Dutch Prepositions of Place: op, onder, naast, tussen and More | A1 Dutch, Lesson 19

Welcome to lesson nineteen of the A1 Dutch Grammar Course. In the previous lesson you learned object pronouns. In this lesson you are going to learn place prepositions — the words that tell you where something is. In Dutch these are words like op, in, naast, voor, and achter. You will learn twelve core place prepositions, and you will also learn an important feature of Dutch that English does not have: Dutch uses different verbs to express to be somewhere depending on the position of the object. Staan, liggen, zitten, and hangen all translate as to be in a location context, but each one is used in different situations. By the end of this lesson you will know the core place prepositions and which of these four verbs to use.

Voorzetsels van plaats — een overzicht

Here are twelve place prepositions you will use every day in Dutch. Op means on or on top of — de sleutels liggen op tafel, the keys are on the table. Onder means under — de kat zit onder de stoel. Boven means above — boven het bed, above the bed. Voor means in front of — voor de deur, in front of the door. Achter means behind — achter het huis, behind the house. Naast means next to — naast de bank, next to the couch. Tussen means between — tussen de stoelen, between the chairs. In means in or inside — in de kast, in the cupboard. Uit means out of — zij komt uit de winkel, she is coming out of the shop. Aan means on or at — usually for things attached to a surface, like a picture on a wall. Tegenover means opposite or across from — tegenover het station, opposite the station. Over means over or across — over de brug, across the bridge.

Boven, op, onder — voor, achter, naast, tussen

Let us look at the vertical axis first. Boven means above — the lamp hangs above the table, boven de tafel. Op means on the surface of something — het boek ligt op tafel, the book is on the table. Onder means below or under — de schoenen staan onder de tafel, the shoes are under the table. Now for relative position. Voor means in front of — de fiets staat voor het huis, the bike is in front of the house. Achter means behind — de boom staat achter het huis, the tree is behind the house. Naast means next to — de supermarkt staat naast de school, the supermarket is next to the school. Tussen means between — de kat zit tussen de kussens, the cat is sitting between the cushions.

In, uit, aan, tegenover — en bij

Four more prepositions worth looking at closely. In means inside — de kleren hangen in de kast, the clothes are hanging in the wardrobe. Uit means out of — de hond springt uit de doos, the dog jumps out of the box. Aan is used when something is attached or connected to a surface — er hangt een foto aan de muur, there is a photo on the wall; de lamp hangt aan het plafond, the lamp is on the ceiling. Aan tafel zitten — sitting at the table — is a common fixed expression in Dutch; here aan does not describe attachment to a surface. Tegenover means opposite or across from — het postkantoor staat tegenover de kerk, the post office is opposite the church. And bij means near or at — bij het station, at the station; bij de ingang, at the entrance; bij mij thuis, at my home.

Staan · Liggen · Zitten · Hangen

One of the most important differences between Dutch and English in this area: Dutch uses four different verbs where English just uses to be or to stand. Staan is used for objects in an upright or vertical position — a tree stands, a car stands parked, books stand on a shelf. De boom staat achter het huis. Het boek staat in de kast. Liggen is used for objects in a horizontal position and also for geographic locations. Het boek ligt op tafel. Amsterdam ligt in Nederland. Zitten is used for things inside a closed or semi-closed space — the key is in the drawer, the doctor's practice is on the corner. De sleutel zit in de la. De tandartspraktijk zit op de hoek. Zitten also expresses where organisations and businesses are located. And hangen is used for things hanging — clothes on a hook, a jacket on the coat rack, a lamp above the table. De jas hangt aan de kapstok. De lamp hangt boven de tafel. These four verbs will feel unfamiliar at first but become automatic with practice.

Key Takeaways

Here is what you learned in this lesson. Dutch has twelve core place prepositions in this lesson: op, onder, boven, voor, achter, naast, tussen, in, uit, aan, tegenover, and over. You also saw the very useful word bij, meaning near or at. Each preposition describes a specific spatial relationship. And where English uses to be or to stand in location sentences, Dutch uses four specific verbs: staan for upright objects, liggen for horizontal objects and geographic locations, zitten for things inside enclosed spaces and organisations, and hangen for hanging objects. In lesson twenty you will learn time prepositions — op, om, in, voor, na, and tijdens — and you will see that some prepositions, like op and in, are used for both place and time.

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