Indirect Speech in Dutch: dat, of and Question Words — A2 Dutch Grammar Course, Lesson 14 | My Dutch Journal

Indirect Speech in Dutch: dat, of and Question Words | A2 Dutch, Lesson 14

July 4, 2026

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Welcome to lesson fourteen of the A2 Dutch Grammar Course. In this lesson you will learn about indirecte rede — reported speech. You use reported speech when you tell someone what another person said, asked, or thought. In Dutch, reported speech uses conjunctions to connect the reporting verb with what was said. There are three types: dat for statements, of for yes/no questions, and question words for wh-questions. In all three cases, the subclause word order applies — the verb or verb group goes to the end. This lesson builds directly on Lesson thirteen.

Directe rede vs indirecte rede

Let's compare direct and indirect speech. In direct speech, you quote exactly what someone said. Hij zegt: Ik ben moe." — He says: I am tired. In indirect speech, you report what was said — you paraphrase rather than quote. Hij zegt dat hij moe is. — He says that he is tired. Three things change. First, you add a conjunction — dat, of, or a question word. Second, the verb moves to the end of the bijzin. Third, pronouns shift to match the new speaker's perspective: ik becomes hij. Compare: Ze zegt: Ik kom morgen. — direct. Ze zegt dat ze morgen komt. — indirect. The verb komt" is at the end.

Type 1 — dat (verklaringen en gedachten)

The first type of reported speech uses dat — that. Use dat when you report a statement, a thought, or a belief — something the speaker presents as true or likely. The verb in the dat-clause goes to the end. Ze zegt dat ze morgen werkt. — She says she is working tomorrow. Ik denk dat hij gelijk heeft. — I think that he is right. We hopen dat het mooi weer wordt. — We hope that the weather will be nice. The reporting verbs for dat include zeggen — to say, denken — to think, weten — to know, hopen — to hope, vinden — to find or think, and geloven — to believe. In all cases: conjunction dat, then the subject, then the rest, and the verb last.

Type 2 — of (ja/nee-vragen en onzekerheid)

The second type uses of — whether. Use of when you report a yes/no question, or when you express uncertainty about something. The verb again goes to the end. Ze vraagt of hij morgen werkt. — She asks whether he is working tomorrow. Ik weet niet of ze komt. — I don't know whether she is coming. Hij kijkt of de deur open is. — He checks whether the door is open. Notice the key contrast between dat and of. Ik weet dat ze komt — I know that she is coming; with weten, dat gives known information. Ik weet niet of ze komt — I don't know whether she is coming; with niet weten, of expresses uncertainty. The reporting verbs for of include vragen — to ask, weten in combination with niet, kijken — to check, and controleren — to verify. One important note: this of means whether or if — it is not the same as the coordinating of from Lesson thirteen that means or.

Type 3 — vraagwoorden als voegwoord

The third type uses a question word as the conjunction. When you report a wh-question — a question about who, what, where, when, why, or how — the question word itself connects the two clauses. The verb or verb group still goes to the end of the bijzin. Ik weet niet waar hij woont. — I don't know where he lives. Ze vraagt wanneer de les begint. — She asks when the lesson starts. Ik weet niet hoe je dat doet. — I don't know how you do that. Hij vraagt wat jij wilt. — He asks what you want. The question word fills the position right after the reporting verb and functions exactly like a subordinating conjunction — everything after it follows bijzin word order with the verb or verb group at the end.

Vraagwoord	Betekenis
wie	who
wat	what
waar	where
wanneer	when
waarom	why
hoe	how
welke	which

Woordvolgorde — de bijzin geldt altijd

The key insight of this lesson is that all three types of reported speech share the same word order rule: the conjunction comes first, then the subject, then everything else, and the verb is last. Dat, of, en vraagwoorden — all three work as subordinating conjunctions. Ik denk dat hij thuis is. Ze vraagt of je koffie wilt. Ik weet niet waar ze woont. The pattern is identical. If you already know the bijzin rule from Lesson thirteen, you already know the word order for all Dutch reported speech.

Type	Voegwoord	Voorbeeld
Statement	dat	Ik denk dat hij thuis IS.
Yes/no question	of	Ze vraagt of je koffie WILT.
Wh-question	vraagwoord	Ik weet niet waar ze WOONT.

Wat heb je geleerd?

Let's review. Dutch reported speech has three constructions. Use dat when you report a statement, thought, or belief — the verb or verb group moves to the end. Ze zegt dat ze morgen werkt. Use of when you report a yes/no question or express uncertainty — of means whether, and again the verb or verb group goes to the end. Ik weet niet of ze komt. Use a vraagwoord when you report a wh-question — the question word becomes the conjunction and the verb or verb group goes to the end. Ze vraagt waar hij woont. In all three cases the word order is the same: conjunction, subject, rest, verb or verb group at the end.

Practice What You Learned

Reading about grammar is step one — using it is what makes it stick. In My Dutch Journal Academy you can watch the full video of this lesson, do interactive exercises that check your answers instantly, and practise all the vocabulary from the A2 course.