Le Baron wrote:I just dug out my old copy (of the first 3 months book I presume?). You must must be using a new version, because in this one relative clauses are lesson 19! and the passive in lesson 20...
In my edition (I think early 2010s?) those are around lesson 55-60.
Le Baron wrote:Did you find relative clauses more difficult than working out the use of 'er'?
I won't say I'm perfect at using 'er', but I definitely seem to get it better than relative clauses. Not entirely sure why it seems to 'fit' better in my brain, but it does.
Le Baron wrote:With those relative clause sentences have a go at writing them out and draw a ring around the parts like term grouping in algebra, you'll find they are all of exactly the same structure:
- (Het boek) - (dat ik pas gelegen heb) - (is uitstekend)
- (De man) - (van wie dit huis is) - (heeft tien katten)
- (De pen) - (waarmee ik schrijf) - (is van hem)
All of them have practically the same elements: an object, then some relative situation clause about it, then a final explanatory statement. Also that in the relative clause middle bit (after the relative pronoun) the main verb is at the end and that all this to the end is just the same as a subordinating conjunction, which is in an earlier lesson.
Thanks for the advice, I'm not sure why this is proving to be such a sticking point for me
Once I'm happy with these points, I'll move onto to either Linguaphone or Hugo Advanced Dutch (or maybe both...)
I've also started doing something which I term 'passive-listening', effectively an inverse to shadowing, where I listen to easy to understand Dutch content while focusing on something else (playing video games, playing bass [without an amp], exercising.) Trying to improve my ability to understand simple sentence structure without needing to put huge efforts in.
Languages: English (N), Dutch (passed A2 exam in May 2021, failed B1 in May 2023 - never sit an exam when you have food poisoning!)
Seeking: Linguaphone Polish and Linguaphone Afrikaans