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Politeness - Beleefdheid
Modal particle - Modale partikels
There is a group of Dutch adverbs that have developed a special use which is hard to translate literally but very important when establishing politeness. They have developed from normal adverbs, often with a temporal meaning, but in this special use they are called modal particles. They can be used in all >>sentence types, especially to modulate the impact of a command (imperative), request (interrogative), or advice (declarative). Modal particles often occur in clusters of two or three.
Imperatives – bevelende zinnen
The most common way of giving orders in Dutch is by using an imperative. The use of the modal particle maar turns an imperative (i.e. a direct command) into a polite request:
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Gaat u daar zitten.
Sit down there.
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Gaat u daar maar zitten.
Sit down there, please.
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Doe je jas uit.
Take your coat off.
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Doe je jas maar uit.
Take your coat off, please.
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This kind of polite request is often heard in shops:
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Shopkeeper: Zegt u het maar.
Yes, please. (literally: You say it, please – to give the next customer their turn)
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Customer: Doet u mij maar een kilo appels en een paar bananen.
I'll have a kilo of apples and a few bananas, please.
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The maar in these examples is crucial: without it, those sentences would sound very rude. You will notice that in all the examples above maar is not literally translated but a please has appeared in each translated sentence. The use of the Dutch alsjeblieft or alstublieft, the most direct translation of 'please', is in fact less common than the use of a particle in this context.
Note the position of maar: it occurs before a direct object when it is indefinite (e.g. Doet u mij maar een kilo) and follows it when it is definite (e.g. Zegt u het maar).
Another modal particle which similarly weakens the impact of the imperative is even. This word does not necessarily make the command more polite but it does make it less urgent:
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Loop voor me naar de winkel.
Walk to the shop for me.
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Loop even voor me naar de winkel.
Walk to the shop for me (please, but it won't take you long).
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However, some modal particles strengthen the tone of an imperative. They give the command a sense of urgency. The particles which have this effect are toch, eens, nou and dan.
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Houd je mond!
Shut up!
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Houd je mond toch!
Do shut up!
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Geef me mijn jas.
Give me my coat.
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Geef me mijn jas eens!
Give me my coat (now, please).
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Doe dat raam dicht.
Close that window.
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Doe dat raam nou dicht!
Close that window (and do it quickly).
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Modal particles often occur in clusters of two or three.
Interrogatives – vragende zinnen
Interrogatives with the modal verbs kunnen or willen are usually polite requests (see also >indirectness). Just the addition of a modal particle can make the request extra polite:
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Zou u het raam willen sluiten?
Would you close the window?
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Zou u het raam even willen sluiten?
Would you please close the window?
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Zou je de kaartjes kunnen bestellen?
Could you order the tickets?
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Zou je misschien de kaartjes kunnen bestellen?
Could you perhaps order the tickets?
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Both sets of the above requests are polite, but the addition of the modal particle even or misschien has made the version on the right even more polite. Another particle that can be used in this way with interrogatives is soms.
However, some modal particles can make a request sound less polite and more urgent:
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Zou je het raam willen sluiten?
Would you close the window?
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Zou je het raam eens willen sluiten?
Would you close the window (quickly)?
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Zou je de kaartjes kunnen bestellen?
Could you order the tickets?
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Zou je de kaartjes nou kunnen bestellen?
Would you please order the tickets (and why hasn’t it been done yet)?
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Another particle that can be used in this way with interrogatives is ook.
Modal particles often occur in clusters of two or three.
Declarative – bewerende zinnen
A declarative sentence with the modal verb moeten expresses strong advice, which can be weakened by the addition of the modal particles even and maar:
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Je moet straks wel bij Hakko komen.
You’ll have to go to Hakko later.
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Je moet straks wel even bij Hakko komen.
You’ll just have to go to Hakko later.
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Dan moeten jullie ’t zelf weten.
Then you have to decide for (lit. ‘know’) yourselves.
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Dan moeten jullie ’t zelf maar weten.
Then you’ll just have to decide for yourselves.
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However, the modal particle eens makes the advice sound more compelling:
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Nou moet je luisteren, ...
Listen to this, ...
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Nou moet je eens luisteren, ...
Just listen to this, ...
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Another particle that can be used in this way with declaratives is ook.
Modal particles often occur in clusters of two or three.
Clusters
Modal particles often occur in clusters of two or three. The order in which they occur is always fixed, almost like a formula.
| Geef me ook maar even een borrel. |
| You can give me a drink as well, please. |
| Zou u de deur misschien even open kunnen doen? |
| Could you possibly open the door for me, please? |
| Zou je nou eens willen luisteren? |
It even happens that a strengthening and a weakening particle occur together. The net effect is usually still quite negative:
| Zet dat nou maar uit je hoofd! |
| You can forget that (lit.: Put that out of your head). |
| Hou nou eens even je mond. |
| Dan moet je toch eens even nadenken. |
| Well, you just have to think. |
Back to home.
Back to politeness.
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