Breakdown of Ik geef de serveerster een fooi na het eten.
ik
I
na
after
een
a, an
geven
to give
het eten
the meal
de serveerster
the waitress
de fooi
the tip
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Questions & Answers about Ik geef de serveerster een fooi na het eten.
What does fooi mean in this sentence?
fooi is the Dutch word for “tip” (the extra money you give to service staff). It’s a feminine noun (de fooi), and you usually say een fooi when the amount is unspecified.
Why is it de serveerster and not het serveerster?
In Dutch, all feminine and masculine nouns take the article de, while neuter nouns take het. serveerster (“waitress”) is feminine, so you use de serveerster.
Why is there no preposition like “to” before de serveerster?
The verb geven (“to give”) allows two objects without a preposition: a direct object (what you give) and an indirect object (to whom you give it). Here, een fooi is the direct object and de serveerster is the indirect object. English uses “give her a tip,” but Dutch can drop “aan.”
How do I know which object comes first: de serveerster or een fooi?
In Dutch double-object constructions, you can put the indirect object (IO) before the direct object (DO) when both are full noun phrases. So IO–DO: de serveerster (IO) then een fooi (DO). You could also use a preposition and reverse the order: Ik geef een fooi aan de serveerster.
Can I say Ik geef een fooi aan de serveerster na het eten instead?
Yes. That’s perfectly correct. Using aan plus the IO (“de serveerster”) lets you swap the DO and IO:
“Ik geef een fooi aan de serveerster na het eten.”
Both word orders are common.
Why is it na het eten and not just na eten?
When referring to a specific meal (“the eating” or “the meal”), Dutch uses the definite article het with a neuter noun: het eten. So “after eating” becomes na het eten.
Why is na het eten placed at the end of the sentence?
Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (geef) is in second position. Time or adverbial phrases like na het eten often come after the objects, since the subject and verb have already occupied the first two slots.
Could I use ober instead of serveerster here?
Yes. ober is the masculine noun for “waiter.” If you know the server is male, you’d say de ober. For a female server, serveerster is fine, though some speakers now prefer gender-neutral bediende or simply de ober for both.