Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Mijn telefoon werkt perfect.
What is the basic word order of the sentence "Mijn telefoon werkt perfect" compared to English?
The sentence follows a Subject–Verb–Complement (adjective/adverb) order. In Dutch, mijn telefoon (my phone) is the subject, werkt (works) is the verb, and perfect describes how it works—even though in English we might expect "perfectly" as an adverb. The structure is quite similar to the English order: Subject ("My phone") – Verb ("works") – Adverb ("perfectly").
How is the verb “werken” used in this sentence, and why is it conjugated as “werkt”?
The base verb is werken (to work), and in this sentence it is conjugated as werkt because the subject, telefoon (phone), is singular. Dutch verbs in the present tense take an –t in the third person singular, so werkt correctly matches a singular noun like "phone."
Why is the word “perfect” used instead of changing its form (for example, to something equivalent to “perfectly”)?
In Dutch, adjectives that function adverbially often keep their base form. Unlike English—which usually requires adding "-ly" to form an adverb—Dutch does not alter perfect when it describes the manner in which the phone works. Thus, “werkt perfect” is both natural and grammatically correct.
What role does the possessive “mijn” play in the sentence?
The word mijn means “my” and serves as a possessive adjective. It indicates that the telefoon (phone) belongs to the speaker. This structure means that there is no need for a separate definite article because possession is already clearly marked.
If I wanted to turn the sentence into a question such as “Does my phone work perfectly?”, how would I arrange the words in Dutch?
To form a question in Dutch, the verb and the subject are typically inverted. So, starting from “Mijn telefoon werkt perfect,” you would rearrange it to Werkt mijn telefoon perfect? This inversion signals to the listener that it is a question.