Learn Dutch: Ik zie de baas soms. - I sometimes see the boss.

For most regular verbs, you remove -en from the infinitive (the full dictionary form) to get the "I" form, which is called the stem. But zien (to see) is a short, irregular verb. You only remove the -n, which leaves you with zie for the Ik form.

In English we say "I sometimes see". Why doesn't soms come before the verb in Dutch?

In a standard Dutch sentence, the working verb must always sit in the second position. Because the subject Ik is in position one, the verb zie must come right after it. Adverbs of frequency like soms (sometimes) are forced to move later in the sentence.

Why is soms at the very end of the sentence instead of right after the verb?

Both are actually correct! You can say Ik zie soms de baas or Ik zie de baas soms. When the object of your sentence is a specific person or thing (like de baas), frequency words can go after it. Placing soms at the very end gives it a little extra emphasis, highlighting that you only see the boss occasionally.

How do I pronounce the vowel sound in zie?

The Dutch vowel combination ie makes a long "ee" sound, exactly like in the English word "see" or "tree". So the word zie sounds very much like the American pronunciation of the letter Z ("zee").