Dutch Indefinite Words: alle, allemaal, beide, sommige | B1 Dutch, Lesson 16

Welcome to B1 Lesson sixteen. In this lesson, you learn about onbepaalde woorden — indefinite words. You already know some from earlier levels: iemand, iets, niemand, niets. In this lesson, you go further. You learn the three indefinite personal pronouns — ze, men, and je — which let you talk about people in general without naming them. You also complete the full indefinite system for person, thing, time, and place. And you learn two important distinctions that confuse many learners: alle versus allemaal, and beide versus beiden. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use these words correctly in your own sentences.

Indefinite personal pronouns — talking about people in general

The first new element in this lesson is the indefinite personal pronoun. In Dutch, you can talk about people in general — without referring to any specific person — using ze, men, or je. "Ze zeggen dat grammatica moeilijk is. They say that grammar is hard — but we do not know who they are. Ze refers to people in general. Men zegt dat grammatica moeilijk is. This is the same sentence in a more formal register. Men takes a singular verb: zegt, not zeggen. Je kunt van Nederland naar Spanje fietsen. You can cycle from the Netherlands to Spain — meaning it is possible for anyone. Je is very common in everyday speech and neutral informal writing. In more formal writing, men or a passive construction is often preferred. Now the key rules: ze always takes a plural verb; men always takes a singular verb; je always takes a singular verb. And crucially: only the unstressed forms are used as indefinite pronouns. You say ze, not zij. You say je, not jij". The stressed forms only refer to a specific person.

Two more indefinite words — we and wat

Two more indefinite words worth knowing. First, we — used to express a general rule or shared convention, depending on context. "We schrijven namen met een hoofdletter. We write names with a capital letter — that is a general rule in Dutch. In Nederland fietsen we veel. In the Netherlands, we cycle a lot — a general habit. Second, wat as an alternative to iets. Wij gaan iets eten and wij gaan wat eten are very close in meaning — both mean we are going to eat something. Wat is more informal and often sounds lighter or more conversational. Wat can also be placed before a noun to mean some: hij heeft wat vrienden — he has some friends. Heb je wat geld? — do you have some money? As a rule of thumb: iets is always correct. Wat is a natural, informal alternative. Do not confuse this wat with the question word wat" — they look the same but the meaning is completely different.

The full indefinite system

Here is the full indefinite system. Every category — person, thing, time, and place — has three forms: one for zero, one for some or someone, and one for all or every. For person: niemand means no one, iemand means someone, iedereen means everyone. For things: niets means nothing, iets means something, alles means everything. For time: nooit means never, ooit means someday or ever, altijd means always. Ooit is worth a closer look: in a question it means ever — "Ben je ooit in Parijs geweest? Have you ever been to Paris? In a statement it often means someday — Ooit ga ik naar Japan. Someday I will go to Japan. For place: nergens means nowhere, ergens means somewhere, overal means everywhere. Now one important grammar rule. Iedereen and alles always take a singular verb — even though they refer to many people or things. Iedereen komt naar de les. Everyone comes to class — not komen. Alles is goed gegaan. Everything went well — not zijn. This is one of the most common mistakes with iedereen and alles", so remember: singular verb, every time.

alle versus allemaal

Alle and allemaal both mean all — but they work differently. Alle is placed directly before a plural noun. "Alle studenten komen naar de les. All students come to class. Alle lessen zijn leuk. All lessons are fun. With singular mass nouns you often use al plus the article: Al het geld is weg. All the money is gone. Alle works like an adjective — it comes before the noun it describes. Allemaal is different. It does not go before a noun. Instead, it refers back to the subject or the object of the sentence. Ze komen allemaal naar de les. They all come to class — allemaal refers back to ze, the subject. Hij heeft de lessen allemaal gevolgd. He followed all the lessons — allemaal refers back to de lessen, the object, and it comes after it. The key distinction: alle before a plural noun; allemaal" after a pronoun or noun it refers to.

beide / beiden / allebei — both

The word for both in Dutch has several forms. As a pronoun, the form depends on whether you are referring to people or things. When referring to people, you use beiden — with -n. "Ik ken Sien en Siebren. Beiden zijn docent. I know Sien and Siebren. Both are teachers — beiden, with -n, because Sien and Siebren are people. When referring to things, you use beide — without -n. Hij leert Chinees en Russisch. Hij vindt beide moeilijk. He finds both difficult — beide without -n, because Chinese and Russian are things. When used as an adjective directly before a noun, the form is always beide: Beide docenten zijn goed. Both teachers are good. Beide talen zijn moeilijk. Both languages are difficult. And when you want to say both of them in a predicative position — after the subject — you use allebei. De docenten zijn allebei goed. The teachers are both good. Beiden is a formal pronoun for two people, used as the subject. Allebei means both of them" and can refer to people or things — it is the most natural everyday form after the subject or object.

Quick overview — sommige, enkele, andere

Three more indefinite words that you will encounter often. Sommige means some — not all, not none. "Sommige studenten kwamen te laat. Some students came late. When standing alone as a pronoun referring to people, it becomes sommigen: Sommigen kwamen te laat. Some people came late — with -n at the end. Enkele means a few — a small number. Enkele studenten kwamen te laat. A few students. As a pronoun referring to people: enkelen. Enkelen kwamen te laat. A few came late. Andere means others. De andere studenten — the other students. As a pronoun: hij luistert naar de anderen — he listens to the others. You will notice the same pattern here as in Lesson fourteen: when these words stand alone as pronouns referring to people, they add -n". As adjectives before a noun, they do not. You do not need to produce these actively at B1 — but you will recognise and understand them.

Key Takeaways

Four things to hold onto from this lesson. First: the indefinite personal pronouns. Ze, men, and je all refer to people in general. Ze takes a plural verb. Men and je take singular verbs. Only use the unstressed forms — ze not zij, je not jij. Second: the full indefinite system. Four categories — person, thing, time, place — each with three forms: none, some, all. Iedereen and alles always take a singular verb — that is the grammar rule most students get wrong. Third: alle and allemaal. Alle goes before a plural noun. Allemaal refers back to the subject or object and stands after it. Fourth: beide, beiden, and allebei. As a pronoun referring to people: beiden. As a pronoun referring to things: beide. As an adjective before a noun: beide. And allebei means both of them in everyday Dutch — it can refer to people or things, and comes after the subject or object. And the -n rule you know from Lesson fourteen applies here too: sommigen, enkelen, anderen — the pronoun form referring to people always adds -n.

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 B1 course.

Follow us on Instagram for bite-sized Dutch grammar every week.

Continue the course

← Previous lesson: The Dutch Past Participle as Adjective: gekookt vs kokend

Next lesson: Dutch Compound Words: Why huisboot and boothuis Are Different Things →

Veel succes en tot de volgende les! (Good luck and see you in the next lesson!)