic roots - many basic words are similar! English grammar is actually simpler than Dutch: no noun genders, simpler verb conjugations, and consistent plurals.
The biggest challenge? English spelling is chaotic - one sound can be spelled many ways. But for reading, this is less important than you think!
English has only about 170 irregular verbs (Dutch has more!), and you only need to know about 50 for basic stories. The word order is strict but predictable: Subject-Verb-Object.
Important tips:
- • Note: English has 44 sounds but only 26 letters - that's why spelling is tricky
- • Silent letters are everywhere (knife, island, castle) - ignore them when reading
- • Stress patterns matter: REcord (noun) vs reCORD (verb)
Chapter
1
The English Alphabet & Sounds
The basics of pronunciation
English has 26 letters creating 44 different sounds. Don't worry about perfect pronunciation - focus on recognizing patterns!
Important vowel combinations
ee/ea
→
long e
see, tea, meet, beach
oo
→
long u or short u
moon (long), book (short)
ou/ow
→
au sound
house, now, cloud, brown
ai/ay
→
long a
rain, day, mail, stay
oi/oy
→
oi sound
coin, boy, voice, enjoy
ie
→
various
pie (ai), field (ee), friend (e)
igh
→
long i
night, light, right, high
ar
→
ah sound
car, start, park, far
er/ir/ur
→
similar sound
her, bird, turn
aw/au
→
aw sound
saw, autumn, law, cause
Tricky consonant combinations
These combinations make different sounds than expected:
th
→ voiced/unvoiced
Examples
Voiced: this, that, there
Unvoiced: think, three, bath
ch
→ tsh
Examples
chair, church, lunch
Exception: chef (sh), chemistry (k)
sh
→ sh
Examples
shop, fish, wash
like Dutch "sj"
ph
→ f
Examples
phone, photo, graph
Greek origin
gh
→ silent or f
kn
→ n
Examples
know, knife, knee
k is silent
wr
→ r
Examples
write, wrong, wrap
w is silent
ng
→ ng
Examples
sing, long, bring
like Dutch "ng"
qu
→ kw
Examples
queen, quick, question
always together
Silent letters - Don't pronounce these!
knife
k
→
[nife]
(k before n)
castle
t
→
[cassel]
(t in -stle)
island
s
→
[iland]
(s in island)
Wednesday
d
→
[Wensday]
(first d)
honest
h
→
[onest]
(h in some words)
lamb
b
→
[lam]
(b after m at end)
would
l
→
[wood]
(l in ould)
autumn
n
→
[autum]
(n in -mn)
Chapter
2
Greetings & Essential Phrases
The foundation of every conversation
English greetings are less formal than Dutch. You can use most greetings with anyone!
Greetings throughout the day
Good morning
→
Goedemorgen
(Until noon)
Universal
Good afternoon
→
Goedemiddag
(12:00-6:00 PM)
More formal
Good evening
→
Goedenavond
(From 6:00 PM)
Universal
Good night
→
Goedenacht
(When leaving/sleeping)
Universal
Hello/Hi
→
Hallo/Hoi
(All day)
Hello (neutral), Hi (informal)
Hey
→
Hé
(All day)
Very informal
How are you? - Questions
How are you?
→
Hoe gaat het?
(Standard)
Universal
How's it going?
→
Hoe gaat het?
(Casual)
Informal
How are you doing?
→
Hoe gaat het met je?
(Friendly)
Informal
What's up?
→
Wat is er?/Hoe is het?
(Very casual)
Very informal
How's everything?
→
Hoe is alles?
(General check)
Informal
How have you been?
→
Hoe is het met je geweest?
(Haven't seen in a while)
Neutral
You alright?
→
Alles goed?
(British, very casual)
Very informal
How are you? - Answers
I'm fine, thanks
→
Goed, bedankt
(Standard positive)
Universal
I'm good
→
Het gaat goed
(Casual positive)
Informal
Great!
→
Geweldig!
(Very positive)
Universal
Not bad
→
Niet slecht
(Neutral)
Informal
So-so
→
Zo-zo
(Mixed)
Informal
Could be better
→
Kon beter
(Slightly negative)
Informal
Not great
→
Niet geweldig
(Negative)
Informal
I've been better
→
Het is wel eens beter geweest
(Negative but polite)
Neutral
Can't complain
→
Mag niet klagen
(Neutral positive)
Informal
And you?
→
En jij?
(Asking back)
Match their formality
Saying goodbye
Goodbye
→
Tot ziens
Bye
→
Dag/Doei
See you later
→
Tot later
See you
→
Tot ziens
See you tomorrow
→
Tot morgen
Take care
→
Pas op jezelf
Have a nice day
→
Fijne dag
Polite forms - Essential!
Please
→
Alsjeblieft/Alstublieft
💡 Always use with requests
Thank you
→
Bedankt/Dank je
💡 Universal and always appropriate
Thanks
→
Bedankt
💡 Casual version
Thank you very much
→
Heel erg bedankt
💡 Extra grateful
You're welcome
→
Graag gedaan
💡 Reply to thanks
No problem
→
Geen probleem
💡 Casual reply to thanks
Excuse me
→
Pardon/Excuseer
💡 Getting attention or passing
Sorry
→
Sorry
💡 Apologies or getting attention
I'm sorry
→
Het spijt me
💡 Real apologies
Pardon?
→
Pardon?
💡 Didn't hear/understand
Important responses
Yes
→
Ja
(Simple!)
No
→
Nee
(Also simple!)
I don't know
→
Ik weet het niet
(Very useful!)
Maybe
→
Misschien
(MAY-bee)
Of course
→
Natuurlijk
(Emphasis)
Sure
→
Zeker
(Casual yes)
Okay/OK
→
Oké
(Universal agreement)
Chapter
3
To Be - The most important verb
This verb appears in almost every sentence
Just like Dutch "zijn", "to be" is irregular but essential. It's used even more than in Dutch!
The conjugation - Learn this by heart!
I
am
(ik ben)
I am happy
Ik ben blij
you
are
(jij bent)
You are nice
Jij bent aardig
he/she/it
is
(hij/zij/het is)
She is beautiful
Zij is mooi
we
are
(wij zijn)
We are friends
Wij zijn vrienden
you
are
(jullie zijn)
You are students
Jullie zijn studenten
they
are
(zij zijn)
They are teachers
Zij zijn leraren
Contractions - How English really sounds
I am
→
I'm
I'm ready
- Ik ben klaar
you are
→
you're
You're right
- Je hebt gelijk
he is
→
he's
He's tall
- Hij is lang
she is
→
she's
She's smart
- Zij is slim
it is
→
it's
It's cold
- Het is koud
we are
→
we're
We're here
- Wij zijn hier
they are
→
they're
They're late
- Zij zijn laat
is not
→
isn't
It isn't easy
- Het is niet makkelijk
are not
→
aren't
They aren't ready
- Zij zijn niet klaar
Common expressions with be
There is/are
→
Er is/zijn
There is a problem
- Er is een probleem
How old are you?
→
Hoe oud ben je?
(Age in English uses be!)
I am ... years old
→
Ik ben ... jaar oud
I am 25 years old
- Ik ben 25 jaar oud
I'm from...
→
Ik kom uit...
I'm from London
- Ik kom uit Londen
It's true
→
Het is waar
(Confirmation)
It's possible
→
Het is mogelijk
(Possibility)
It's important
→
Het is belangrijk
(Emphasis)
Are you sure?
→
Weet je het zeker?
(Asking confirmation)
Practice sentences - Recognize the pattern
The book is on the table
→
Het boek ligt op de tafel
The weather is nice
→
Het weer is mooi
The children are at school
→
De kinderen zijn op school
Where are you?
→
Waar ben je?
We're in England
→
We zijn in Engeland
I'm not sure
→
Ik weet het niet zeker