Learn Hardcore Dutch: Wie drinkt water?

In Dutch, when you talk about something in a general or uncountable sense (like water, milk, sand), you usually leave out the article. Saying “water” here means “water in general,” not “the water” or “a glass of water.” If you wanted to refer to specific water, you could say “het water” (“the water”) or “een glas water” (“a glass of water”).

Why is the verb drinkt placed immediately after wie instead of after the subject?

Dutch questions that start with a question word (who, what, where, etc.) use verb–subject inversion. That means the finite verb (drinkt) comes right after the question word (wie), then the subject follows. So the order is: Question Word + Verb + Subject + (Rest) → Wie drinkt water?

What does wie mean, and can it refer to more than one person?

Wie simply means “who.” It doesn’t carry a singular/plural distinction by itself. You can ask “Wie daar?” and expect one answer (singular) or multiple answers (plural). If you know you want to ask about a group, you might use a different construction (e.g. “Welke mensen drinken water?” – “Which people drink water?”), but wie alone is flexible.

Why is it drinkt (with a -t) and not drink or drinken?