Yes/No Questions in Dutch

Yes/no questions are the simplest type of question in Dutch. You do not need any special question words — just swap the subject and the verb. The conjugated verb moves to the first position, the subject follows it, and the rest of the sentence stays the same. Add a rising intonation at the end, and you have a question.

This subject-verb inversion is something you have already seen with the V2 rule in Dutch main clauses. In statements, the verb is in second position; in yes/no questions, it slides to first position. If you are comfortable with the basic word order, forming yes/no questions will feel like a natural extension.

Dutch does not use an auxiliary "do" to form questions the way English does. There is no equivalent of "Do you speak Dutch?" — Dutch simply inverts to Spreek je Nederlands?

Formation / How It Works

The Basic Pattern

Take a statement and move the verb to position 1:

Statement	Question
Jij spreekt Nederlands.	Spreek je Nederlands?
Hij woont in Amsterdam.	Woont hij in Amsterdam?
Jullie hebben een auto.	Hebben jullie een auto?
U bent de dokter.	Bent u de dokter?

The Jij Rule

Remember: when jij/je comes after the verb, the -t drops from the verb:

Statement	Question
Jij hebt een hond.	Heb je een hond?
Jij werkt hier.	Werk je hier?
Jij gaat mee.	Ga je mee?
Jij bent klaar.	Ben je klaar?

This rule applies only to jij/je, not to u, hij, or other subjects.

With Modal Verbs

When there is a modal verb, the modal goes to position 1 and the infinitive stays at the end:

Statement	Question
Je kunt zwemmen.	Kun je zwemmen?
Hij moet werken.	Moet hij werken?
Jullie willen mee.	Willen jullie mee?

Answering Yes/No Questions

Type	Dutch	English
Affirmative	Ja.	Yes.
Negative	Nee.	No.
Affirmative (confirming)	Ja, dat klopt.	Yes, that is correct.
Negative (correcting)	Nee, dat klopt niet.	No, that is not correct.
Affirmative (full sentence)	Ja, ik spreek Nederlands.	Yes, I speak Dutch.
Negative (full sentence)	Nee, ik spreek geen Nederlands.	No, I do not speak Dutch.

Negative Questions

You can also form negative yes/no questions, often to express surprise or seek confirmation:

• Heb je geen auto? — Don't you have a car?
• Werk je niet op maandag? — Don't you work on Monday?
• Kun je niet komen? — Can't you come?

Tag Questions

Dutch uses simple tag constructions to turn statements into questions:

• Je spreekt Nederlands, toch? — You speak Dutch, right?
• Dat is jouw fiets, hè? — That is your bike, isn't it?
• Hij komt morgen, of niet? — He is coming tomorrow, or not?

Examples in Context

Dutch	English	Note
Spreek je Engels?	Do you speak English?	-t dropped (jij)
Woont hij in Rotterdam?	Does he live in Rotterdam?	Standard inversion
Hebben jullie kinderen?	Do you have children?	Plural
Is dit jouw tas?	Is this your bag?	With zijn
Mag ik hier zitten?	May I sit here?	Modal verb
Werk je morgen?	Do you work tomorrow?	-t dropped (jij)
Bent u meneer Jansen?	Are you Mr. Jansen?	Formal
Kun je me helpen?	Can you help me?	Modal, -t dropped
Ga je mee?	Are you coming along?	-t dropped (jij)
Heb je honger?	Are you hungry?	-t dropped (jij)
Komt zij ook?	Is she coming too?	Third person
Wil je koffie?	Do you want coffee?	Offer
Is het ver?	Is it far?	Simple question

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
Doe je spreken Nederlands?	Spreek je Nederlands?	Dutch does not use doen as an auxiliary for questions. Just invert subject and main verb.
Werkt je hier?	Werk je hier?	The -t drops when jij/je follows the verb.
Je spreekt Nederlands?	Spreek je Nederlands?	Rising intonation alone can work in casual speech, but the standard way is to invert.
Bent je klaar?	Ben je klaar?	Zijn also drops the -t: bent → ben before je.

Practice Tips

1. Statement-to-question conversion. Take any statement and convert it to a yes/no question by inverting subject and verb. Start with Jij hebt een hond → Heb je een hond? Do ten of these daily until inversion becomes automatic.

2. Practice answering in full. When you ask yourself a question, practice both short and full answers: Spreek je Nederlands? — Ja, ik spreek een beetje Nederlands. / Nee, ik spreek geen Nederlands. This drills both the question and the answer structure.

3. Tag question practice. Add toch?, hè?, or of niet? to statements to turn them into soft questions: Het regent, toch? Je bent moe, hè? We gaan morgen, of niet? These are very common in Dutch conversation.

Related Concepts

• Basic Word Order
• Question Words
• Negation
• Subject Pronouns