The Dutch translation for 'some' and 'any' is sommige.
Dutch sommige is more limited in its application than English some. The Dutch use sommige in the sense of 'certain', e.g "Some (certain) things never change."
| Dutch
| Application
| English
|
| sommige
| singular
plural
| some in the sense of 'certain'
|
In English, we also use some to indicate that we are talking about a small amount (some, a few), e.g. "I wrote some (a few) lines". In this case, the Dutch prefer 'enkele' or 'een paar' ('a few'), which we will discuss in Small amounts.
We only use sommige before plural nouns or singular uncountable nouns.
Plural: sommige
| Sommige dingen veranderen nooit.
| Some (certain) things never change.
|
| Voor sommige tv-kanalen moet je een satellietschotel hebben.
| For some (certain) tv channels, one must have a satellite dish.
|
| Ik had sommige mensen al eerder ontmoet.
| I had already met some (of the) people before.
|
Singular: sommig or sommige
We use sommig for het-words, sommige for de-words.
[de straling]
Sommige straling is schadelijk voor de mens.
| [the radiation]
Certain types of radiation are harmful to people.
|
[het werk]
Voor sommig werk moet je handig zijn.
| [the job]
For certain jobs, one must be handy (motorically skilled).
|
Independent sommige(n)
Sommige can also be independent (i.e. not preceding a noun). We only do this when we refer to plural nouns. When we refer to things, we write sommige, for people we add -n: Sommigen.
| In die boekhandel verkopen ze antieke boeken. Sommige zijn zeer kostbaar.
| In that bookshop, they sell antique books. Some (of them) are very valuable.
|
| De studenten hadden hard voor het tentamen geleerd. Sommigen hadden de hele nacht doorgehaald.
| The students had studied hard for the test. Some (of them) had stayed up all night.
|
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