Questions & Answers about Ik ben verkouden en mijn neus loopt.
How would I use wat here to say I have a bit of a cold?
You would place wat right before the adjective to act as a degree modifier: Ik ben wat verkouden. Because verkouden functions as an adjective in Dutch, wat naturally softens it to mean somewhat or a little.
Why does Dutch use ben (am) instead of the verb for have when talking about a cold?
In Dutch, verkouden is an adjective describing your physical state, similar to being sick (ziek). So instead of saying you have a cold, you literally say you are colded: Ik ben verkouden. You can use the verb for have (hebben) if you use the noun form (Ik heb een verkoudheid), but the adjective is far more common.
Is mijn neus loopt an English idiom that just happens to work in Dutch?
No, it is a completely natural Dutch expression! Just like in English, noses run in the Netherlands. You will also often hear the compound noun een loopneus (a runny nose), which you use with the verb hebben, as in Ik heb een loopneus.
Why does the word order stay normal in the second half of the sentence instead of sending the verb to the end?
The word en is a coordinating conjunction. This means it connects two independent main clauses without altering the word order of either one. Because of this, mijn neus loopt keeps the standard subject-verb order, exactly like the first half of the sentence.
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