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Parts of speech - Woordsoorten
New adverbs
The class of adverbs is not as open as the the classes of >nouns, >adjectives or >verbs. If new adverbs enter the Dutch language, they tend to be adverbs of manner. If this occurs, it is usually with the diminutisation of adverbs of manner. This is a process whereby an adverb is given the ending –jes, which has a similar effect as the formation of diminutives in nouns. A Dutch author who has added a number of these to the Dutch language is Louis Couperus
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[we zullen hem] één voor één netjes leggen op de grond, met beide schoudertjes op zijn tapijtje, zonder hem pijn te doen, heel voorzichtigjes weg .
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We will put him one by one neatly on the ground , with both shoulders on his small rug, without hurting him, very carefully.
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In the text above, the adverb netjes provides an example of the established diminutised form of the adverb net (neat, tidy). Voorzichtigjes, however, is not a common form at all.
It appears that the diminutisation of adverbs is one of the few ways in which new adverbs can be added to the lexicon. Already quite common are warmpjes (nice and warm) and gezelligjes (nice and cosy).
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