Questions & Answers about Mag ik twee ons kaas en een pond boter?
Why is there no word for "of" between the amounts and the food, like in "twee ons kaas"?
This is a classic Dutch grammar rule for quantities. When you use a unit of measurement (like ons, pond, kilo, or liter), you place the noun directly after it without using a preposition. So, "200 grams of cheese" is simply twee ons kaas, and "a pound of butter" is een pond boter.
How much weight do ons and pond actually represent in Dutch?
They are specific metric weights used daily in the Netherlands, especially at markets or delis. An ons is exactly 100 grams, so twee ons is 200 grams. A pond is exactly 500 grams (half a kilo). Do not confuse them with the imperial ounce or pound, which represent different weights.
Why isn't ons pluralized to "onzen" since we are asking for two of them?
In Dutch, most measure words for weight, volume, or length remain in their singular form after a number. This applies to words like ons, pond, kilo, liter, and meter. Therefore, you say twee ons rather than twee onzen. Measure words that refer to specific physical containers or periods of time, however, do get pluralized (like twee koppen koffie or twee weken).
Why does the sentence end at boter? Shouldn't there be a verb like "hebben" (to have) at the end?