Learn how to use superlative adjectives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Gabriella: Hi everyone, Gabriella here! Welcome to DutchPod101.com. This is Lower Beginner Season 1, Lesson 7 - Only the Best Dutch Apple Pie Will Do! |
| Jacob: HALLO! I'm Jacob. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use superlatives. |
| Gabriella: This conversation takes place at the bakery. |
| Jacob: Astrid is working at the bakery and Peter is a customer. They don’t know each other well, so they’ll be using formal Dutch. |
| Gabriella: Okay. Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Astrid: Kan ik u helpen? |
| Peter: Een appeltaart alstublieft. |
| Astrid: Wilt u een kleine appeltaart, of een grotere? |
| Peter: De grootste appeltaart alstublieft. Van welke appels is de taart gemaakt? |
| Astrid: De taart is gemaakt van de lekkerste appels. Heeft u iets te vieren? |
| Peter: Ik ben jarig vandaag! De leukste dag van het jaar! |
| Astrid: Gefeliciteerd! |
| Gabriella: Let's hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Astrid: Kan ik u helpen? |
| Peter: Een appeltaart alstublieft. |
| Astrid: Wilt u een kleine appeltaart, of een grotere? |
| Peter: De grootste appeltaart alstublieft. Van welke appels is de taart gemaakt? |
| Astrid: De taart is gemaakt van de lekkerste appels. Heeft u iets te vieren? |
| Peter: Ik ben jarig vandaag! De leukste dag van het jaar! |
| Astrid: Gefeliciteerd! |
| Gabriella: Now let's hear it with the English translation. |
| Astrid: Kan ik u helpen? |
| Gabriella: How can I help you? |
| Peter: Een appeltaart alstublieft. |
| Gabriella: An apple pie, please. |
| Astrid: Wilt u een kleine appeltaart, of een grotere? |
| Gabriella: Would you like to have a small apple pie or a bigger one? |
| Peter: De grootste appeltaart alstublieft. Van welke appels is de taart gemaakt? |
| Gabriella: The biggest apple pie, please. What kind of apples is it made of? |
| Astrid: De taart is gemaakt van de lekkerste appels. Heeft u iets te vieren? |
| Gabriella: The pie is made of the finest apples. Do you have something to celebrate? |
| Peter: Ik ben jarig vandaag! De leukste dag van het jaar! |
| Gabriella: It's my birthday today! The best day of the year! |
| Astrid: Gefeliciteerd! |
| Gabriella: Congratulations! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Jacob: So it’s Peter’s birthday today...! |
| Gabriella: before we’ll take a look at this lesson’s vocabulary, we’ll tell you how Dutch people celebrate their birthday. |
| Jacob: Yes, what would you do if you were invited to your Dutch friend’s birthday party? |
| Gabriella: Of course, bring a gift and congratulate him on his birthday... just say - gefeliciteerd! |
| Jacob: It’s also considered good manners to shake hands with the other guests and to congratulate them as well. |
| Gabriella: Birthdays are also celebrated at the office together with your colleagues. |
| Jacob: This means eating birthday cake, being sung ‘Happy Birthday’, getting a lot of ‘gefeliciteerds’ and of course … receiving three kisses from all of your colleagues. |
| Gabriella: As Dutch people value this tradition deeply, there’s no chance your colleagues will let you ‘forget’ your own birthday, so relax and enjoy yourself! |
| Jacob: One important thing - you’re expected to bring your own birthday cake to the office... this may sound strange, as you are the Birthday boy/girl, but this is how it goes. |
| Gabriella: So don’t forget to bring a cake... |
| Jacob: ...for example an apple pie, as Peter does in the dialogue. |
| Gabriella: Okay, now on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jacob: lekker [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: tasty, delicious |
| Jacob: lekker [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: lekker [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: klein [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: small |
| Jacob: klein [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: klein [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: vieren [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: to celebrate |
| Jacob: vieren [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: vieren [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: groot [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: big, large |
| Jacob: groot [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: groot [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: helpen [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: to help |
| Jacob: helpen [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: helpen [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: appeltaart [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: apple pie |
| Jacob: appeltaart [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: appeltaart [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: jaar [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: year |
| Jacob: jaar [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: jaar [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: jarig [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: to have a birthday |
| Jacob: jarig [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: jarig [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Gabriella: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jacob: We saw the adverb ‘jarig’. It’s always used in combination with the verb ‘zijn’ - “to be”. |
| Gabriella: So.... ‘Ik ben jarig’ |
| Jacob: Jij bent jarig... |
| Gabriella: ...and ‘Hij is jarig’! |
| Jacob: ‘Jarig’ can be used as an adjective as well, for example... |
| Gabriella: ‘de honderdjarige man’ - “the 100-year-old man” |
| Jacob: Perfect! On to the next word, ‘lekker’... |
| Gabriella: Lekker is one of those words that is difficult to translate. If something tastes or smells good, it can be ‘lekker’ - ‘Koffie ruikt lekker’ - “Coffee smells good”. |
| Jacob: Yes, and if you enjoy an activity, it can be ‘lekker’ as well |
| Gabriella: So... ‘Ik heb vanochtend lekker hardgelopen’ means - “I really enjoyed running this morning.” |
| Jacob: And last but not least, a good-looking person can be ‘lekker’ as well! |
| Gabriella: But beware, don’t say it to your boss! If you say ‘Dat meisje daar is lekker’, the girl over there is not just “nice”, the meaning is more similar to “hot” |
| Jacob: Exactly! Let’s have a look at the word ‘Gefeliciteerd’... |
| Gabriella: Yep! You’ve seen it before. But there are more ways to congratulate someone... |
| Jacob: Such as - ‘Van harte gefeliciteerd!’ Or - ‘Hartelijk gefeliciteerd!’ |
| Gabriella: These are slightly more formal. |
| Jacob: Or just ‘Van harte!’, which is more casual. |
| Gabriella: Thanks! Okay, now on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Gabriella: In this lesson, you’re going to learn how to talk in superlatives. |
| Gabriella: In the dialogue, Peter wants to buy ‘de grootste appeltaart’ - “the biggest apple pie.” |
| Jacob: Exactly! So how do you make the superlative? |
| Gabriella: As a basic rule, add ‘-st’ to the adjective. If the adjective ends in ‘-s’, add ‘-t’. |
| Jacob: For example - “big’ is ‘groot’ in Dutch, and the superlative is ‘grootst’ - “biggest” |
| Gabriella: And now an example of an adjective ending in an ‘-s’ - “dirty” is ‘vies’ in Dutch, and the superlative is ‘viest’. |
| Jacob: Almost all adjectives, however long, take ‘-st’ or ‘-t’. |
| Gabriella: ...whereas in English, we often use “most”... “most interesting”, “most important...” |
| Jacob: Yes, in Dutch, we do have a word similar to “most”, it’s ‘meest’. |
| Gabriella: ‘meest’ is only used instead of ‘-st’, if the adjective ends on ‘-isch’ or ‘-st’. |
| Jacob: And for obvious reasons - those adjectives cannot be pronounced if you add ‘-st’! |
| Gabriella: For example - “fabulous” is ‘fantastisch’ in Dutch, and the superlative is ‘meest fantastisch’. |
| Jacob: There are some more adjectives that take ‘meest’ instead of ‘-st’, but these are often alternatives for the regular ending in ‘-st’. |
| Gabriella: So if you’re not sure, always choose the regular ending in ‘-st’. |
| Jacob: One last thing - superlatives follow the rules of adjectives. We saw the same with comparatives... |
| Gabriella: Can you give an example? |
| Jacob: Of course. “big” is ‘groot’ in Dutch, so “biggest” is ‘grootst’. But if you use the superlative in combination with a noun, it’s - ‘de grootste jongen’ - “the biggest boy”. |
| Gabriella: And with the superlative “smallest”? |
| Jacob: “small” is ‘klein’ in Dutch, so “smallest” is ‘kleinst’. “The smallest house” is ‘het kleinste huis.’ |
| Gabriella: And listeners, for more examples, and some irregular superlatives, please check the lesson notes! |
Outro |
| Jacob: That’s it for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and see you next time! |
| Gabriella: ...tot ziens! |
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