Chef Smakelijk's Recipe for Negation: When to Use 'Geen' and 'Niet'

Chef Smakelijk here, hanging up my apron for a moment to share a different kind of recipe with you today. It’s not about food, but it’s essential for a tasty conversation in Dutch! We're going to master the art of negation with two tricky ingredients: geen and niet.

In Dutch, knowing how to say “no” or “not” is just as important as knowing your ingredients. Using the wrong one can change the entire flavor of your sentence! But don't worry, I have a simple recipe to help you understand exactly when to use each one.

Let’s get cooking!

The Main Ingredient: When to Use “Niet”

Think of niet as a special spice. You use it to change the taste of a specific part of your sentence, like an action (verb), a description (adjective), or a very particular item (a noun with de or het).

1. Negating Verbs (Actions)

Niet often comes after the verb to say that an action is not happening.

• Ik eet niet. (I do not eat.)
• Hij werkt niet. (He does not work.)

2. Negating Adjectives and Adverbs (Descriptions)

You also use niet to negate a quality or a characteristic.

• Het is niet warm. (It is not warm.)
• Hij praat niet snel. (He does not speak quickly.)

3. Negating Nouns with a Definite Article (de or het)

When you are talking about a specific noun (the book, the car), you use niet. A key tip here is that niet usually comes after the specific noun, often towards the end of the sentence part.

• Ik heb het boek niet. (I do not have the book.)
• Zij heeft de auto niet. (She does not have the car.)

The Zero-Quantity Ingredient: When to Use “Geen”

Geen is much simpler. Think of it as meaning “zero” or “not a / not any”. You use it to say that a noun is completely absent. It's the negation of an indefinite noun.

1. Negating Nouns without an Article or with “een”

If you are talking about a noun in general, not a specific one, you use geen. This is the most common use!

• Ik heb geen boek. (I do not have a book / I have no book.)
• Hij heeft geen auto. (He does not have a car / He has no car.)

2. Expressing the Absence of Quantity

Geen means you have a quantity of zero.

• Er zijn geen appels. (There are no apples.)
• Ik heb geen geld. (I have no money.)

Chef Smakelijk's Golden Rule!

Here’s a simple tip from my kitchen to yours: If you can replace the negation in English with “not a,” “not any,” or “zero,” you almost always need geen. For everything else (negating actions, descriptions, or specific “the” nouns), niet is your go-to ingredient!

Chef's Advanced Tips: Adding More Flavour!

• The Place of Niet: In longer sentences, niet likes to move towards the end. It settles just before the element it's negating. For example: Ik ga morgen niet naar de markt.
• Modal Verbs: With verbs like kunnen, willen, or mogen, niet comes before the other verb at the end. For example: Ik kan niet zwemmen.
• A Special Ingredient: Languages 🗣️ To say you don't speak a language, the correct ingredient is always geen. For example: Ik spreek geen Duits. (I don't speak German). The only exception is for creating a direct contrast: Ik spreek niet Duits, maar Nederlands. (I speak not German, but Dutch). The golden rule is simple: always use geen with languages!

Chef's Grand Recipe Book: A Feast of Examples!

Here is a full menu of examples, organized by tense and sentence type, so you can see every flavor combination.

1. Examples by Tense (Voorbeelden per Tijd)

Present Tense (Tegenwoordige Tijd)

• Wij hebben geen kinderen. 👶 (We have no children.)
• Hij heeft niet veel vrienden. 🤝 (He does not have many friends.)

Chef's Note: Niet veel is the correct way to say “not many”. We never say “geen veel”!

Past Tense (Verleden Tijd)

• Gisteren had ik geen tijd. (Yesterday I had no time.)
• Wij vonden het hotel niet leuk. (We did not like the hotel.)

Perfect Tense (Voltooide Tijd)

• Ik heb de film niet gezien. (I have not seen the movie.)
• Zij heeft geen koffie gedronken. (She has not drunk any coffee.)
• We hebben geen auto gehuurd. (We have not rented a car.)

2. Examples in Questions (Voorbeelden in Vraagzinnen)

• Waarom eet je niet? (Why are you not eating?)
• Ga je vanavond niet mee naar de film? (Aren't you coming along to the movies tonight?)
• Heb jij geen broers of zussen? 👫 (Do you have no brothers or sisters?)
• Chef's Tip: You could also ask this in the singular: “Heb jij geen broer of zus?” Both are perfectly natural!
• Is dit geen goede oplossing? (Isn't this a good solution?)

3. Examples in Subordinate Clauses (Voorbeelden met een Bijzin)

In a subordinate clause (bijzin), which often starts with dat (that) or omdat (because), the verb moves to the end. Niet moves with it, sitting just before the verb(s).

• Ik denk dat hij morgen niet komt. (I think that he is not coming tomorrow.)
• Zij is boos omdat ik haar niet heb gebeld. (She is angry because I did not call her.)
• Ik weet dat hij geen auto heeft. (I know that he has no car.)
• Het is jammer dat jullie geen tijd hadden. (It's a pity that you had no time.)

Chef's Flavour Challenge: Niet vs. Geen

Notice the difference a single word makes!

• Ik heb de nieuwe schoenen niet gekocht. (I did not buy the new shoes. → Specific shoes)
• Ik heb geen nieuwe schoenen gekocht. (I did not buy any new shoes. → No shoes in general)

Practice Time! (Oefenen!)

Now it's your turn to step into the grammar kitchen! Share your own sentence using “geen” or “niet” with us on Instagram 👉 @mydutchjournal

Mastering “geen” and “niet” is a huge step towards sounding fluent and confident in Dutch. Well done!

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