Breakdown of Nemen jullie liever een salade of friet?
een
a/an
jullie
you (plural)
nemen
to take (general, abstract, e.g., transport, medicine)
liever
rather (prefer)
of
or
de salade
the salad
de friet
the fries
Questions & Answers about Nemen jullie liever een salade of friet?
Why doesn't this sentence use a verb that translates exactly to "prefer"?
In Dutch, "prefer" is usually expressed using an adverb rather than a specific verb. You take a normal action verb—here, nemen (to take/have)—and add the adverb liever (rather). Literally, this asks "Do you rather take a salad or fries?"
Why do we use nemen here instead of a word for eating, like eten?
Just like in English where you might say "I'll have a salad", Dutch uses nemen (literally "to take") when choosing, ordering, or offering food and drinks. You could use eten, but nemen is very natural for making a choice.
Where does liever need to go in the sentence?
In a question, the verb comes first (Nemen) and the subject comes second (jullie). The adverb liever generally goes immediately after the subject, right before the options (een salade of friet) you are choosing between.
Why is it een salade but just friet without an article?
In Dutch, friet is often treated as an uncountable mass noun (similar to "rice" or "soup" in English). Because of this, you ask for "a salad" (een salade) but just "fries" (friet) without the word een.
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