langs Always means alongside of something. Er stonden veel
oleanders langs de Italiaanse autowegen. ‘There were many
oleanders along the Italian highways.’
naast Literally and figuratively next to. Er woont een drugsdealer
naast me. ‘A drug dealer lives next door to me.’ Naast mijn
schoolwerk heb ik ook nog veel andere activiteiten. ‘Besides
my school work I have a lot of other activities.’ Note:
English-speaking students of Dutch often confuse naast with
‘next’, as in ‘next week’. That is volgend, so volgende week.
om Means that something is around something else. De winkel is
om de hoek. ‘The shop is around the corner.’ Hij heeft een
dikke das om zijn nek. ‘He’s got a thick scarf around his neck.’
onder Refers to something underneath something else, also in a figura-
tive way. Mijn bril ligt onder de krant. ‘My glasses are under
the paper.’ Er werken driehonderd mensen onder mij. ‘Three
hundred people work under me.’
op Refers to things that are literally on top of something.
However, also used to say that one is actually in or at a cer-
tain place. De vaas staat op de tafel. ‘The vase is on the table.’
Ik ben op school. ‘I am at school.’ Kees woont op kamers. ‘Kees
lives on his own.’ Peter zit op voetbal. ‘Peter plays soccer.’
De koeien staan op stal. ‘The cows are in the stable.’
rond Used to say that something is around something else, often
in combination with om: rondom. De bestuursleden zaten rond
de tafel. ‘The board members sat around the table.’ Er ston-
den oude huisjes rond (rondom) de kerk. ‘There were little
old houses around the church.’
tegen Used to say that something is against, literally or more in an
abstract way. De fiets stond tegen het hek. ‘The bike was lean-
ing against the fence.’ Hij is tegen dit voorstel. He is against
this proposal.
tegenover Something is opposite/across from something else. Also used
for persons. Tegenover mij woont een advocaat. ‘A lawyer lives
across from me.’ De supermarkt is tegenover de bank. ‘The
supermarket is opposite the bank.’
tussen Something is placed between two other things. Also used for
persons. Mijn huis staat tussen twee winkels. ‘My house is
between two shops.’ Peter staat op deze foto tussen Erik en
Sanne. ‘In this photo, Peter is between Erik and Sanne.’
voor As the opposite of achter, used to say that something is in front
of something else. De auto staat voor het huis. ‘The car is in
front of the house.’ Also used to express the opposite of tegen.
Ik ben voor jouw voorstel. ‘I support your proposal.’
161
Pre-
positions
express-
ing place