Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Learn Dutch adverbs of quantity such as veel, weinig, genoeg, and others to express amounts accurately. This lesson covers their use with countable and uncountable nouns and includes practical examples like 'Hij heeft veel geld' and 'Wil je een beetje suiker?'. Understand differences from English and improve your everyday Dutch communication.
  1. 'Veel' and 'weinig' are used with countable and uncountable nouns.
  2. 'Een beetje' is only used with uncountable words.
  3. 'Alles' and 'niets' refer to a totality or absence.
Bijwoord (Adverb)Voorbeeld (Example)
Veel (Much)Hij heeft veel geld. (He has a lot of money.)
Weinig (few)Er is weinig melk in de winkel. (There is little milk in the shop.)
Een beetje (A little)Wil je een beetje suiker? (Would you like a little sugar?)
Genoeg (Enough)Heb je genoeg geld? (Do you have enough money?)
Niets (Nothing)Ik heb niets nodig. (I need nothing.)
Alles (Everything)Hij heeft alles betaald. (He has paid everything.)

Exercise 1: Bijwoorden van hoeveelheid (veel, weinig, genoeg,...)

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

genoeg, veel, niets, alles, een beetje

1. -:
Zij wil ... geld lenen.
(She wants to borrow a little money.)
2. +:
Hij heeft ... geld bij zich.
(He has a lot of money with him.)
3. --:
Ik heb ... in mijn portemonnee.
(I have nothing in my wallet.)
4. =:
Heb je ... geld om te betalen?
(Do you have enough money to pay?)
5. ++:
Hij heeft ... afgerekend bij de kassa.
(He has paid everything at the checkout.)
6. -:
Wil je ... suiker in je thee?
(Would you like a little sugar in your tea?)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct solution

1. Hij heeft ___ euro's in zijn portemonnee.

(He has ___ euros in his wallet.)

2. Er is ___ wisselgeld in de kassa vandaag.

(There is ___ change in the cash register today.)

3. Heeft u ___ munten om te betalen?

(Do you have ___ coins to pay?)

4. Zij geeft ___ korting op de prijs.

(She gives ___ discount on the price.)

5. Ik heb ___ betaald, want ik kreeg alles cadeau.

(I paid ___, because I got everything for free.)

6. We hebben ___ geteld, het geld klopt.

(We counted ___, the money is correct.)

Understanding Dutch Adverbs of Quantity

In this lesson, you will learn about Dutch adverbs of quantity, which express the amount or degree of something. Common examples include veel (a lot), weinig (few, little), and genoeg (enough). These words help you specify how much or how little there is of something in everyday conversations.

Key Adverbs and Their Uses

  • Veel and weinig can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns, such as veel geld (a lot of money) or weinig melk (little milk).
  • Een beetje (a little) is specifically used with uncountable nouns, for example, een beetje suiker (a little sugar).
  • Genoeg indicates sufficiency, like in genoeg geld (enough money).
  • Alles and niets refer to totality and absence respectively, such as alles betaald (paid everything) or niets nodig (need nothing).

Practical Examples

The lesson features useful sentences like "Hij heeft veel geld" (He has a lot of money) and "Wil je een beetje suiker?" (Would you like a little sugar?). These examples illustrate how these adverbs fit naturally in context.

Differences from English

Note that Dutch often uses adverbs like veel and weinig similarly to English "much," "many," "few," or "a little," but with some distinctions. For instance, een beetje is always with uncountable nouns, similar to "a bit of" or "a little" in English. Meanwhile, alles and niets cover total and zero quantities, equivalent to "everything" and "nothing." Understanding these will help you express quantities more precisely in Dutch.

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This content has been designed and reviewed by the coLanguage pedagogical team: About coLanguage

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Kato De Paepe

Business and languages

KdG University of Applied Sciences and Arts Antwerp

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Last Updated:

Thursday, 29/05/2025 19:02