Word Order and Sentence Building

Luxembourgish syntax generally follows a V2 (Verb Second) rule, which is a characteristic feature of Germanic languages.

This means that in a standard declarative sentence, the conjugated verb must always be the second grammatical element.

While the subject often comes first, you can start a sentence with a time or place expression to emphasize it.

However, if you do this, the subject must move immediately after the verb to keep the verb in the second position.

This flexibility allows you to shift emphasis without changing the core meaning, but the anchor of the sentence is always the verb.

Unlike English, where you might say "Yesterday I went," in Luxembourgish you must say "Yesterday went I."

Mastering this rhythm is essential for sounding natural.

Examples of word order:

Ech spille haut Foussball.

(I play football today.)

Haut spillen ech Foussball.

(Today play I football.)

Hei wunnt meng Mamm.

(Here lives my mother.)

Dat ass en Haus.

(That is a house.)

Making Positive Statements

To form a basic positive statement, you typically use the Subject + Verb + Object structure.

The subject is the person or thing doing the action, and it usually sits in position one.

The verb is conjugated to match the subject.

Understanding this basic block helps you construct thousands of simple sentences.

As you expand your vocabulary, you simply plug new words into this reliable formula.

Examples of positive statements:

Ech si midd.

(I am tired.)

Du hues Honger.

(You are hungry / Lit: You have hunger.)

Mir ginn an de Kino.

(We go to the cinema.)

Hien ësst eng Pizza.

(He eats a pizza.)

Si léiert Lëtzebuergesch.

(She learns Luxembourgish.)

Den Hond schléift.

(The dog sleeps.)

Forming Negatives and Questions

Negation in Luxembourgish primarily uses two words: net and keng.

Use net to negate verbs, adjectives, or specific pronouns (similar to "not" in English).

It usually comes after the conjugated verb.

Use keng (and its forms) to negate nouns preceded by an indefinite article or no article (similar to "no" or "none" in English).

To form questions, you rely on inversion, swapping the subject and the verb.

Instead of "You are coming," you say Kënns du?.

Alternatively, you can keep the statement order and simply raise your voice at the end, which is common in informal speech.

Examples of negatives:

Ech sinn net midd.

(I am not tired.)

Dat ass net gutt.

(That is not good.)

Ech hu keng Zäit.

(I have no time.)

Hien huet keng Suen.

(He has no money.)

Examples of questions:

Wunnt hien hei?

(Does he live here? / Lives he here?)

Hues du en Auto?

(Do you have a car?)

Bass du Lëtzebuerger?

(Are you Luxembourgish?)

Kënnt si haut?

(Is she coming today?)

Nouns: Gender and Number

Every noun in Luxembourgish is assigned one of three genders: Masculine (männlech), Feminine (weiblech), or Neuter (sächlech).

Unlike English, where gender is biological (he/she) or neutral (it), Luxembourgish grammatical gender is often arbitrary for objects.

For example, a table is masculine, but a wall is feminine.

You must learn the gender along with the noun.

Pluralization is also irregular and does not follow a single rule like adding "s" in English.

Nouns may add endings like -en, -er, or -s, or they might not change at all.

Often, the vowel inside the word changes (an umlaut shift).

Examples of gender:

Masculine: den Dësch (the table)

Feminine: d’Dier (the door)

Neuter: d’Haus (the house)

Examples of plurals:

Een Apel (one apple) — Zwéin Äppel (two apples)

Eng Fra (one woman) — Zwou Fraen (two women)

E Kand (one child) — Zwee Kanner (two children)

En Auto (one car) — Zwéin Autoen (two cars)

Articles and Determiners

Articles are the small words that come before nouns to indicate gender and definiteness.

The Definite Articles (the) are:

Den (or De) for Masculine.

D’ for Feminine.

D’ for Neuter.

D’ for Plural (all genders).

Note: The masculine article Den often loses its n (becoming De) unless the next word starts with a vowel or specific consonants (n, d, t, z, h). This is the Eifeler Regel mentioned in Chapter 2.

The Indefinite Articles (a/an) are:

En for Masculine.

Eng for Feminine.

En for Neuter.

Examples of articles:

De Mann (The man) — E Mann (A man)

D’Fra (The woman) — Eng Fra (A woman)

D’Meedchen (The girl – neuter) — E Meedchen (A girl)

D’Leit (The people – plural)

Practice Section

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in each blank with the correct word, letter, or form based on what you learned.

1- To say "A table" (Masculine), you write: ________ Dësch.

2- The plural of "Kand" (Child) is K__ner.

True/False

Read each statement carefully and decide if it is True or False.

1- In Luxembourgish sentences, the verb is always the first word.

2- "D’Fra" indicates a feminine noun.

Translation

Translate each English phrase or sentence into Luxembourgish.

1- I am not tired.

2- That is a house.

3- Do you have time? (Informal singular "du")