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Alle - Al - Allen - Allemaal
The Dutch words alle, al, allen en allemaal look very similar, but they are not the same. Learn how to use these words in Dutch!
Alle
- before plural nouns
- before uncountable nouns
Voorbeelden
- Ik heb alle hoofdsteden van Europa bezocht. I have visited all capitals of Europe.
- Alle moeite is voor niets geweest. All the effort has been for nothing.
Al
- before a pronoun
- before a article
- Al has more meanings than described here. Read more over al here.
Voorbeelden
- Ik verkoop al mijn boeken. I sell all my books.
- Ik doe al het werk. I do all the work.
Allen
Synonym for everyone (only for persons)
Voorbeelden
- Allen zijn vertrokken (zeer formeel) All have left (very formal)
- Iedereen is vertrokken (neutraal, informeel) Everyone has left (neutral, informal)
Allemaal
You combine allemaal always with a pronoun or a noun in plural. The meaning comes close to "all of them/all of us/all of you".
Voorbeelden
- We zijn allemaal naar huis gegaan. All of us went home.
- Ik kijk de films allemaal. I watched all the movies
- Ik heb ze allemaal gelezen. I have read them all.
- Jullie zijn allemaal vrolijk. All of you are happy.
Some ideas to keep learning
Would you like to learn some more Dutch today? Why not check out our article about position verbs (zitten, liggen, hangen, staan). With exercises!
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Jan Halkes
I miss "alles" in this lesson. My Portuguese pupils tend to confuse "alles" and "allen".
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