To describe a normal day in Dutch you need two things English handles very differently: a set of frozen time-of-day forms that start with a strange little apostrophe-s ('s ochtends, 's avonds), and a family of separable routine verbs (opstaan, aankleden) that split apart in the sentence. Get the apostrophe wrong or forget to split the verb and you sound off immediately, because these are the most everyday sentences there are. This page lays out the parts of the day, the today-words, and the core routine verbs — and explains where that puzzling 's comes from.
The parts of the day: the 's-forms
Dutch divides the day into five named stretches. To say "in the morning / in the afternoon" and so on — habitually, as a rule — Dutch uses a special form beginning with 's:
| Dutch | Part of day | Rough hours |
|---|---|---|
| 's ochtends / 's morgens | in the morning | ~6–12 |
| 's middags | in the afternoon | ~12–18 |
| 's avonds | in the evening | ~18–24 |
| 's nachts | at night | ~24–6 |
| tussen de middag | at midday / lunchtime | ~12–13 |
's ochtends and 's morgens are interchangeable — both mean "in the morning," with 's morgens a touch more traditional and 's ochtends slightly more common in everyday speech. These forms mean the habitual time: 's avonds lees ik is "in the evenings I read," as a routine, not "this evening."
's Ochtends drink ik altijd eerst een kop koffie.
In the mornings I always have a cup of coffee first. ('s ochtends = in the morning, habitually)
's Avonds zijn we meestal gewoon thuis.
In the evenings we're usually just at home. ('s avonds = in the evening)
Ik werk niet graag 's nachts.
I don't like working at night. ('s nachts = at night)
Where does that 's come from?
That apostrophe-s is not a typo and not a possessive in the English sense — it is a frozen genitive. In older Dutch, "in the morning" was des ochtends ("of the morning," genitive case). Over time des eroded to just 's, with the apostrophe marking the dropped letters. So 's is short for the old genitive article des, and the -s on ochtends, avonds, middags, nachts is the matching genitive ending. The whole form is a fossil: nobody parses it as a case anymore, but the spelling preserves the history.
This explains the spelling rules that catch learners:
- The apostrophe comes before the s: 's ochtends — never s' or ´s.
- It is a straight apostrophe attached to the s, written as a separate little unit: 's ochtends, 's avonds.
- At the start of a sentence, the 's stays lowercase and the next word is capitalised: *'s Avonds ben ik moe — not 'S avonds*.
's Middags eten we meestal warm, niet 's avonds.
At midday we usually eat a hot meal, not in the evening. (capital on 'Middags', not on the 's)
The today-words: vanmorgen, vanmiddag, vanavond
The 's-forms mean the habitual time. To talk about a specific part of today, Dutch fuses van ("of") with the part of the day into a single word:
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| vanmorgen / vanochtend | this morning |
| vanmiddag | this afternoon |
| vanavond | this evening / tonight |
| vannacht | last night / tonight (the night) |
| vandaag | today |
So the contrast is: 's avonds = "in the evenings" (every evening); vanavond = "this evening" (today). Mixing them up changes a routine into a one-off.
Vanavond koken we samen; normaal kook ik 's avonds alleen.
Tonight we're cooking together; normally I cook alone in the evenings. (vanavond = tonight vs 's avonds = habitually)
Heb je vanmorgen al ontbeten?
Have you had breakfast yet this morning? (vanmorgen = this morning)
Vannacht heb ik slecht geslapen.
Last night I slept badly. (vannacht = last night)
The routine verbs: getting up and ready
The core of any daily routine is a cluster of separable verbs: opstaan ("to get up"), aankleden ("to get dressed"), aandoen ("to put on"). In a main clause the particle (op-, aan-) breaks off and jumps to the end of the sentence.
| Dutch | English | Type |
|---|---|---|
| wakker worden | to wake up | fixed phrase (zijn) |
| opstaan | to get up / get out of bed | separable (zijn) |
| douchen | to shower | regular (hebben) |
| zich aankleden | to get dressed | separable + reflexive (hebben) |
| naar bed gaan | to go to bed | fixed phrase (zijn) |
Two perfect-tense traps. First, opstaan and wakker worden describe a change of state/position, so they take zijn (not hebben) in the perfect: Ik *ben vroeg opgestaan ("I got up early"). Second, *aankleden is reflexive — you dress yourself: Ik kleed me aan ("I get dressed"). The reflexive pronoun (me, je, zich) is obligatory.
Ik sta doordeweeks om half zeven op.
On weekdays I get up at half past six. (separable 'opstaan': 'sta ... op')
Vanmorgen ben ik veel te laat opgestaan.
This morning I got up far too late. (perfect with ZIJN: 'ben ... opgestaan')
Eerst word ik wakker, dan douche ik en daarna kleed ik me aan.
First I wake up, then I shower, and after that I get dressed. (wakker worden; douchen; reflexive 'kleed me aan')
De kinderen kunnen zich nog niet alleen aankleden.
The children can't get dressed by themselves yet. (reflexive: 'zich aankleden')
The meals: ontbijten, lunchen, avondeten
Dutch turns the three meals into verbs as well as nouns. The breakfast and lunch verbs are clean: ontbijten ("to have breakfast"), lunchen ("to have lunch"). For dinner, the verb is usually the separable avondeten or, more commonly in speech, the phrase warm eten ("to eat a hot meal") or just eten. Many Dutch people eat their warm meal in the evening and a cold sandwich lunch tussen de middag (at midday).
We ontbijten meestal samen voordat de kinderen naar school gaan.
We usually have breakfast together before the kids go to school. (ontbijten = to have breakfast)
Tussen de middag lunch ik vaak met een boterham op kantoor.
At lunchtime I often have a sandwich at the office. (tussen de middag = at midday; lunchen)
Hoe laat eten jullie 's avonds warm?
What time do you have your hot meal in the evening? ('s avonds warm eten = the evening hot meal)
Na het avondeten ruimen we samen de keuken op.
After dinner we tidy the kitchen together. (het avondeten = dinner, as a noun)
Common Mistakes
❌ s'avonds lees ik graag.
Incorrect — the apostrophe goes before the s, and there's a space: 's avonds.
✅ 's Avonds lees ik graag.
In the evenings I like to read. (note the capital on 'Avonds')
❌ Ik opsta om zeven uur.
Incorrect — 'opstaan' is separable; the particle 'op' goes to the end: 'sta ... op'.
✅ Ik sta om zeven uur op.
I get up at seven o'clock.
❌ Ik heb me vanmorgen verslapen en ben te laat opgestaan... 'Ik heb opgestaan'.
Incorrect auxiliary — 'opstaan' takes 'zijn', not 'hebben', in the perfect.
✅ Ik ben vanmorgen te laat opgestaan.
I got up too late this morning.
❌ Ik kleed aan en ga naar mijn werk.
Incorrect — 'aankleden' is reflexive; you need 'me': 'ik kleed me aan'.
✅ Ik kleed me aan en ga naar mijn werk.
I get dressed and go to work.
❌ 's Avonds ga ik naar de bioscoop. (meaning: tonight)
Wrong word for a one-off — ''s avonds' means 'in the evenings' habitually; for 'tonight' use 'vanavond'.
✅ Vanavond ga ik naar de bioscoop.
Tonight I'm going to the cinema.
Key Takeaways
- The day's stretches use the frozen-genitive 's-forms: 's ochtends / 's morgens, 's middags, 's avonds, 's nachts, plus tussen de middag for lunchtime. The 's is a worn-down des ("of the").
- Spell it apostrophe + s; at the start of a sentence, capitalise the next word: 's Avonds.
- The 's-forms mean the habitual time; the van- words (vanmorgen, vanmiddag, vanavond, vannacht) mean a specific part of today.
- Routine verbs opstaan and aankleden are separable (particle to the end). Aankleden is also reflexive (zich aankleden).
- Opstaan and wakker worden take zijn in the perfect (a change of state): Ik ben opgestaan.
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