Two of the most useful things you can do to make a point clearer are to give an example and to draw a comparison. "Lots of fruit, such as apples and pears"; "this winter, compared with last year, has been mild." Dutch has dedicated markers for both, and the trap for English speakers isn't the vocabulary — it's that the two big workhorses behave differently in the sentence. bijvoorbeeld is an adverb, so when it opens a clause the verb inverts; zoals introduces a phrase or sub-clause and never touches the main verb. Sort that out and this whole area becomes reliable.
Giving examples: bijvoorbeeld
The standard "for example / for instance" is bijvoorbeeld, abbreviated bijv. or, more old-fashioned, b.v. It's an adverb, so it's mobile: it can sit in the middle field, or it can be fronted — and when fronted it fills slot 1, forcing the verb in front of the subject.
Je kunt van alles doen in Amsterdam. Bijvoorbeeld een grachtenrondvaart maken.
There's loads to do in Amsterdam. For example, take a canal cruise.
We zouden bijvoorbeeld op vrijdag kunnen afspreken.
We could meet on Friday, for instance. (bijvoorbeeld in the middle field — no inversion needed)
Bijvoorbeeld in Duitsland is dat heel gewoon.
In Germany, for example, that's completely normal. (fronted → verb 'is' before subject 'dat')
A more emphatic, conversational way to single out an instance is neem nou ("take, for example...", literally "take now"). It points at a concrete case to prove a general claim.
Het openbaar vervoer is hier slecht geregeld. Neem nou de bus naar het ziekenhuis: die rijdt maar één keer per uur.
Public transport here is badly organised. Take the bus to the hospital, for instance: it only runs once an hour.
In writing, ter illustratie ("by way of illustration") is a more formal lead-in to a worked example; fronted, it inverts like any adverbial.
Ter illustratie geef ik een voorbeeld uit de praktijk.
By way of illustration, I'll give an example from practice.
Introducing examples and comparisons with zoals
zoals means "such as", "like", or "as" and introduces an example phrase — it attaches to a noun and lists instances of it. Critically, zoals does not invert the main clause, because it isn't an adverb opening the main clause; it heads a comparison phrase tucked inside the sentence.
Ik hou van zuidvruchten, zoals dadels en vijgen.
I love dried fruit, such as dates and figs.
Steden zoals Utrecht en Groningen zijn perfect voor een dagje uit.
Cities such as Utrecht and Groningen are perfect for a day out.
zoals also means "(just) as / the way" when it introduces a full sub-clause of comparison. As a subordinating element it sends that sub-clause's own verb to the end — but it still leaves the main clause's verb alone.
Het ging precies zoals ik had verwacht.
It went exactly as I had expected. (sub-clause verb 'had verwacht' at the end; main verb 'ging' untouched)
The close cousin net als ("just like") compares two things directly, usually nouns, and likewise introduces a phrase without inverting the main clause.
Net als vorig jaar gaan we in juli met vakantie.
Just like last year, we're going on holiday in July. (the fronted element is the whole phrase 'net als vorig jaar', and the verb 'gaan' follows it in second position)
The more formal written variant is evenals ("as well as", "just like"), written as one word.
Evenals haar zus studeert ze rechten.
Like her sister, she studies law.
Comparing: vergeleken met and in vergelijking met
To set two things side by side, Dutch uses vergeleken met and the slightly more formal in vergelijking met, both meaning "compared with / in comparison to". They head an adverbial phrase; when that phrase is fronted, the main verb inverts (because the phrase fills slot 1).
Vergeleken met vorige winter is het nu hartstikke zacht.
Compared with last winter, it's incredibly mild now.
In vergelijking met de buurlanden investeert Nederland weinig in spoor.
In comparison with neighbouring countries, the Netherlands invests little in rail.
To weigh two sides of an argument, aan de ene kant ... aan de andere kant ("on the one hand ... on the other hand") is the standard frame. Each half is an adverbial, so fronting either one inverts the verb.
Aan de ene kant is het goedkoper, aan de andere kant kost het veel meer tijd.
On the one hand it's cheaper, on the other hand it takes a lot more time.
A shorter contrast-comparison marker, daarentegen ("by contrast", "on the other hand"), is a pure conjunctional adverb and inverts when fronted.
Mijn broer houdt van drukte. Ik daarentegen zoek juist de rust op.
My brother loves a crowd. I, by contrast, seek out the quiet.
zoals vs als: the classic confusion
English "like/as" collapses two Dutch words that aren't interchangeable. Use zoals to give an example or say "the way that": steden zoals Utrecht ("cities such as Utrecht"), zoals je weet ("as you know"). Use als for "as" in the sense of a role or function, and after comparatives it's dan (not als) in careful standard Dutch. Saying als where you mean zoals is one of the most persistent learner errors.
Steden zoals Rotterdam groeien snel.
Cities such as Rotterdam are growing fast. (examples → zoals)
Hij werkt als kok in een restaurant.
He works as a cook in a restaurant. (role/function → als)
Common Mistakes
❌ Steden als Utrecht en Groningen zijn leuk.
Sloppy — for 'such as / for example', use 'zoals', not bare 'als': 'Steden zoals Utrecht...'. (Bare 'als' is heard colloquially but is dispreferred in writing.)
✅ Steden zoals Utrecht en Groningen zijn leuk.
Cities such as Utrecht and Groningen are nice.
❌ Bijvoorbeeld in Duitsland het is heel gewoon.
Incorrect — fronted 'bijvoorbeeld' is an adverb, so the verb inverts: 'Bijvoorbeeld in Duitsland is het heel gewoon'.
✅ Bijvoorbeeld in Duitsland is het heel gewoon.
In Germany, for example, it's completely normal.
❌ Vergeleken met vorig jaar het is veel drukker.
Incorrect — the fronted comparison phrase fills slot 1, so the verb comes second: 'Vergeleken met vorig jaar is het...'.
✅ Vergeleken met vorig jaar is het veel drukker.
Compared with last year, it's much busier.
❌ Ik heb veel fruit gekocht, b.v. een B.V. opgericht.
Mixed-up abbreviation — 'b.v.' (for example) and 'B.V.' (a private limited company) are different; in writing use 'bijv.' for 'for example' to avoid the clash.
✅ Ik heb veel fruit gekocht, bijv. appels en peren.
I bought a lot of fruit, e.g. apples and pears.
❌ Net als vorig jaar we gaan in juli weg.
Incorrect — 'net als vorig jaar' is a fronted adverbial filling slot 1, so the verb inverts: 'Net als vorig jaar gaan we...'.
✅ Net als vorig jaar gaan we in juli weg.
Just like last year, we're going away in July.
Key Takeaways
- bijvoorbeeld (abbreviated bijv., older b.v.) is an adverb: front it and the verb inverts; or tuck it into the middle field with no inversion.
- zoals introduces example phrases ("such as") and comparison clauses ("the way that") and does not invert the main verb; in a sub-clause it sends that clause's verb to the end.
- Comparison phrases like vergeleken met, in vergelijking met, net als, aan de ene/andere kant invert the main verb when fronted, because the whole phrase fills slot 1.
- daarentegen is a true conjunctional adverb — inversion when fronted.
- Don't substitute als for zoals when you mean "such as"; reserve als for "as" in the role sense.
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Discourse Markers: OverviewB1 — A map of the Dutch connectives that hold a text together — cause/result, contrast, addition, sequence, summary — and the one rule that governs them all: a marker's grammatical class (coordinator, conjunctional adverb, subordinator) decides what it does to the verb.
- Conjunctional Adverbs: Daarom, Dus, Toch, Echter, BovendienB2 — Words like daarom, dus and echter connect ideas in meaning but are grammatically adverbs — so when they open a clause they force V2 inversion, unlike want (no change) and omdat (verb-final).
- Adding and Listing InformationB2 — The Dutch markers for piling up points and ordering a list — 'en', 'ook', 'bovendien', 'daarnaast', 'verder', 'tevens', 'ten eerste/ten tweede', 'enzovoort' — and which of them force the verb to invert when they open a sentence.
- Inversion After a Fronted ElementA2 — When anything but the subject opens a Dutch main clause, the subject and finite verb swap — including the hallmark 'verb-comma-verb' collision after a fronted subordinate clause.
- Summarizing and ReformulatingC1 — The connectives that wrap up or restate an argument — 'kortom', 'al met al', 'met andere woorden', 'dat wil zeggen (d.w.z.)', 'oftewel' — and exactly what each one does to the word order of the clause it opens.