All ordinal numbers can be written in Dutch with a superscript “e” but that isn’t the case in English: first, second and third each need the last two letters to be used.
Category Archives: Grammar
Not only… but also
The phrase “but also” refers back to an earlier part of the sentence (usually flagged with “not only”) to add extra or even contrasting information. It can’t start a sentence or stand alone.
Accents for emphasis
Adding acute accents to the vowels of a word to signifiy that it should be emphasized is a purely Dutch typographical convention.
An enormous wealthy individual
Remember that you need to use an adverb (-ly) when describing how an action is done or when modifying an adjective.
Sensitive to
A nice simple one today: it’s “sensitive to” and not “sensitive for”.
Brackets for alternatives
“A five-point scale of (strongly) disagree, neutral, (strongly) agree.” That makes no sense in English, where brackets add detail rather than expressing alternatives.
Superlative for two
Dutch says “the biggest” of two things (superlative), but English says “the bigger” (comparative).
Comma splices
Separate sentences shouldn’t be glued together with commas, this is poor style.
An Officer and a Gentleman
Nothing tricky about this one. A role or profession in the singular requires an article: “he is a teacher” or “she is the CFO”.
Ellipsis and so forth…
Using three dots – an ellipsis – to mean “et cetera” isn’t normal English punctuation.
Advanced Dunglish 