Breakdown of Mijn oma drinkt graag thee.
drinken
to drink
mijn
my
graag
gladly
de thee
the tea
de oma
the grandmother
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Questions & Answers about Mijn oma drinkt graag thee.
What does the adverb graag mean, and how does it function in Mijn oma drinkt graag thee?
The adverb graag literally means gladly or with pleasure, and in Dutch it’s used right after a verb to express that someone likes doing that action. So drinkt graag indicates that my grandma enjoys drinking tea.
Why is the infinitive drinken written as drinkt here?
In Dutch present tense, you take the verb stem drink- and add -t for third person singular subjects (hij, zij, het, and thus oma). Therefore drinken becomes drinkt when talking about someone like oma who is third person singular.
Why is there no article before thee?
thee is treated as a mass noun (uncountable) when referring to tea in general. Dutch omits the article for mass nouns. If you wanted to speak of a specific tea you would say de thee, or for a cup of tea you’d say een kop thee.
How come mijn oma doesn’t need the article de before it?
Possessive adjectives like mijn, jouw, haar, etc., replace the article. You never combine de or het with a possessive; you simply say mijn oma for “my grandmother.”
Can I place graag in a different position, for example Mijn oma graag drinkt thee?
No. In a Dutch main clause the finite verb occupies the second position and adverbs of liking like graag come directly after that verb. So Mijn oma drinkt graag thee is the only natural order. Moving graag elsewhere sounds awkward or shifts the emphasis.
Could I use grootmoeder instead of oma?
Yes. grootmoeder is the more formal word for grandmother, while oma is the everyday, affectionate term. Mijn grootmoeder drinkt graag thee means exactly the same, but feels more formal or bookish.
What is the correct pronunciation of graag and thee?
graag is pronounced [ɣraːx], where g is a voiced guttural sound (like a soft clearing of the throat), aa is a long vowel, and ch is the same throat noise. thee is pronounced [teː], with a clear t and a long ee (similar to English “tay” but held longer).
If I change this sentence into a question, do I still use drinkt?
Yes. In a yes/no question you invert subject and verb but keep the third-person -t. So you would ask Drinkt mijn oma graag thee?, not Drink mijn oma graag thee?.