---
title: "Ook, alleen, maar, zelfs: focus words"
level: B1
chapter: "Small words"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/focus-words
updated: 2026-10-09
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Ook, alleen, maar, zelfs: focus words

_Ook_ means also or too, _alleen_ means only, _zelfs_ means even, and _maar_, which you know as but, can mean only before an amount: _Het kost maar vijf euro_ (it only costs five euros). These are focus words: small words that point at one part of a sentence, and they usually stand right before that part. Move the word and you change the meaning: _Alleen Anna weet het_ (only Anna knows) is very different from _Anna weet het alleen niet_ (Anna just doesn't know).

## The pattern

> A focus word usually goes directly before the part of the sentence it is about. If that pair starts the sentence, the verb still comes second.

- _ook_ (also, too) adds something: _Ik wil ook een stuk taart_. With a negative it means either: _ook niet_, _ook geen_. When it is about the subject, it usually comes after the verb: _Priya komt ook_.
- _alleen_ (only) shuts out everyone and everything else: _Alleen Anna weet het_. It can also mean just, adding one snag (_Anna weet het alleen niet_), or alone (_Ik woon alleen_).
- _maar_ (only) makes a number or amount sound small: _Het kost maar vijf euro_.
- _zelfs_ (even) marks the surprising part: _Zelfs de trein was op tijd_.
- If the part comes later in the sentence, the focus word sits later too, right before that part: _Ik werk alleen op maandag thuis_.

## Examples

| **Alleen Fatima** heeft een sleutel van het kantoor. | Only Fatima has a key to the office. |
| Anna wil graag helpen. Ze weet **alleen niet** hoe. | Anna would like to help. She just doesn't know how. |
| Ik werk **alleen op maandag** thuis. | I only work from home on Mondays. |
| Een parkeervergunning kost hier **maar vijftig euro** per jaar. | A parking permit only costs fifty euros a year here. |
| **Zelfs de trein** was vandaag op tijd. | Even the train was on time today. |
| Mei spreekt **zelfs een beetje Fries**. | Mei even speaks a bit of Frisian. |
| Priya komt **ook** naar de verjaardag van Lotte. | Priya is coming to Lotte's birthday too. |
| Ik heb geen auto en Ahmed heeft **ook geen** auto. | I don't have a car and Ahmed doesn't have one either. |

## Why it works this way

Picture a focus word as a pointing finger: it usually points at what comes right after it. In _Alleen Anna weet het_ it points at Anna, so nobody else knows. _Alleen_ also has a second, softer job. In _Anna weet het alleen niet_ it means just or the only thing is: it does not shut anyone out, it adds one snag to something positive.

When a focus word stands directly before a part of the sentence, the two can often take the first place together. In a main clause (a sentence that can stand alone), the verb that changes with the person stays in second place ([Verb second](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/verb-second)), so in _Zelfs de trein was op tijd_ the group _Zelfs de trein_ fills the first slot and _was_ follows. In a sentence like I also work, English puts also before the main verb. Dutch puts the verb second, so _ook_ comes after it: _Ik werk ook_.

A focus word does not always stand next to its part. When _ook_ is about the subject (the person doing the action), everyday Dutch usually says _Priya komt ook_. _Ook Priya komt_ is also correct and puts extra weight on Priya as one more guest. In the middle of a sentence, your voice does the pointing: _Ik heb ook een fiets_ can mean I have a bike too (like you) or I also have a bike (as well as a car).

_Alleen_ excludes: _Ik drink alleen thee_ (no coffee, no wine). _Maar_ shrinks: _Ik drink maar één kopje thee per dag_. Before numbers and amounts, _maar_ is the usual everyday choice. You also know _maar_ as but ([En, maar, of, want, dus](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/coordinating-conjunctions)) and as a softener ([Even, maar, eens](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/softening-particles)); before an amount, it usually means only.

Remember: _ook_ adds, _alleen_ excludes, _maar_ shrinks, _zelfs_ surprises.

## Watch out

- Not: _Ik neem een cappuccino ook._ Say: _Ik neem ook een cappuccino._ (_ook_ goes before the part it adds, not after it like too)
- Not: _Ik ook werk in Utrecht._ Say: _Ik werk ook in Utrecht._ (the verb stays in second place, so _ook_ follows it)
- Not: _Even mijn opa heeft een smartphone._ Say: _Zelfs mijn opa heeft een smartphone._ (_even_ means for a moment; the Dutch for even is _zelfs_)
- Not: _Dit is mijn alleen kans._ Say: _Dit is mijn enige kans._ (before a noun, only in the sense of the one and only is _enige_)

## Quick check

1. Choose _maar_ or _zelfs_: _Het zwembad is lekker goedkoop: een kaartje kost ... vier euro._
2. Fill in the focus word: _Ik heb geen tijd en Yara heeft ... geen tijd._ (Yara doesn't have time either.)
3. Fix the sentence and keep _Daan_ at the start: _Daan zelfs fietst naar Amsterdam._ (Daan even cycles to Amsterdam.)
4. Choose _Alleen_ or _Zelfs_: _... Bas heeft een sleutel van de fietsenstalling, dus iedereen moet op hem wachten._

## Answers

1. _maar_: before an amount, it means only and makes the price sound small.
2. _ook_: with _geen_ or _niet_, _ook_ means either.
3. _Daan fietst zelfs naar Amsterdam._ The verb stays second, and _zelfs_ points at the surprising part.
4. _Alleen_: Bas is the only one with a key, so the others have to wait.

## Use it today

Send a friend or colleague a short message about your weekend in three sentences: one with _ook_, one with _alleen_ and one with _zelfs_, such as _Ik heb zelfs de ramen gelapt_. Before you press send, check that each focus word stands right before the part you mean.

## Questions learners ask

**What is the difference between alleen and maar in Dutch?**

Both can mean only. _Alleen_ means nobody or nothing else (_Ik drink alleen thee_), while _maar_ makes a number or amount sound small (_Het kost maar vijf euro_).

**How do you say even in Dutch?**

Even in the sense of "surprisingly" is _zelfs_: _Zelfs de trein was op tijd_ (even the train was on time). The Dutch word _even_ means for a moment or just, so it is a false friend.

**Where does ook go in a Dutch sentence?**

In a main clause, _ook_ usually comes after the verb, right before the part it adds: _Ik neem ook een cappuccino_. It does not trail after the object like English too, so _Ik neem een cappuccino ook_ is wrong.

From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.