Questions & Answers about Drinkt u vaak koffie?
Why is there no word for "Do" at the beginning of the Dutch sentence?
In English, we use "do" to ask yes/no questions (Do you drink?). Dutch doesn't do this. Instead, it simply swaps the order of the verb and the subject. So, "You drink" (U drinkt) turns into "Drink you?" (Drinkt u?).
The current lesson says to drop the "-t" from the verb for "you" in questions. Why does drinkt still have a "-t" here?
That dropping rule only applies to the informal "you" (jij or je). When you use the formal "you" (u), the verb always keeps its -t, even in a question. If this sentence used the informal "you", it would drop the "-t" and become: Drink jij vaak koffie?
Why is vaak (often) placed after the subject, instead of before the verb like in English?
In a Dutch yes/no question, the verb must be in the first position and the subject must be in the second position. This means the verb (drinkt) and the subject (u) are locked together at the front. Adverbs like vaak generally come right after this verb-subject pair.