The most common English mistakes that Dutch people make
- Lindsay Rubino
- 7 days ago
- 8 min read
It’s not just your imagination: the Dutch speak excellent English. The country ranks No. 1 on the English Proficiency Index, published by the international education company Education First (and has for many years!).
It's why we can be nitpicky about the use of English here in the Netherlands. The level is so high that it’s easy to overlook the mistakes — but in the interest of improving the level of English even more, here are the top English mistakes that Dutch people make, also known as Dunglish.
These aren’t your typical “make that the cat wise” mistakes — these are specific, grammatical and vocabulary mistakes that you may not notice.
(Let’s not go over the mistakes we make in Dutch. It’d be a longer list.)
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Grammar
English and Dutch share a lot of grammar rules, but there is one area that always trips up learners of both languages: past tense.
Present perfect and simple past tense
Not everyone knows the names of all the verb tenses, so first we’ll go over the two that are most commonly confused by both Dutch and English speakers: present perfect and simple past.
In English, the present perfect tense is constructed with have/had + past participle.
The present perfect is used in a variety of situations:
Actions that started in the past and continue to the present
Example: She has lived in the Netherlands for 10 years.
Actions that started in the past and may have continued until the present
Example: I have eaten tacos.
When the specified time is still happening
Example: This party has been fun!
When you don’t know or don’t need to specify when the action was completed
Example: I've lost my keys!
This list isn’t restricted to these use cases alone; there are other, more nuanced uses of the present perfect. I recommend Grammar Girl as a resource for English.
The simple past (also known as preterite) is a little more straightforward. It’s used when an action was completed in the past, and it is often used with a specific time.
Here are some examples comparing the different uses and their meanings.
Present perfect Examples | Present perfect Meaning | Simple past Examples | Simple past Meaning |
She has lived in the Netherlands for 10 years. | A person moved to the Netherlands 10 years ago and continues to live there. | She lived in the Netherlands. | A person lived in the Netherlands at some point in time, but she doesn't live there anymore. |
He has eaten tacos. | Tacos have been consumed by a person at some point in time before now. | He ate tacos. | Tacos were consumed once recently by a person. |
The party has been fun! | The party you’re still at was a good time. | The party was fun! | The party you have already left was a good time. |
I've lost my keys! | You just discovered that you don’t have your keys, but you don’t know when you lost them. You do not have your keys at the moment of saying this sentence. | I lost my keys! | You are telling someone you did not have your keys earlier at some point. You may be telling a story about a time you lost your keys. You may or may not have your keys at the moment of saying this sentence. |
In Dutch, these two tenses are used differently. Present perfect is perfectum or voltooid tegenwoordige tijd. Simple past is imperfectum or onvoltooid verleden tijd.
Anecdotally, present perfect is far more commonly used in Dutch. Simple past is used narratively, i.e., when telling a story or describing something that is clearly in the past. I won’t go over their specific use cases, as it’s not my field of expertise. I’m still learning!
“Do” as auxiliary verb
English has a peculiar construction with the word “do.” We use it to make a statement negative, to ask a question, or to emphasize something.
For questions | For negation | For emphasis |
Does he work here? | He doesn’t work here. | He does work here! |
Did you know that? | I didn’t know that. | I did know that! |
Does she have a cat? | She doesn’t have a cat. | She does have a cat! |
The most common mistake Dutch speakers make in English when using “do” as an auxiliary verb is in negation, specifically using the wrong verb tense for the secondary verb.
Example: I didn’t knew that! I didn’t know that!
Using commas
Like most of English grammar, there are rules (plus exceptions!) and guidelines when it comes to using commas. One of the most common issues I see Dutch native speakers making is using a comma to separate a subject and the verb.
This is mostly when the subject of the sentence isn’t a single word. The subject of a sentence doesn’t just have to be a pronoun (I, you, he, she, it) — it can be a phrase, too!
❌ Wrong: What we do, is help people with grammar.
✅ Right: What we do is help people with grammar.
❌ Wrong: Running a marathon, can be a great way to get in shape.
✅ Right: Running a marathon can be a great way to get in shape.
How to [insert verb]
To be fair, I see this mistake made by native English speakers, too. This phrasing is used a lot for online articles (since it’s usually part of high-volume keyword searches). Let’s correct it, here and now: it’s not a question!
❌ Wrong: How to write well?
✅ Right: How to write well
❌ Wrong: How to reset my thermostat?
✅ Right: How to reset my thermostat
You can make this a question by adding the “do” auxiliary verb (see above!), as in “How do I write well?”
Vocabulary
There are so many similarities between Dutch and English that it makes sense that Dutch native speakers would apply the same “formula” to English. Here are some of the most common English vocabulary mistakes.
This is how it looks like
❌ Wrong: This is how it looks like.
✅ Right: This is what it looks like.
This is how it looks.
How is it called? / How do I call this?
Similar to the above, this one is made because of the Dutch translation (“Hoe noem je dit?”)
❌ Wrong: How do you call this?
How is it called?
✅ Right: What do you call this?
What is it called?
Explain me...
The verb “to explain” needs a preposition when it’s used with an indirect object.
❌ Wrong: Please explain me why this is wrong.
✅ Right: Please explain to me why this is wrong.
Since [x time]
Since is a tricky one! This mistake is made because of the literal translation. In Dutch, you’d say “Ik woon hier sinds twee maanden.” In English, we use “for” instead of “since.”
❌ Wrong: I’ve lived here since two months.
✅ Right: I’ve lived here for two months. I’ve lived here since I was 25 years old.
Get a baby
When you want to say that someone has gotten pregnant or given birth, you use the construction “to have a baby.”
❌ Wrong: We want to get a baby in the future.
✅ Right: We want to have a baby in the future.
Make a photo
The words take, make, and do are often mixed up. “Making a photo” is the most common one — this one, unfortunately, is all about memorization!
❌ Wrong: Would you make a photo of us?
✅ Right: Would you take a photo of us?
Is a pre
I see this mostly on job advertisements. In Dutch, it means it’s a good thing to have but is not required. This meaning and word does not exist in English.
❌ Wrong: English is a pre
✅ Right: English is a plus
English is a bonus English is preferred
Welcome at
You'll encounter this one early! I’ve seen it printed on signs at hotels and businesses.
❌ Wrong: Welcome at the Netherlands!
✅ Right: Welcome to the Netherlands!
Learn vs. teach
This English mistake is made because the Dutch word "leren" means both “teach” and “learn.”
❌ Wrong: I want to learn you English.
✅ Right: I want to teach you English.
I wrote a copy / copies
The Dutch are not the only ones to make this mistake! The word “copy,” when referring to a piece of writing, is an uncountable (also called “mass”) noun. That means that it can’t be broken down into individual items — it’s always just “copy.” You can use the word “the” before it, but not “a.”
❌ Wrong: I wrote four copies for social media.
I wrote a copy for social media.
✅ Right: I wrote four posts for social media.
I wrote copy for social media.
I wrote the copy for social media.
Oldtimers / vintage cars
In English, an “old timer” would be a person — not a car! Feel free to use in Dutch but switch to “vintage car” when speaking English. I don’t recommend calling the elderly “old timers,” though, as it can be perceived as offensive.
❌ Wrong: I saw four oldtimers on the highway!
✅ Right: I saw four vintage cars on the highway!
In the bus/on the bus
Conversely, I make this mistake in Dutch all the time.
❌ Wrong: I rode in the bus.
✅ Right: I rode on the bus.
Cake vs. pie and cupcakes vs. muffins
OK, this is more of a personal thing, because every time someone says they have “cake,” I get all hyped up thinking of cakes I’m used to seeing in American bakeries. But this is often not what Dutch people mean.
Cake has frosting. Pie doesn’t. Pie is also usually made with fruit. The confusion comes from vlaai, which is a very common dessert where I live (Limburg). You don’t want to know how many times I’ve been told we were having cake when they really meant vlaai.
Don’t get me wrong: vlaai is good, too. But it's still a letdown when you’re expecting cake.
A cupcake, which is eaten for dessert, has frosting. A muffin, which is generally eaten for breakfast, does not.
Pronunciation
Ahh, the accent. The giveaway that you may not be a so-called “native” speaker of the language you’re speaking. All of the below are referencing American English — there may be subtle differences with other English accents.
The two “th” sounds
We’re starting out with the most difficult one. The “th” is notoriously difficult for Dutch speakers, as it just doesn’t exist in Dutch. There are two types of “th” sounds: voiced, which makes a sort of buzzing sound, and unvoiced, which is the breathier sound.
You can hear the two in one word: mouthbreather. The first “th” is unvoiced, while the second is voiced.
Icon
❌ Wrong: I-cuhn
✅ Right: i-CON
Idea
❌ Wrong: i-DEE
✅ Right: i-DEE-yah
Gigantic
❌ Wrong: ji-JAN-tic
✅ Right: ji-GAN-tic
Manipulate
❌ Wrong: man-I-pah-late
✅ Right: man-I-pyoo-late
Have you seen these in the wild? Am I missing some that I should add to the list? Let us know!
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