You met the single words in Even, maar, eens and Toch, wel, hoor, nou, gewoon. This lesson is about what happens when they meet.
The pattern
When particles combine, nou or toch usually comes first, then maar or wel, then eens, and even last. In the common pairs below, the order is fixed.
- maar even: go ahead, it is no trouble (permission plus "just briefly").
- toch maar: after all, on second thought (a decision after some doubt).
- nou eens: will you just, for once (impatience).
- Other common pairs follow the same order: toch eens, maar eens, wel even, eens even.
- With rarer combinations the order is a strong tendency rather than a strict rule, and speakers vary, which is one more reason to learn the common pairs as chunks.
- Unstressed pronouns such as het, me and hem usually come before the whole cluster: Bel me maar even (more in Two objects and short pronouns).
- Use one or two. Native speakers sometimes stack three (Probeer het toch maar eens), but you rarely need to.
Examples
| Kom maar even kijken, de nieuwe fiets staat in de gang. | Go ahead, come and have a look, the new bike is in the hallway. |
| Het gaat regenen, dus we nemen toch maar de trein. | It's going to rain, so we'll take the train after all. |
| Doe dat toch maar niet, Joris, de gemeente let daar streng op. | Better not do that after all, Joris, the council is strict about it. |
| Ga nou eens zitten, Fatima, je staat al de hele avond in de keuken. | Sit down for once, Fatima, you've been in the kitchen all evening. |
| Ik ga maar eens, morgen moet ik vroeg op. | Well, I'd better get going, I have to get up early tomorrow. |
| Ik kijk morgen wel even naar je mail. | I'll have a quick look at your email tomorrow, no problem. |
| Doe toch eens normaal, Bas, iedereen kijkt naar ons. | Act normal, will you, Bas, everyone is looking at us. |
| Kom eens even hier, Yara, ik wil je iets laten zien. | Come here a moment, Yara, I want to show you something. |
Why it works this way
Picture the cluster as a short path from feeling to action. Nou and toch comment on the whole situation: impatience, or a contrast with what you expected before. Maar says you allow something or give in. Eens and even make the action itself small and casual, so they sit closest to it. The order is simply a habit of Dutch; this picture is a memory aid that happens to fit the common pairs.
The same instruction changes its whole attitude with these words:
- Ga zitten. A plain instruction.
- Ga maar even zitten. Take a seat, make yourself comfortable (a friendly host).
- Ga nou eens zitten. Will you sit down already (a parent with a restless child).
That is why it pays to recognise them. A colleague who says Kijk er maar even naar is softening the instruction and presenting it as a small, no-pressure task. One who writes Reageer nou eens op mijn mail is annoyed, and no other word in the sentence tells you so.
English speakers carry this tone with their voice or with "just", "after all" and "will you". Dutch puts much of it into particles, so leaving them out can make you sound more abrupt than you intend.
Remember: mood first, size last. Nou and toch (how you feel) open the cluster, and even (how small the action is) closes it.
Watch out
FoutKom even maar kijken.
GoedKom maar even kijken.
maar goes before even
FoutDoe dat maar toch niet.
GoedDoe dat toch maar niet.
toch opens the cluster; maar toch can mean "but still" when maar is a conjunction, which is a different construction
FoutGa eens nou zitten.
GoedGa nou eens zitten.
the impatient nou comes first
FoutBel maar even me als je er bent.
GoedBel me maar even als je er bent.
the short pronoun goes before the particles, unlike English "just call me"
Quick check
- Put maar and even in the right order: Kom ... kijken, de foto's van de bruiloft staan online.
- Your teenager has ignored three requests to sit down. Which sentence fits? (a) Ga maar even zitten. (b) Ga nou eens zitten.
- Fix the word order: We nemen maar toch de fiets, het is droog geworden.
- Fix the sentence: Zet maar even het op tafel, ik ruim het straks op.
Toon de antwoorden
- maar even (maar comes before even).
- (b), because nou eens signals impatience, while maar even is a friendly invitation.
- We nemen toch maar de fiets, het is droog geworden. (toch comes before maar)
- Zet het maar even op tafel, ik ruim het straks op. (the pronoun het comes before the particles)
Use it today
Listen for particle pairs today, on the train, at work or at the supermarket checkout, and label each one: friendly, giving in, or impatient. Then use maar even once yourself, for example when a colleague asks to borrow your charger: Pak hem maar even.