1- LUXEMBOURGISH ALPHABET
2- WORD ORDER
1 Basic S + V Ech schlofen. I sleep.
2 Direct object S + V + DO Ech liesen dat Buch. I read that book.
3 Indirect object S + V + IO + DO Ech ginn him d'Buch. I give him the book.
4 Beneficiary S + V + DO + fir + beneficiary Ech kafen e Buch fir hien. I buy a book for him.
5 IO pronoun S + V + IO pronoun + DO Ech ginn him d'Buch. I give him the book.
6 Adjective S + sinn + Adj D'Buch ass grouss. The book is big.
7 Adverb S + V + Adv Hie liest séier. He reads quickly.
8 Direct object + adverb S + Adv + V + DO Ech liesen séier dat Buch. I read that book quickly.
9 Time adverb S + Adv(time) + V Ech schaffen haut. I work today.
10 Place adverb S + V + Adv(place) Hie wunnt do. He lives there.
11 Prepositional phrase S + sinn + Prep + N D'Buch ass op dem Dësch. The book is on the table.
12 DO + preposition S + V + DO + Prep + N Ech leeën d'Buch op den Dësch. I put the book on the table.
13 Determiner + noun Det + N Dëst Buch ass nei. This book is new.
14 Determiner + adjective + noun Det + Adj + N Dëst grousst Buch ass nei. This big book is new.
15 Numeral + noun Num + Adj + N Do sinn zwee nei Bicher. There are two new books.
16 Conjunction Clause + Conj + Clause Ech liesen, an hie schreift. I read and he writes.
17 Conjunction + objects S + V + DO + Conj + S + V + DO Ech liesen d'Buch, an hie schreift e Bréif. I read the book and he writes a letter.
18 Present passive S + ginn + PP D'Buch gëtt gelies. The book is being read / is read.
19 Passive + agent S + ginn + PP + vum + Agent D'Buch gëtt vum Enseignant gelies. The book is being read by the teacher.
20 Passive + IO S + ginn + PP + IO D'Buch gëtt him ginn. The book is given to him.
21 Passive + IO + agent S + ginn + PP + IO + vum + Agent D'Buch gëtt him vum Enseignant ginn. The book is given to him by the teacher.
22 Passive + adverb S + ginn + PP + Adv D'Buch gëtt haut gelies. The book is being read today.
23 Passive + preposition S + ginn + PP + Prep + N D'Buch gëtt op den Dësch geluecht. The book is put on the table.
24 Passive + agent + adverb S + Adv + ginn + PP + Agent D'Buch gëtt haut vum Mark gelies. The book is being read today by Mark.
25 Passive + agent + IO + adverb S + Adv + ginn + PP + IO + Agent D'Buch gëtt haut dem Student vum Enseignant ginn. The book is given to the student today by the teacher.
26 Perfect passive S + sinn + PP D'Buch ass gelies. The book has been read.
27 Perfect passive + agent S + sinn + PP + vum + Agent D'Buch ass vum Mark gelies ginn. The book has been read by Mark.
28 Future passive S + wäerten + PP + ginn D'Buch wäert gelies ginn. The book will be read.
29 Future passive + agent S + wäerten + PP + ginn + vum + Agent D'Buch wäert vum Mark gelies ginn. The book will be read by Mark.
30 Modal passive S + modal + PP + ginn D'Buch muss gelies ginn. The book must be read.
31 Negative S + V + net + DO Ech liesen dat Buch net. I do not read that book.
32 Negative passive S + net + ginn + PP D'Buch gëtt net vum Mark gelies. The book is not being read by Mark.
33 Yes/no question V + S + DO? Lies du dat Buch? Do you read that book?
34 Passive question Gëtt + S + PP? Gëtt d'Buch gelies? Is the book being read?
35 Agent question Wien + V + DO? Wien liest d'Buch? Who reads the book?
36 IO question Wiem + S + V + DO? Wiem gëss du d'Buch? To whom do you give the book?
37 Imperative Imperative + DO Lies d'Buch! Read the book!
38 Imperative + IO Imperative + IO + DO Gëff him d'Buch! Give him the book!
39 Passive imperative Looss + S + PP + ginn Looss d'Buch gelies ginn! Let the book be read!
40 Infinitive / gerund Infinitive / -end form liesen / liesend to read / reading
41 Infinitive + DO Infinitive + DO d'Buch liesen to read the book
42 Passive infinitive gelies ginn gelies ginn to be read
43 Purpose S + V + fir ze + infinitive Ech iessen, fir ze spillen. I eat to play / in order to play.
44 Relative clause N + relative pronoun + clause D'Buch, dat ech liesen, ass interessant. The book that I read is interesting.
45 Passive relative N + relative pronoun + passive clause D'Buch, dat vum Mark gelies gëtt, ass interessant. The book that is read by Mark is interesting.
46 Conditional / if Wann + present, present/future Wann ech Zäit hunn, liesen ech. If I have time, I read.
47 Conditional + passive Wann + passive, clause Wann d'Buch gelies gëtt, kann ee vill léieren. If the book is read, one can learn a lot.
48 Reported speech S + speech verb + datt + clause Hie sot, datt hie liest. He said that he was reading / reads.
49 Reported question S + froen + ob + clause Hie huet gefrot, ob ech liesen. He asked if I was reading / read.
50 Reported command/request S + froen + person + fir ze + infinitive Hie huet mech gefrot, d'Buch ze liesen. He asked me to read the book.
INDIRECT OBJECT:
1 Basic indirect object S + V + IO + DO Ech ginn him d'Buch. I give him the book.
2 Masculine noun dem + N Ech ginn dem Mann d'Buch. I give the man the book.
3 Feminine noun der + N Ech ginn der Fra d'Buch. I give the woman the book.
4 Neuter noun dem + N Ech ginn dem Kand d'Buch. I give the child the book.
5 Plural noun de + N Ech ginn de Kanner d'Bicher. I give the children the books.
6 IO: 1st singular mir Hie gëtt mir d'Buch. He gives me the book.
7 IO: 2nd singular dir Hie gëtt dir d'Buch. He gives you the book.
8 IO: 3rd singular him Hie gëtt him d'Buch. He gives him/her/it the book.
9 IO: 1st plural eis Hie gëtt eis d'Buch. He gives us the book.
10 IO: 2nd plural/formal iech Hie gëtt iech d'Buch. He gives you the book.
11 IO: 3rd plural hinnen Hie gëtt hinnen d'Buch. He gives them the book.
12 Dative question Wiem + V + S + DO? Wiem gëss du d'Buch? To whom do you give the book?
13 Beneficiary S + V + DO + fir + Acc. Ech kafen e Buch fir hien. I buy a book for him.
14 Dative verb S + V + IO Ech hëllefen him. I help him.
15 IO + DO with soen S + V + IO + DO Ech soen him d'Wourecht. I tell him the truth.
16 IO + DO with weisen S + V + IO + DO Si weist mir d'Bild. She shows me the picture.
17 IO + DO with schécken S + V + IO + DO Ech schécken him e Message. I send him a message.
GENITIVE:
1 Possession — general N + vun + possessor d'Buch vum Mann the man's book
2 Masculine possessor vun + dem → vum d'Buch vum Mann the man's book
3 Feminine possessor vun der + N d'Buch vun der Fra the woman's book
4 Neuter possessor vun + dem → vum d'Buch vum Kand the child's book
5 Plural possessor vun + de + N d'Buch vun de Kanner the children's book
6 Possessive with name dem + Name + säi + N dem Marc säi Buch Marc's book
7 Possessive with female name der + Name + hiert + N der Maria hiert Buch Maria's book
8 Possessive pronoun possessive + N säi Buch his book
9 Whose? — masculine/neuter Wiem säi/säin + N? Wiem säi Buch ass dat? Whose book is that?
10 Whose? — feminine/plural Wiem seng + N? Wiem seng Bicher sinn dat? Whose books are those?
11 Genitive meaning N + vum/vun der/vun de + possessor D'Autoe vum Mann si nei. The man's cars are new.
12 Genitive with relationship N + vun + possessor d'Fra vum Enseignant the teacher's wife
N + vum + masculine/neuter possessor d'Buch vum Mann the man's book
N + vun der + feminine possessor d'Buch vun der Fra the woman's book
N + vun de + plural possessor d'Buch vun de Kanner the children's book
dem + Name + säi + N dem Marc säi Buch Marc's book
Wiem säi + N? Wiem säi Buch? Whose book?
Masculine vum Mann of the man / the man's
Feminine vun der Fra of the woman / the woman's
Neuter vum Kand of the child / the child's
Plural vun de Kanner of the children / the children's
INDEPENDENT:
Person Possessive determiner Independent possessive English
1st sg. mäi / meng mäint / meng mine
2nd sg. däi / deng däint / deng yours
3rd sg. masc. säi / seng säint / seng his
3rd sg. fem. hiren / hir hirt / hir hers
1st pl. eise / eis eist / eis ours
2nd pl. ären / är äert / är yours
3rd pl. hire / hir hirt / hir theirs
Dëse Buch ass mäint. This book is mine.
WAS GOING TO:
1. “Was going to” = intended/planned to
The most natural construction is often:
wollt + infinitive
English Luxembourgish Transliteration
I was going to eat. Ech wollt iessen. Ech wollt iessen.
You were going to eat. Du wollts iessen. Du wollts iessen.
He was going to eat. Hie wollt iessen. Hie wollt iessen.
She was going to eat. Si wollt iessen. Si wollt iessen.
We were going to eat. Mir wollten iessen. Mir wollten iessen.
You were going to eat. Dir wollt iessen. Dir wollt iessen.
They were going to eat. Si wollten iessen. Si wollten iessen.
Here wollt-/wollten is the past of wëllen (“to want”), but it commonly expresses a past intention.
2. “Was planning to”
Use plangen + ze + infinitive:
Ech hat geplangt, ze iessen.
→ I was planning to eat.
English Luxembourgish
I was planning to eat. Ech hat geplangt, ze iessen.
You were planning to eat. Du hat geplangt, ze iessen.
He was planning to eat. Hie hat geplangt, ze iessen.
We were planning to eat. Mir haten geplangt, ze iessen.
They were planning to eat. Si haten geplangt, ze iessen.
3. “Was intending to”
Use Absicht hunn (“to have the intention”):
Ech hat d'Absicht, ze iessen.
→ I intended / was intending to eat.
This is more formal than wollt iessen.
4. “Was about to”
For something that was just about to happen, use:
amgaang sinn ze + infinitive
Example:
Ech war amgaang ze iessen.
→ I was about to eat.
English Luxembourgish
I was about to leave. Ech war amgaang fortzegoen.
He was about to sleep. Hie war amgaang ze schlofen.
They were about to start. Si waren amgaang unzefänken. (We do not add ze because it is a seperable verb, we will learn about it later in this lesson)
5. “Was going to” from a past viewpoint
For reported speech, Luxembourgish can use the conditional or simply wollt + infinitive, depending on the meaning.
Direct speech
Hie sot: „Ech ginn heem.“
→ He said: “I am going home.”
Reported speech
Hie sot, datt hie géif heemgoen.
→ He said that he was going to go home.
Here:
géif + infinitive
expresses a future action viewed from a past point.
6. Negative “was going to”
I wasn't going to eat.
Ech wollt net iessen.
→ I wasn't going to eat.
He wasn't going to come.
Hie wollt net kommen.
→ He wasn't going to come.
We weren't going to leave.
Mir wollten net fortgoen.
→ We weren't going to leave.
7. “Was going to” vs. “was about to”
These are important to distinguish:
English meaning Luxembourgish Example
was going to / intended to wollt + infinitive Ech wollt iessen.
was planning to hat geplangt, ze + infinitive Ech hat geplangt, ze iessen.
was intending to hat d'Absicht, ze + infinitive Ech hat d'Absicht, ze iessen.
was about to war amgaang ze + infinitive Ech war amgaang ze iessen.
would / was going to from past viewpoint géif + infinitive Hie sot, datt hie géif kommen.
SEPERABLE VERBS:
ab- abgoen → abzegoen away/off
an- ufänken → unzefänken on/start
op- opstoen → opzestoen up
aus- ausgoen → auszegoen out
eran- eragoen → eranzegoen in
eraus- erausgoen → erauszegoen out
fort- fortgoen → fortzegoen away
heem- heemgoen → heemzegoen home
zeréck- zeréckgoen → zeréckzegoen back
zesummen- zesummeschaffen → zesummenzeschaffen together
NON SEPERABLE:
verstoen
→ ze verstoen
bezuelen
→ ze bezuelen
2- NOUNS
Masculine Noun Example
Mann (man)
Case Definite Indefinite Plural Definite Plural Indefinite Function
Nominative de Mann e Mann d'Männer Männer subject
Accusative de Mann e Mann d'Männer Männer direct object
Dative dem Mann engem Mann de Männer Männer indirect object
Genitive (rare) des Mann(es) — der Männer — possession (rare)
Examples
Nominative
De Mann kënnt.
The man comes.
Accusative
Ech gesinn de Mann.
I see the man.
Dative
Ech ginn dem Mann e Buch.
I give the man a book.
Feminine Noun Example
Fra (woman)
Case Definite Indefinite Plural Definite Plural Indefinite
Nominative d'Fra eng Fra d'Fraen Fraen
Accusative d'Fra eng Fra d'Fraen Fraen
Dative der Fra enger Fra de Fraen Fraen
Genitive (rare) der Fra — der Fraen —
Examples
Nominative
D'Fra schafft.
Accusative
Ech kennen d'Fra.
Dative
Ech hëllefen der Fra.
Neuter Noun Example
Kand (child)
Case Definite Indefinite Plural Definite Plural Indefinite
Nominative d'Kand e Kand d'Kanner Kanner
Accusative d'Kand e Kand d'Kanner Kanner
Dative dem Kand engem Kand de Kanner Kanner
Genitive (rare) des Kand(es) — der Kanner —
Examples
D'Kand spillt.
Ech gesinn d'Kand.
Ech ginn dem Kand e Cadeau.
Indirect object Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object Ech ginn him e Buch. I give him a book.
Indirect object (noun) Subject + Verb + dem/der + noun + Direct Object Si schreift hirer Mamm e Bréif. She writes her mother a letter.
Possession (common) Possessed Noun + vun + Possessor D'Buch vum Jong. The boy's book.
Possessive determiner Possessive + Noun Mäin Auto. My car.
Combined Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object + vun + Possessor Ech ginn dem Jong d'Buch vu mengem Brudder. I give the boy my brother's book.
3- ADJECTIVES:
Attributive Before a noun ✅ Yes e grousse Mann a tall man
Predicate After the verb ❌ No De Mann ass grouss. The man is tall.
TO BE VERB:
1. Present Tense
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
Ech si I am
Du bass You are (singular, informal)
Hien ass He is
Si ass She is
Et ass It is
Mir sinn We are
Dir sidd You are (plural/formal)
Si sinn They are
Examples
Luxembourgish English
Ech si Student. I am a student.
Du bass midd. You are tired.
Hien ass doheem. He is at home.
Si ass Dokter. She is a doctor.
Et ass kal. It is cold.
Mir sinn prett. We are ready.
Dir sidd frëndlech. You are friendly.
Si sinn glécklech. They are happy.
2. Past Tense (Simple Past)
Although the simple past exists, it is mainly found in writing. Everyday speech usually prefers the perfect tense.
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
Ech war I was
Du wars You were
Hien war He was
Si war She was
Et war It was
Mir waren We were
Dir wart You were
Si waren They were
Examples
Ech war midd.
→ I was tired.
Mir waren do.
→ We were there.
3. Perfect Tense
Formation:
Present tense of sinn + gewiescht
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
Ech si gewiescht I have been
Du bass gewiescht You have been
Hien ass gewiescht He has been
Mir sinn gewiescht We have been
Dir sidd gewiescht You have been
Si sinn gewiescht They have been
Examples
Ech si krank gewiescht.
→ I have been sick.
Si ass zu Paräis gewiescht.
→ She has been in Paris.
4. Past Perfect (Pluperfect)
Formation:
Past tense of sinn + gewiescht
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
Ech war gewiescht I had been
Du wars gewiescht You had been
Hien war gewiescht He had been
Mir waren gewiescht We had been
Dir wart gewiescht You had been
Si waren gewiescht They had been
Example
Ech war scho midd gewiescht.
→ I had already been tired.
5. Future Tense
Formation:
wäerten + sinn
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
Ech wäert sinn I will be
Du wäerts sinn You will be
Hien wäert sinn He will be
Mir wäerte sinn We will be
Dir wäert sinn / wäerte sinn* You will be
Si wäerte sinn They will be
*In standard Luxembourgish, Dir wäert is common for formal singular, while Dir wäerte is used for plural.
Examples
Ech wäert do sinn.
→ I will be there.
Mir wäerte prett sinn.
→ We will be ready.
6. Future Perfect
Formation:
wäerten + gewiescht sinn
Examples
Ech wäert do gewiescht sinn.
→ I will have been there.
Si wäert midd gewiescht sinn.
→ She will have been tired.
7. Conditional (Subjunctive)
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
Ech wier I would be
Du wiers You would be
Hien wier He would be
Mir wieren We would be
Dir wiert You would be
Si wieren They would be
Examples
Ech wier frou.
→ I would be happy.
Wann ech do wier...
→ If I were there...
8. Conditional Perfect
Formation:
wier + gewiescht
Examples
Ech wier do gewiescht.
→ I would have been there.
Si wier frou gewiescht.
→ She would have been happy.
9. Imperative
Person Luxembourgish English
Du Sief! Be!
Dir Sidd! Be! (plural/formal)
Mir Loosst eis sinn! Let's be! (rare)
Examples
Sief roueg!
→ Be quiet!
Sidd virsiichteg!
→ Be careful!
10. Infinitive
sinn
→ to be
Example:
Ech wëll do sinn.
→ I want to be there.
1. Indefinite Article + Adjective
Nominative
Gender Luxembourgish English
Masculine e grousse Mann a big man
Feminine eng grouss Fra a big woman
Neuter e grousst Kand a big child
Plural* grouss Kanner big children
*There is no indefinite plural article in Luxembourgish, just as there is no English equivalent of "a" in the plural.
Accusative
Gender Luxembourgish English
Masculine e grousse Mann a big man
Feminine eng grouss Fra a big woman
Neuter e grousst Kand a big child
Plural grouss Kanner big children
Unlike German, the masculine adjective normally does not change between nominative and accusative.
Dative
Gender Luxembourgish English
Masculine engem grousse Mann to a big man
Feminine enger grousser Fra to a big woman
Neuter engem grousse Kand to a big child
Plural grousse Kanner to big children
Genitive (rare)
The genitive is uncommon in modern Luxembourgish. When used:
Gender Luxembourgish English
Masculine enges grousse Mannes of a big man
Feminine enger grousser Fra of a big woman
Neuter enges grousse Kandes of a big child
Plural grousse Kanner of big children
In everyday speech, these are almost always replaced with vun:
d'Haus vun engem grousse Mann
the house of a big man
2. Definite Article + Adjective
Nominative
Gender Luxembourgish English
Masculine de grousse Mann the big man
Feminine déi grouss Fra the big woman
Neuter dat grousst Kand the big child
Plural déi grouss Kanner the big children
Accusative
Gender Luxembourgish English
Masculine de grousse Mann the big man
Feminine déi grouss Fra the big woman
Neuter dat grousst Kand the big child
Plural déi grouss Kanner the big children
Dative
Gender Luxembourgish English
Masculine dem grousse Mann to the big man
Feminine der grousser Fra to the big woman
Neuter dem grousse Kand to the big child
Plural de grousse Kanner to the big children
Genitive (rare)
Gender Luxembourgish English
Masculine des grousse Mannes of the big man
Feminine der grousser Fra of the big woman
Neuter des grousse Kandes of the big child
Plural der grousse Kanner of the big children
Again, in normal speech:
d'Dier vum grousse Haus = the door of the big house
d'Faarf vun der grousser Blumm = the color of the big flower
3. No Article
Gender Luxembourgish English
Masculine grousse Mann big man
Feminine grouss Fra big woman
Neuter grousst Kand big child
Plural grouss Kanner big children
4. Predicate Adjectives (No Declension)
After sinn, ginn, bleiwen, etc., adjectives never change.
Luxembourgish English
De Mann ass grouss. The man is tall.
D'Fra ass grouss. The woman is tall.
D'Kand ass grouss. The child is big.
D'Kanner si grouss. The children are big.
TO BE VERB:
1. Present tense — Präsens
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
ech si I am
du bass you are
hien ass he is
si ass she is
et ass it is
mir sinn we are
dir sidd you are
si sinn they are
Examples
Ech si frou. — I am happy.
Du bass midd. — You are tired.
Hien ass doheem. — He is at home.
Si ass Doktesch. — She is a doctor.
Et ass kal. — It is cold.
Mir sinn prett. — We are ready.
Dir sidd léif. — You are nice.
Si sinn hei. — They are here.
2. Simple Past — Imperfekt
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
ech war I was
du wars you were
hien war he was
si war she was
et war it was
mir waren we were
dir waart you were
si waren they were
Examples:
Ech war midd.
→ I was tired.
Mir waren doheem.
→ We were at home.
3. Perfect — Perfekt
The past participle of sinn is gewiescht.
Formation
present form of sinn + gewiescht
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
ech si gewiescht I have been
du bass gewiescht you have been
hien ass gewiescht he has been
si ass gewiescht she has been
et ass gewiescht it has been
mir sinn gewiescht we have been
dir sidd gewiescht you have been
si sinn gewiescht they have been
Example:
Ech si laang do gewiescht.
→ I have been there for a long time.
4. Pluperfect — Plusquamperfekt
Formation
past form of sinn + gewiescht
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
ech war gewiescht I had been
du wars gewiescht you had been
hien war gewiescht he had been
si war gewiescht she had been
et war gewiescht it had been
mir waren gewiescht we had been
dir waart gewiescht you had been
si waren gewiescht they had been
Example:
Ech war scho midd gewiescht.
→ I had already been tired.
5. Future — Futur I
Formation
wäerten + sinn
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
ech wäert sinn I will be
du wäerts sinn you will be
hien wäert sinn he will be
si wäert sinn she will be
et wäert sinn it will be
mir wäerte sinn we will be
dir wäert sinn / wäert sinn you will be
si wäerte sinn they will be
Examples:
Ech wäert muer do sinn.
→ I will be there tomorrow.
Mir wäerte prett sinn.
→ We will be ready.
6. Future Perfect — Futur II
Formation
wäerten + gewiescht + sinn
Example:
Ech wäert do gewiescht sinn.
→ I will have been there.
Si wäert scho fort gewiescht sinn.
→ She will already have been gone.
7. Conditional — Konditional
The conditional form is wier.
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
ech wier I would be
du wiers you would be
hien wier he would be
si wier she would be
et wier it would be
mir wieren we would be
dir wiert you would be
si wieren they would be
Examples:
Ech wier frou.
→ I would be happy.
Du wiers méi glécklech.
→ You would be happier.
Mir wieren do.
→ We would be there.
8. Conditional Perfect
Formation
conditional of sinn + gewiescht
Pronoun Luxembourgish English
ech wier gewiescht I would have been
du wiers gewiescht you would have been
hien wier gewiescht he would have been
si wier gewiescht she would have been
mir wieren gewiescht we would have been
dir wiert gewiescht you would have been
si wieren gewiescht they would have been
Example:
Ech wier frou gewiescht.
→ I would have been happy.
9. Imperative
The imperative is irregular.
Singular informal
Sief!
→ Be!
Plural/formal
Sidd!
→ Be!
Examples:
Sief roueg!
→ Be quiet!
Sief virsiichteg!
→ Be careful!
Sidd gedëlleg!
→ Be patient!
10. Infinitive
sinn = to be
Example:
Ech wëll do sinn.
→ I want to be there.
11. Past Participle
gewiescht = been
Example:
Hien ass hei gewiescht.
→ He has been here.
12. Negative Forms
The normal negative word is net.
Present
Ech si net midd.
→ I am not tired.
Hien ass net do.
→ He is not there.
Mir sinn net prett.
→ We are not ready.
Past
Ech war net do.
→ I was not there.
Future
Ech wäert net do sinn.
→ I will not be there.
Conditional
Ech wier net frou.
→ I would not be happy.
13. Questions
For a yes/no question, the conjugated verb comes before the subject.
Present
Sinn ech ze spéit?
→ Am I too late?
Bass du midd?
→ Are you tired?
Ass hien do?
→ Is he there?
Sidd dir prett?
→ Are you ready?
Past
War hien do?
→ Was he there?
Waren si midd?
→ Were they tired?
Future
Wäerts du do sinn?
→ Will you be there?
Conditional
Wiers du frou?
→ Would you be happy?
14. Main Uses of sinn
Identity
Ech si Yaman.
→ I am Yaman.
Profession
Si ass Doktesch.
→ She is a doctor.
Description
Hien ass grouss.
→ He is tall.
Location
Mir sinn doheem.
→ We are at home.
Condition
Ech si midd.
→ I am tired.
Age
Luxembourgish normally uses sinn with age:
Ech sinn zwanzeg Joer al.
→ I am twenty years old.
Tense / Mood 1st sg. 2nd sg. 3rd sg. 1st pl. 2nd pl. 3rd pl.
Present si bass ass sinn sidd sinn
Past war wars war waren waart waren
Perfect si gewiescht bass gewiescht ass gewiescht sinn gewiescht sidd gewiescht sinn gewiescht
Pluperfect war gewiescht wars gewiescht war gewiescht waren gewiescht waart gewiescht waren gewiescht
Future wäert sinn wäerts sinn wäert sinn wäerte sinn wäert sinn wäerte sinn
Future perfect wäert gewiescht sinn wäerts gewiescht sinn wäert gewiescht sinn wäerte gewiescht sinn wäert gewiescht sinn wäerte gewiescht sinn
Conditional wier wiers wier wieren wiert wieren
Conditional perfect wier gewiescht wiers gewiescht wier gewiescht wieren gewiescht wiert gewiescht wieren gewiescht
4- PRONOUNS:
English Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive (rare/obsolete)
I ech mech mir (rare; use mäin or vu mir)
You (singular) du dech dir (rare; use däin or vu dir)
He hien en him (rare; use säin or vu him)
She si hat hir (rare; use hir (poss.) or vun hir)
It et et him (rare; usually rephrased)
We mir eis eis (rare; use eis (poss.) or vun eis)
You (plural/formal) dir iech iech (rare; use är or vun iech)
They si se hinnen (rare; use hir (poss.) or vun hinnen)
Reflexive Pronouns
Person Subject Reflexive English
1st singular ech mech myself
2nd singular du dech yourself
3rd singular masculine hien sech himself
3rd singular feminine si sech herself
3rd singular neuter et sech itself
1st plural mir eis ourselves
2nd plural/formal dir iech yourselves
3rd plural si sech themselves
Note: The third person (sech) is the same for masculine, feminine, neuter, and plural.
I wash myself.
He sees himself.
We help ourselves.
sech wäschen to wash oneself Ech wäschen mech.
sech undoen to get dressed Si zitt sech un.
sech raséieren to shave Hien raséiert sech.
sech erënneren to remember Ech erënnere mech.
sech freeën to be happy / look forward Mir freeën eis.
sech setzen to sit down Setz dech!
sech schummen to be ashamed Hie schummt sech.
Demonstrative Pronouns in the Main Cases
Masculine
Case Form Example Translation
Nominative dësen Dëse Mann ass grouss. This man is tall.
Accusative dësen Ech gesinn dëse Mann. I see this man.
Dative dësem Ech ginn dësem Mann e Buch. I give this man a book.
Genitive* dëses d'Haus dëses Mannes of this man (rare)
Feminine
Case Form Example Translation
Nominative dës Dës Fra kënnt. This woman is coming.
Accusative dës Ech kennen dës Fra. I know this woman.
Dative dëser Ech hëllefen dëser Fra. I help this woman.
Genitive* dëser d'Iddi dëser Fra of this woman (rare)
Neuter
Case Form Example Translation
Nominative dëst Dëst Kand spillt. This child is playing.
Accusative dëst Ech gesinn dëst Kand. I see this child.
Dative dësem Ech ginn dësem Kand e Cadeau. I give this child a present.
Genitive* dëses d'Spill dëses Kandes of this child (rare)
Plural
Case Form Example Translation
Nominative dës Dës Kanner spillen. These children are playing.
Accusative dës Ech gesinn dës Kanner. I see these children.
Dative dësen Ech hëllefen dëse Kanner. I help these children.
Genitive* dëser d'Spillsaache dëser Kanner of these children (rare)
5- VERB TENSES:
ech schaffen I work / I am working
du schaffs you work
hien schafft he works
si schafft she works
et schafft it works
mir schaffen we work
dir schafft you (plural/formal) work
si schaffen they work
ech schafften
du schaffts
hien schafften
mir schafften
dir schafft
si schafften
ech wäert schaffen
du wäerts schaffen
hien wäert schaffen
si wäert schaffen
et wäert schaffen
mir wäerte schaffen
dir wäert schaffen
si wäerten schaffen
ech hunn geschafft
du hues geschafft
hien huet geschafft
si huet geschafft
et huet geschafft
mir hunn geschafft
dir hutt geschafft
si hunn geschafft
ech hat geschafft
du hats geschafft
hien hat geschafft
si hat geschafft
et hat geschafft
mir haten geschafft
dir hat geschafft
si haten geschafft
ech wäert geschafft hunn
du wäerts geschafft hunn
hien wäert geschafft hunn
mir wäerte geschafft hunn
si wäerten geschafft hunn
6- PASSIVE TENSES:
ech ech sinn gebaut
du du bass gebaut
hien hien ass gebaut
mir mir sinn gebaut
si si sinn gebaut
ech ech ginn gebaut I am being built
du du gëss gebaut you are being built
hien hie gëtt gebaut he is being built
si si gëtt gebaut she is being built
et et gëtt gebaut it is being built
mir mir ginn gebaut we are being built
dir dir gitt gebaut you are being built
si si ginn gebaut they are being built
ech gouf gebaut I was built
du goufs gebaut you were built
hie gouf gebaut he was built
si gouf gebaut she was built
mir goufe gebaut we were built
dir gouft gebaut you were built
si goufe gebaut they were built
7- NEGATION:
not net
no / not any keen / keng / kee
nobody keen
nothing näischt
never ni
nowhere néierens
never again ni méi
8- QUESTIONS:
YES/NO QUESTIONS:
Verb + Subject + Object?
QUESTION WORDS:
who wien
what wat
where wou
when wéini
why firwat
how wéi
which wéi eng
how much wéi vill
how many wéi vill
whose wiem säin / wiem seng
(Question word) + (Verb)
Wéi dacks gees du an de Fitnessstudio?
→ How often do you go to the gym?
Wéi wäit ass d'Stad?
→ How far is the city?
Wéi al ass däi Brudder?
→ How old is your brother?
Wéi vill kascht dëst Buch?
→ How much does this book cost?
Wéi eng Sprooch schwätzt du?
→ Which language do you speak?
Wéi een Auto wëlls du kafen?
→ What kind of car do you want to buy?
Wat méchs du?
→ What are you doing?
Wat wëlls du?
→ What do you want?
Wat huet hien gesot?
→ What did he say?
9- ADVERBS:
# Luxembourgish Transliteration English
1 gutt gutt well
2 schlecht shlecht badly
3 séier say-er quickly
4 lues looh-es slowly
5 richteg rish-tekh correctly
6 falsch falsh incorrectly
7 schéin shayn beautifully
8 kloer klohr clearly
9 einfach ayn-fakh simply
10 schwéier shway-er with difficulty
11 liicht likht easily
12 roueg roh-oo-ekh calmly
13 roueg roh-oo-ekh quietly
14 haart haart loudly
15 virsiichteg veer-shikh-tekh carefully
16 onvirsiichteg on-veer-shikh-tekh carelessly
17 oppassen op-as-sen carefully / attentively
18 daper dah-per bravely
19 fräi fry freely
20 heemlech haym-lekh secretly
21 oppen op-pen openly
22 direkt dee-rekt directly
23 indirekt in-dee-rekt indirectly
24 zesummen tseh-zoo-men together
25 getrennt geh-trent separately
26 gläich glykh equally
27 anescht ah-nesht differently
28 normalerweis nor-ma-ler-vays normally
29 besonnesch beh-zon-esh especially
30 plëtzlech plet-slekh suddenly
31 zoufälleg tsoo-fel-lekh accidentally
32 absichtlech ap-zikh-tlekh intentionally
33 bewosst beh-vosst consciously
34 gewëssenhaft geh-vis-sen-haft conscientiously
35 eescht ay-sht seriously
36 witzeg vit-sekh humorously
37 komesch ko-mesh strangely
38 komplett kom-plett completely
39 deelweis dayl-vays partly
40 gemeinsam geh-mayn-zam jointly
Examples
Hie leeft séier.
Hie leeft say-er.
He runs quickly.
Si schafft ganz gutt.
Si schafft ganz gutt.
She works very well.
Hien huet virsiichteg gefuer.
Hien huet veer-shikh-tekh geh-foor.
He drove carefully.
2. Time adverbs — Zäitadverbien
# Luxembourgish Transliteration English
1 elo eh-loh now
2 haut howt today
3 gëschter geh-shter yesterday
4 muer moo-er tomorrow
5 virgëschter veer-geh-shter the day before yesterday
6 iwwermuer ee-ver-moo-er the day after tomorrow
7 grad elo graht eh-loh right now
8 aktuell ak-too-ell currently
9 momentan moh-men-tahn currently
10 geschwënn geh-shvenn soon
11 bal baal soon / almost
12 spéider shpay-der later
13 virdrun veer-droon before / previously
14 virdrun veer-droon beforehand
15 duerno doo-er-noh afterwards
16 dono doh-noh afterwards
17 fréier fry-er earlier / formerly
18 dacks daks often
19 schonn shon already
20 nach nakh still / yet
21 ëmmer nach em-mer nakh still
22 nach ëmmer nakh im-mer still
23 endlech end-lekh finally
24 direkt dee-rekt immediately
25 direkt dee-rekt straightaway
26 gläich glykh soon / shortly
27 laang laang long
28 kuerz koorts briefly / shortly
29 fréi fry early
30 spéit shpayt late
31 zënterhier tsen-ter-heer since then
32 zënterhier tsen-ter-heer ever since
33 bis elo bis eh-loh until now
34 bis elo nach bis eh-loh nakh still until now
35 fir d'éischt feer d-aysht for the first time
36 ufanks oo-fanks at first
37 um Enn oom enn at the end
38 duerno doo-er-noh afterwards
39 virdrun veer-droon beforehand
40 gläichzäiteg glykh-tsay-tekh simultaneously
Examples
Ech kommen elo.
Ekh kom-men eh-loh.
I am coming now.
Hie koum gëschter.
Hee kohm geh-shter.
He came yesterday.
Mir schwätzen duerno.
Meer shvet-sen doo-er-noh.
We will talk afterwards.
3. Frequency adverbs
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
ëmmer em-mer always
ni nee never
dacks daks often
heefeg hay-fekh frequently
heefeg hay-fekh often
heiansdo hay-ans-doh sometimes
heiansdo hay-ans-doh occasionally
selten zel-ten rarely
ganz seelen gants zay-len very rarely
normalerweis nor-ma-ler-vays usually
meeschtens may-shtens mostly / usually
regelméisseg ray-gel-may-sekh regularly
permanent per-ma-nent permanently / constantly
stänneg shten-nekh constantly
dauernd dow-er-nt continually
ëmmer nees em-mer nays again and again
nach eng Kéier nakh eng kay-er once again
eemol ay-mol once
zweemol tsway-mol twice
dräimol dry-mol three times
méi dacks may daks more often
manner dacks man-er daks less often
Example:
Ech ginn dacks dohinner.
Ekh ginn daks dohinner.
I often go there.
Si kënnt heiansdo bei eis.
See kent hay-ans-doh bay ice.
She sometimes comes to us.
4. Degree adverbs
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
ganz gants very / quite
très treh very
zimlech tsim-lekh quite / fairly
ze tseh too
sou zoh so
esou eh-zoh so / like this
esou vill eh-zoh vill so much / so many
esou wéineg eh-zoh vay-nekh so little / so few
extrem ex-trem extremely
aussergewéinlech ow-ser-geh-vayn-lekh exceptionally
vollstänneg foll-shten-nekh completely
komplett kom-plett completely
bal baal almost
knapp knap barely
kaum kowm hardly
e bëssen eh bes-sen a little
e bëssi eh bes-see a little
e bëssen ze eh bes-sen tseh a little too
vill vill much / a lot
wéineg vay-nekh little
méi may more
manner man-er less
genuch geh-nookh enough
net genuch net geh-nookh not enough
vill méi vill may much more
vill manner vill man-er much less
sou vill zoh vill so much
sou wéineg zoh vay-nekh so little
am meeschten am may-shten the most
am mannsten am man-sten the least
Examples:
Dat ass ganz gutt.
Dat ass gants gutt.
That is very good.
Et ass ze schwéier.
Et ass tseh shway-er.
It is too difficult.
Ech hunn e bëssen Zäit.
Ekh hunn eh bes-sen tsayt.
I have a little time.
5. Place / location adverbs
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
hei hay here
do doh there
dohannen doh-han-en over there
dobaussen doh-bow-sen outside there
dobannen doh-ban-en inside there
uewen oo-ven above / upstairs
ënnen en-nen below / downstairs
bannen ban-en inside
baussen bow-sen outside
vir veer in front
hannen han-en behind
nieft neeft beside
ronderëm ron-der-em around
iwwerall ee-ver-all everywhere
néierens nay-er-ens nowhere
iergendwou eer-gent-voh somewhere
iergendwou eer-gent-voh anywhere / somewhere
aneschtwou ah-nesht-voh elsewhere
heihinner hay-hin-er hereward / to here
dohinner doh-hin-er thereward / to there
heivun hay-voon from here
dovun doh-voon from there
heibannen hay-ban-en in here
dobaussen doh-bow-sen out there
uewen oo-ven up
ënnen en-nen down
Examples:
Komm hei!
Kom hay!
Come here!
Hie waart do.
Hee vaart doh.
He is waiting there.
Si ass dobannen.
See ass doh-ban-en.
She is inside.
6. Direction adverbs
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
hei hay here
dohin doh-hin there / to there
heihinner hay-hin-er to here
dohinner doh-hin-er to there
heivun hay-voon from here
dovun doh-voon from there
virun veer-oon forward
zréck tsrek back
op op up
erof eh-rof down
eran eh-ran into here
eraus eh-rowss out
eran eh-ran inward
eraus eh-rowss outward
fort fort away
ewech eh-veksh away
zeréck tse-rek back
no vir noh veer forward
no hannen noh han-en backward
no uewen noh oo-ven upward
no ënnen noh en-nen downward
7. Interrogative adverbs
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
wéini vay-nee when
wou voh where
wouhin voh-hin where to
wouhier voh-heer where from
wéi vay how
firwat feer-vat why
firwat feer-vat for what reason
wéivill vay-vill how much / how many
wéi vill vay vill how much / how many
wéi dacks vay daks how often
wéi laang vay laang how long
wéi wäit vay vайт how far
wéi séier vay say-er how quickly
wéi gutt vay gutt how well
wéi vill méi vay vill may how much more
Examples:
Wou bass du?
Voh bass doo?
Where are you?
Wéini komme si?
Vay-nee kom-me zee?
When are they coming?
Wéi geet et?
Vay gayt et?
How is it going?
8. Negative adverbs
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
ni nee never
néierens nay-er-ens nowhere
näischt naisht nothing
kengemools keng-eh-mools never
ni méi nee may never again
nach ni nakh nee never yet
iwwerhaapt net ee-ver-hapt net not at all
guer net goor net not at all
op kee Fall op kay fall under no circumstances
soss néierens zoss nay-er-ens nowhere else
Important: net is primarily the Luxembourgish negation particle, not an adverb in the same sense as séier or dacks.
Example:
Ech ginn ni dohinner.
Ekh ginn nee dohinner.
I never go there.
9. Affirmation adverbs / expressions
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
jo yoh yes
wierklech veer-klekh really
tatsächlech tat-sekh-lekh actually
wierklech veer-klekh truly
sécher zay-kher certainly
bestëmmt beh-shtemt definitely
natierlech nah-tee-er-lekh naturally / of course
absolut ap-soh-loot absolutely
ganz sécher gants zay-kher certainly
op alle Fall op all-eh fall in any case / definitely
10. Probability / uncertainty adverbs
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
vläicht vlaysht perhaps / maybe
warscheinlech var-shine-lekh probably
wahrscheinlech vaa-shine-lekh probably
bestëmmt beh-shtemt certainly / probably, depending on context
vermutlech fer-moot-lekh presumably
anscheinend an-shine-ent apparently
scheinbar shine-bar apparently / seemingly
wuel vool probably / presumably
méiglecherweis may-glekh-er-vays possibly
eventuell eh-ven-too-ell possibly / potentially
vläicht vlaysht maybe
Example:
Vläicht kënnt hien haut.
Vlaysht kent heen howt.
Maybe he will come today.
Hie kënnt warscheinlech muer.
Hee kent var-shine-lekh moo-er.
He will probably come tomorrow.
11. Restriction / limitation
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
nëmmen nem-men only
just joost just / only
nëmmen nach nem-men nakh only still
nëmme nach nem-me nakh only still
op d'mannst op d-man-st at least
héchstens haykh-stens at most
allerhéchstens al-er-haykh-stens at the very most
manner wéi man-er vay less than
net méi wéi net may vay no more than
net manner wéi net man-er vay no less than
Example:
Ech hunn nëmmen eng Fro.
Ekh hunn nem-men eng froh.
I have only one question.
12. Addition
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
och okh also / too
och nach okh nakh also / additionally
zousätzlech tsoo-zets-lekh additionally
ausserdeem ow-ser-day-em besides / moreover
donieft doh-neeft besides / in addition
nach nakh additionally / still
souwéi zoh-vay as well as
och nach okh nakh also
doriwwer eraus doh-ree-ver eh-rowss furthermore / beyond that
Example:
Hie schwätzt Lëtzebuergesch an och Däitsch.
Hee shvetst Let-seh-boor-yesh an okh Doytsh.
He speaks Luxembourgish and also German.
13. Contrast / concession
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
awer ah-ver however / but
trotzdem trots-day-em nevertheless
allerdéngs al-er-dengs however
dogéint doh-gaynt on the contrary
am Géigendeel am gay-en-dayl on the contrary
gläichzäiteg glykh-tsay-tekh at the same time
trotzdeem trots-day-em nevertheless
souwisou zoh-vee-zoh anyway
egal eh-gahl regardless / anyway
14. Result / consequence
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
dofir doh-feer therefore / for that reason
duerfir doo-er-feer therefore
dowéinst doh-vaynst therefore / because of that
also al-zoh so / therefore
doduerch doh-doo-er-kh thereby
domat doh-mat with that / thereby
schlussendlech shloos-end-lekh ultimately
schlussendlech shloos-end-lekh finally
am Endeffekt am end-eh-fekt in the end
dofir doh-feer thus / therefore
15. Sequence / order
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
éischtens aysh-tens firstly
zweetens tsvay-tens secondly
drëttens dret-tens thirdly
fir d'éischt feer d-aysht first
duerno doo-er-noh afterwards
duerno doo-er-noh then/afterwards
dono doh-noh afterwards
dann dan then
duerno doo-er-noh subsequently
schlussendlech shloos-end-lekh finally
zum Schluss tsoom shloos finally / in the end
ufanks oo-fanks initially
am Ufank am oo-fank at the beginning
16. Repetition
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
erëm eh-rem again
nach eng Kéier nakh eng kay-er once again
nach eng Kéier nakh eng kay-er again
ëmmer erëm em-mer eh-rem again and again
nees nays again
nei nay anew
vun Neiem voon nay-em anew
zweemol tsway-mol twice
dräimol dry-mol three times
méi wéi eemol may vay ay-mol more than once
Example:
Hie koum erëm.
Hee kohm eh-rem.
He came again.
17. Continuation
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
nach nakh still / yet
ëmmer nach em-mer nakh still
nach ëmmer nakh im-mer still
weider vy-der further / onward
weiderhin vy-der-hin henceforth / still
bis elo bis eh-loh until now
bis elo nach bis eh-loh nakh still until now
nach ëmmer nakh im-mer still
nach ëmmer méi nakh im-mer may increasingly more
18. Already / yet
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
schonn shon already
nach nakh still / yet
nach net nakh net not yet
schonn laang shon laang long ago / for a long time already
schonn elo shon eh-loh already now
bis elo bis eh-loh until now
nach ëmmer net nakh im-mer net still not
Examples:
Hien ass schonn do.
Heen ass shon doh.
He is already there.
Hien ass nach net do.
Heen ass nakh net doh.
He is not there yet.
19. Approximation
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
ongeféier on-geh-fay-er approximately
ronn ron around / approximately
bal baal almost
knapp knap barely / just under
ongeféier esou on-geh-fay-er eh-zoh approximately so
sou ronn zoh ron roughly
méi oder manner may oh-der man-er more or less
ongeféier esou vill on-geh-fay-er eh-zoh vill approximately that much
20. Comparison adverbs
Positive Comparative Superlative English
gutt besser am beschten well → better → best
schlecht méi schlecht am schlechtesten badly → worse → worst
séier méi séier am séiersten quickly → more quickly → most quickly
lues méi lues am luessten slowly → more slowly → most slowly
dacks méi dacks am dacksten often → more often → most often
selten méi selten am seltensten rarely → more rarely → most rarely
vill méi am meeschten much → more → most
wéineg manner am mannsten little → less → least
gutt besser am beschten well → better → best
Examples:
Hie leeft méi séier wéi ech.
Hee leeft may say-er vay ekh.
He runs faster than I do.
Si schafft am beschten.
See schafft am beshten.
She works best.
21. Especially / mainly
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
besonnesch beh-zon-esh especially
virun allem veer-oon al-em above all / especially
haaptsächlech howpt-zekh-lekh mainly
virun allem veer-oon al-em primarily
meeschtens may-shtens mostly
gréisstendeels groys-tens-dayls largely / mostly
besonnesch beh-zon-esh particularly
a virun allem ah veer-oon al-em and especially
22. Generalization
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
allgemeng all-geh-meng generally
normalerweis nor-ma-ler-vays normally
meeschtens may-shtens mostly
generell geh-ner-ell generally
am Allgemengen am all-geh-men-gen generally / in general
am Fong am fong basically
grondsätzlech grond-setz-lekh fundamentally
haaptsächlech howpt-zekh-lekh mainly
23. Anyway / regardless
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
souwisou zoh-vee-zoh anyway
egal eh-gahl regardless
op alle Fall op all-eh fall in any case
jedenfalls yay-den-falls in any case
sou oder esou zoh oh-der eh-zoh one way or another
egal wéi eh-gahl vay anyway / regardless of how
egal wat eh-gahl vat no matter what
egal wou eh-gahl voh no matter where
24. Somehow
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
iergendwéi eer-gent-vay somehow
op iergendeng Aart a Weis op eer-gent-eng aart ah vays somehow / in some way
sou oder esou zoh oh-der eh-zoh one way or another
irgendwéi eer-gent-vay somehow
Example:
Mir mussen et iergendwéi maachen.
Meer moos-en et eer-gent-vay makh-en.
We have to do it somehow.
25. At least / at most
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
op d'mannst op d-man-st at least
mindestens min-dens-tens at least
héchstens haykh-stens at most
maximal mak-see-mal at maximum
allerhéchstens al-er-haykh-stens at the very most
net méi wéi net may vay no more than
net manner wéi net man-er vay no less than
26. Distribution
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
zesummen tseh-zoo-men together
getrennt geh-trent separately
jee yay each
pro proh per
jeeweils yay-vails respectively / each time
een nom aneren ayn nom an-er-en one after another
eenzel ayn-tsel individually
eent fir eent aynt feer aynt one by one
27. Directly / indirectly
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
direkt dee-rekt directly
direkt dee-rekt straight
indirekt in-dee-rekt indirectly
direkterweis dee-rekt-er-vays directly
op direktem Wee op dee-rek-tem vay directly
iwwerdroene ee-ver-droh-eh-neh indirectly / figuratively
28. Carefully / carelessly
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
virsiichteg veer-shikh-tekh carefully
opmierksam op-meer-ksam attentively
virsiichteg veer-shikh-tekh cautiously
gewëssenhaft geh-vis-sen-haft conscientiously
sorgfälteg zorg-fel-tekh carefully
onvirsiichteg on-veer-shikh-tekh carelessly
fahrlässeg fahr-les-sekh negligently
onachtsam on-akh-tsam inattentively
29. Secretly / openly
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
heemlech haym-lekh secretly
verstoppt fer-shtoppt secretly / hidden
heimlech haym-lekh secretly
oppen op-pen openly
offen of-en openly
ëffentlech ef-ent-lekh publicly
privat pree-vaat privately
30. Intentionally / accidentally
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
absichtlech ap-zikh-tlekh intentionally
bewosst beh-vosst deliberately / consciously
express ex-press deliberately / intentionally
zoufälleg tsoo-fel-lekh accidentally
onabsichtlech on-ap-zikh-tlekh unintentionally
aus Zoufall owss tsoo-fall by accident
31. Fortunately / unfortunately
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
glécklecherweis glek-lekh-er-vays fortunately
glécklecherweis glek-lekh-er-vays luckily
leider ly-der unfortunately
bedauerlecherweis beh-dow-er-lekh-er-vays unfortunately
leider Gottes ly-der got-es unfortunately
32. Together / separately
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
zesummen tseh-zoo-men together
mateneen mat-eh-nayn together / with one another
beieneen by-en-ayn together
getrennt geh-trent separately
eenzel ayn-tsel individually
separat zay-pa-raat separately
Example:
Mir schaffen zesummen.
Meer schaffen tseh-zoo-men.
We work together.
33. Pronominal adverbs
This is a very important Luxembourgish feature. Luxembourgish frequently combines do-/der-/hei- with prepositions or other elements to create adverbial forms.
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
dofir doh-feer for that / therefore
dofir doh-feer for it
domat doh-mat with that
doduerch doh-doo-er-kh through that / thereby
dovun doh-voon from that
doriwwer doh-ree-ver about that / over that
dorop doh-rop on that / onto that
dorënner doh-ren-er underneath that / among them
dobaussen doh-bow-sen outside there
dobannen doh-ban-en inside there
derfir der-feer for that
derbäi der-by besides / therewith
derno der-noh afterwards
dergéint der-gaynt against that
derduerch der-doo-er-kh through that
dervun der-voon from that
heifir hay-feer for this
heibäi hay-by beside this / here with
heivun hay-voon from here / from this
heirop hay-rop onto here
dohinner doh-hin-er to there
heihinner hay-hin-er to here
34. Adverbs formed from adjectives
Luxembourgish frequently uses the same form as the adjective as an adverb.
Adjective Adverb English
gutt gutt good → well
schlecht schlecht bad → badly
séier séier quick → quickly
lues lues slow → slowly
schéin schéin beautiful → beautifully
kloer kloer clear → clearly
roueg roueg calm → calmly
haart haart loud → loudly
fräi fräi free → freely
richteg richteg correct → correctly
falsch falsch wrong → wrongly
virsiichteg virsiichteg careful → carefully
normal normalerweis normal → normally
Example:
Dat ass e gutt Buch.
Dat ass eh gutt Bookh.
That is a good book.
Hie liest gutt.
Hee leest gutt.
He reads well.
35. Important word-order note
Luxembourgish adverbs can occur in different positions depending on their type and emphasis.
For example:
Ech schaffen haut doheem.
Ekh schaffen howt doh-haym.
I am working at home today.
Haut schaffen ech doheem.
Howt schaffen ekh doh-haym.
Today I am working at home.
So beginning / middle / end can often mean flexible position, but not every adverb has equal freedom. Time, manner, place, degree, and sentence/modal adverbs have different normal positions.
10- CONJUNCTIONS:
# Luxembourgish Transliteration English
1 an an and
2 a ah and / but
3 oder oh-der or
4 awer ah-ver but
5 mee may but
6 mä meh but
7 sondern zon-dern but rather
8 respektiv res-pek-teev respectively / or
9 beziehungsweise beh-tsee-oongz-vays-eh respectively / or rather
10 an och an okh and also
11 och okh also / and also
Examples
Ech liesen an ech schreiwen.
Ekh lee-zen an ekh shry-ven.
I read and I write.
Hie kënnt, awer si bleift.
Hee kent, ah-ver zee blyft.
He comes, but she stays.
Wëlls du Téi oder Kaffi?
Vels doo tay oh-der ka-fee?
Do you want tea or coffee?
2. Additive conjunctions
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
an an and
a ah and
och okh also / too
an och an okh and also
souwéi zoh-vay as well as
wéi och vay okh as well as
net nëmmen ... mee och net nem-men mee okh not only ... but also
net nëmmen ... mee och nach net nem-men mee okh nakh not only ... but also
Example
Hie schwätzt Lëtzebuergesch an och Däitsch.
Hee shvetst Let-seh-boor-yesh an okh Doytsh.
He speaks Luxembourgish and also German.
3. Alternative conjunctions — OR
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
oder oh-der or
entweder ... oder ent-vay-der ... oh-der either ... or
entweder ... oder ... ent-vay-der ... oh-der either ... or
soss zoss otherwise / or else
oder soss oh-der zoss or else
beziehungsweise beh-tsee-oongz-vays-eh respectively / or rather
respektiv res-pek-teev respectively / or
Example
Entweder komme mir haut, oder mir kommen muer.
Ent-vay-der kom-me meer howt, oh-der meer kom-men moo-er.
Either we come today, or we come tomorrow.
4. Contrast conjunctions
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
awer ah-ver but
mee may but
mä meh but
sondern zon-dern but rather
allerdéngs al-er-dengs however
trotzdem trots-day-em nevertheless
dofir awer doh-feer ah-ver but therefore
dogéint doh-gaynt on the contrary
am Géigendeel am gay-en-dayl on the contrary
wougéint voh-gaynt whereas / against which
Important: allerdéngs, trotzdem, dogéint, and am Géigendeel are more accurately treated as connective adverbs or adverbial expressions, rather than simple conjunctions.
Example
Ech wollt kommen, mee ech war krank.
Ekh volt kom-men, may ekh var krank.
I wanted to come, but I was sick.
5. “But rather” — sondern
sondern is especially important because it normally follows a negation.
Et ass net rout, mee blo.
Et ass net root, may bloh.
It is not red, but blue.
Et ass net rout, sondern blo.
Et ass net root, zon-dern bloh.
It is not red, but rather blue.
6. Subordinating conjunctions
These introduce subordinate clauses.
# Luxembourgish Transliteration English
1 datt dat that
2 dass dass that
3 well vell because
4 wéinst vaynst because of
5 wann van if / when
6 wann och van okh even if
7 wa vah if / when
8 wann ëmmer van em-mer whenever
9 ob op whether / if
10 obwuel op-voel although
11 obschonn op-shon although
12 obschon op-shon although
13 obwuel och op-voel okh although / even though
14 wéi vay as / how
15 wou voh where / when
16 wann van when
17 ier eer before
18 éier ay-er before
19 nodeems noh-dayms after
20 bis bis until
21 zënter tsen-ter since
22 soubal zoh-baal as soon as
23 soubal wéi zoh-baal vay as soon as
24 wärend vay-rent while
25 während vay-rent while / whereas
26 soulaang zoh-laang as long as
27 esoulaang eh-zoh-laang as long as
28 ausser wann ow-ser van unless / except when
29 ausser datt ow-ser dat except that
30 ausser dass ow-ser dass except that
31 woubäi voh-by whereby / whereas
32 wouduerch voh-doo-er-kh whereby / through which
33 souwäit zoh-vayt insofar as
34 souwäit wéi zoh-vayt vay insofar as
35 esou datt eh-zoh dat so that
36 esou dass eh-zoh dass so that
37 fir datt feer dat so that
38 fir dass feer dass so that
7. Cause — because
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
well vell because
well datt vell dat because that
wéinst vaynst because of
aus dem Grond datt owss dem grond dat for the reason that
doduerch datt doh-doo-er-kh dat by virtue of the fact that
The core conjunction is:
well = because
Example:
Ech bleiwen doheem, well ech krank sinn.
Ekh bly-ven doh-haym, vell ekh krank sinn.
I am staying home because I am sick.
8. Result / consequence
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
sou datt zoh dat so that / so ... that
esou datt eh-zoh dat so that
sou dass zoh dass so that
esou dass eh-zoh dass so that
also al-zoh therefore / so
dofir doh-feer therefore
doduerch doh-doo-er-kh thereby
duerfir doo-er-feer therefore
The first group introduces clauses; also, dofir, doduerch are generally connective adverbs, not strict conjunctions.
9. Conditional conjunctions — IF
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
wann van if
wa vah if
wann ... da van ... dah if ... then
wann och van okh even if
soss zoss otherwise
ausser wann ow-ser van unless
virausgesat datt veer-ows-geh-zat dat provided that
virausgesat dass veer-ows-geh-zat dass provided that
soulaang zoh-laang as long as
ënner der Bedingung datt en-der der beh-ding-oong dat on condition that
Example
Wann et reent, bleiwen ech doheem.
Van et raynt, bly-ven ekh doh-haym.
If it rains, I stay home.
10. “Unless”
Luxembourgish commonly expresses unless with combinations rather than one universal simple conjunction.
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
ausser wann ow-ser van unless
wann net van net if not
ausser datt ow-ser dat except that
ausser dass ow-ser dass except that
soss zoss otherwise
Example:
Ech kommen, ausser wann ech krank sinn.
Ekh kom-men, ow-ser van ekh krank sinn.
I will come unless I am sick.
11. Concessive conjunctions — although / even though
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
obwuel op-voel although
obschonn op-shon although
obschon op-shon although
wann och van okh even if
och wann okh van even if
och wann och okh van okh even if
trotz datt trots dat despite the fact that
trotz dass trots dass despite the fact that
sou ... och zoh ... okh however ...
egal wéi eh-gahl vay no matter how
egal wat eh-gahl vat no matter what
egal wou eh-gahl voh no matter where
egal wéini eh-gahl vay-nee no matter when
egal wien eh-gahl veen no matter who
Example:
Obwuel et reent, gi mir eraus.
Op-voel et raynt, gee meer eh-rowss.
Although it is raining, we are going outside.
12. Time conjunctions
When
wann — van — when
wéi — vay — when/as
Before
ier — eer — before
éier — ay-er — before
After
nodeems — noh-dayms — after
Until
bis — bis — until
Since
zënter — tsen-ter — since
As soon as
soubal — zoh-baal — as soon as
While
wärend — vay-rent — while
As long as
soulaang — zoh-laang — as long as
Function Luxembourgish English
when wann when
when/as wéi when/as
before ier / éier before
after nodeems after
until bis until
since zënter since
as soon as soubal as soon as
while wärend while
as long as soulaang as long as
13. Purpose conjunctions
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
fir datt feer dat so that
fir dass feer dass so that
fir ... ze feer ... tseh in order to
domat doh-mat so that
datt dat that
Example:
Ech schaffen, fir datt ech Sue verdéngen.
Ekh schaffen, feer dat ekh Zoo verdeng-en.
I work so that I earn money.
Ech schaffen, fir Sue ze verdéngen.
Ekh schaffen, feer Zoo tseh verdeng-en.
I work in order to earn money.
14. Comparison conjunctions
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
wéi vay than / as
wéi wann vay van as if
wéi wann vay van as though
als als than / as
sou wéi zoh vay as / just as
genau wéi geh-now vay exactly as
méi ... wéi may ... vay more ... than
manner ... wéi man-er ... vay less ... than
sou ... wéi zoh ... vay as ... as
esou ... wéi eh-zoh ... vay as ... as
Example:
Hien ass méi grouss wéi ech.
Heen ass may grohss vay ekh.
He is taller than me.
15. “As if / as though”
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
wéi wann vay van as if
wéi wann et vay van et as though
als ob als op as if
wéi wann vay van as though
Example:
Hie schwätzt, wéi wann hie alles wéisst.
Hee shvetst, vay van hee alles vaysst.
He speaks as if he knew everything.
16. “That” — clause linker
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
datt dat that
dass dass that
wéi vay how
wat vat what
Example:
Ech weess, datt hien hei ass.
Ekh vayse, dat heen hay ass.
I know that he is here.
17. Indirect questions
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
ob op whether / if
wéi vay how
wou voh where
wouhin voh-hin where to
wouhier voh-heer where from
wéini vay-nee when
firwat feer-vat why
wien veen who
wat vat what
wéi vill vay vill how much/many
Example:
Ech weess net, ob hien kënnt.
Ekh vayse net, op heen kent.
I don't know whether he is coming.
18. Correlative conjunctions
These work in pairs.
Either ... or
entweder ... oder
ent-vay-der ... oh-der
Entweder komme mir haut oder muer.
Either we come today or tomorrow.
Neither ... nor
weder ... nach
way-der ... nakh
Hie kënnt weder haut nach muer.
He is coming neither today nor tomorrow.
Both ... and
souwuel ... wéi och
zoh-vool ... vay okh
Souwuel hien wéi och si kommen.
Both he and she are coming.
Not only ... but also
net nëmmen ... mee och
net nem-men ... may okh
Net nëmmen hien, mee och si kënnt.
Not only he, but she also comes.
Whether ... or
ob ... oder
op ... oh-der
Ech weess net, ob hien oder si kënnt.
I don't know whether he or she is coming.
If ... then
wann ... da
van ... dah
Wann et reent, da bleiwen ech doheem.
If it rains, then I stay home.
19. Correlative master table
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
entweder ... oder ent-vay-der ... oh-der either ... or
weder ... nach way-der ... nakh neither ... nor
souwuel ... wéi och zoh-vool ... vay okh both ... and
net nëmmen ... mee och net nem-men ... may okh not only ... but also
ob ... oder op ... oh-der whether ... or
wann ... da van ... dah if ... then
sou ... wéi zoh ... vay as ... as
méi ... wéi may ... vay more ... than
manner ... wéi man-er ... vay less ... than
egal ... eh-gahl no matter ...
20. “The more ... the more”
Luxembourgish uses comparative-correlative structures.
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
je méi ..., desto méi ... yeh may ..., des-toh may ... the more ..., the more ...
je méi ..., ëmsou méi ... yeh may ..., em-zoh may ... the more ..., the more ...
je manner ..., desto manner ... yeh man-er ..., des-toh man-er ... the less ..., the less ...
je méi ..., desto besser ... yeh may ..., des-toh bes-ser ... the more ..., the better ...
Example:
Je méi, desto besser.
Yeh may, des-toh bes-ser.
The more, the better.
21. “Whoever / whatever / wherever / whenever”
Luxembourgish uses relative/interrogative forms combined with particles or expressions.
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
wien och ëmmer veen okh em-mer whoever
wat och ëmmer vat okh em-mer whatever
wou och ëmmer voh okh em-mer wherever
wéini och ëmmer vay-nee okh em-mer whenever
wéi och ëmmer vay okh em-mer however
egal wien eh-gahl veen whoever
egal wat eh-gahl vat whatever
egal wou eh-gahl voh wherever
egal wéini eh-gahl vay-nee whenever
egal wéi eh-gahl vay however
22. Addition / furthermore — conjunction-like connectors
These are frequently used to connect sentences but are not all strict conjunctions.
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
ausserdeem ow-ser-day-em moreover
donieft doh-neeft besides
doriwwer eraus doh-ree-ver eh-rowss furthermore
zousätzlech tsoo-zets-lekh additionally
och okh also
souwéi zoh-vay as well as
23. Result / therefore — conjunction-like connectors
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
also al-zoh therefore / so
dofir doh-feer therefore
duerfir doo-er-feer therefore
dowéinst doh-vaynst for that reason
doduerch doh-doo-er-kh thereby
domat doh-mat thereby / with that
als Konsequenz als kon-se-kwents as a consequence
am Resultat am reh-zool-taat as a result
24. Contrast — conjunction-like connectors
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
awer ah-ver however / but
trotzdem trots-day-em nevertheless
allerdéngs al-er-dengs however
dogéint doh-gaynt on the contrary
am Géigendeel am gay-en-dayl on the contrary
trotzdeem trots-day-em nevertheless
gläichzäiteg glykh-tsay-tekh at the same time
25. Purpose / condition / concession — master table
Function Luxembourgish English
Purpose fir datt so that
Purpose fir dass so that
Purpose domat so that
Condition wann if / when
Condition wa if
Unless ausser wann unless
Unless wann net unless / if not
Provided virausgesat datt provided that
As long as soulaang as long as
Although obwuel although
Although obschonn although
Even if och wann even if
No matter what egal wat whatever
No matter where egal wou wherever
No matter when egal wéini whenever
No matter how egal wéi however
11- PREPOSITIONS:
# Luxembourgish Transliteration English meaning Example
1 an an in, into, at an der Stad — in the city
2 op op on, onto, at op den Dësch — onto the table
3 bei by at, by, with bei mengem Frënd — at my friend's place
4 mat mat with mat mengem Brudder — with my brother
5 vun vun from, of vun der Schoul — from the school
6 aus ous out of, from aus dem Haus — out of the house
7 zu tsoo to, at zu Lëtzebuerg — in Luxembourg
8 no noh to, after no London — to London
9 bei bay at, near, by bei der Dier — by the door
10 fir feer for fir mäi Frënd — for my friend
11 ouni oo-nee without ouni dech — without you
12 géint gaynt against, toward, around géint d'Mauer — against the wall
13 iwwer ee-ver over, above, across, about iwwer d'Bréck — across the bridge
14 ënner en-ner under, among ënner den Dësch — under the table
15 virun vee-roon in front of, before virun dem Haus — in front of the house
16 hannert han-nert behind hannert dem Haus — behind the house
17 tëscht tesht between, among tëscht den Haiser — between the houses
18 ëm em around, about ëm d'Haus — around the house
19 duerch doorkh through, by means of duerch de Bësch — through the forest
20 laanscht lahnsht along, past laanscht de Floss — along the river
21 géintiwwer gayn-tee-ver opposite, across from géintiwwer der Schoul — opposite the school
22 wéinst vaynst because of wéinst dem Reen — because of the rain
23 trotz trots despite, in spite of trotz dem Reen — despite the rain
24 wärend vay-rent during, while wärend dem Summer — during the summer
25 zënter zen-ter since zënter leschtem Joer — since last year
26 bis bis until, up to bis muer — until tomorrow
27 géint gaynt toward, around/about a time géint fënnef Auer — around five o'clock
28 no noh after no der Aarbecht — after work
29 virun vee-roon before virun dem Iessen — before the meal
30 statt shtat instead of statt Kaffi — instead of coffee
Important correction about duplicates
Some of the same words have different English translations depending on context. For example:
no London = to London
no der Aarbecht = after work
géint d'Mauer = against the wall
géint fënnef Auer = around five o'clock
virun dem Haus = in front of the house
virun dem Iessen = before the meal
So they should not be treated as separate Luxembourgish prepositions.
2. Major spatial prepositions
Luxembourgish Transliteration Meaning Example
an an in, into an d'Haus — into the house
op op on, onto op den Dësch — onto the table
ënner en-ner under ënner dem Bett — under the bed
iwwer ee-ver over, above iwwer dem Bett — above the bed
virun vee-roon in front of virun der Dier — in front of the door
hannert han-nert behind hannert dem Haus — behind the house
tëscht tesht between tëscht den Haiser — between the houses
ëm em around ëm d'Haus — around the house
bei bay near, by bei der Gare — near the station
laanscht lahnsht along, past laanscht de Floss — along the river
géintiwwer gayn-tee-ver opposite géintiwwer der Schoul — opposite the school
duerch doorkh through duerch de Tunnel — through the tunnel
aus ous out of aus dem Haus — out of the house
vun vun from vun der Stad — from the city
3. Prepositions of time
Luxembourgish Transliteration English Example
virun vee-roon before virun dem Iessen — before the meal
no noh after no dem Iessen — after the meal
wärend vay-rent during wärend dem Summer — during the summer
bis bis until bis muer — until tomorrow
zënter zen-ter since zënter gëschter — since yesterday
géint gaynt around géint Mëtteg — around noon
ab ap from/as of ab muer — from tomorrow
vun ... un vun ... un from ... onward vun haut un — from today onward
bis zu bis tsoo until/up to bis zu engem Joer — up to one year
4. Prepositions expressing direction
Luxembourgish Transliteration English Example
an an into an d'Haus — into the house
op op onto/to op d'Bühn — onto the stage
zu tsoo to zu mengem Frënd — to my friend
bei bay to/at bei den Dokter — to the doctor
no noh to no Paräis — to Paris
fir feer toward/for fir d'Dier — toward the door
géint gaynt toward géint d'Stad — toward the city
vun vun from vun do — from there
aus ous out of/from aus dem Gebai — out of the building
duerch doorkh through duerch d'Dier — through the door
5. Prepositions of accompaniment, instrument, and means
Luxembourgish Transliteration English Example
mat mat with mat menger Mamm — with my mother
ouni oo-nee without ouni hien — without him
duerch doorkh through/by means of duerch d'Internet — through the internet
vun vun by/of e Buch vum Auteur — a book by the author
bei bay by/at bei der Firma — at the company
6. Cause, purpose, and relation
Luxembourgish Transliteration English Example
fir feer for fir d'Kanner — for the children
wéinst vaynst because of wéinst dem Reen — because of the rain
trotz trots despite trotz dem Problem — despite the problem
géint gaynt against géint d'Regelen — against the rules
iwwer ee-ver about/concerning iwwer d'Geschicht — about history
bezunn op betsoon op concerning/related to bezunn op dëse Problem — concerning this problem
am Sënn vun am sen vun in terms of/in the sense of am Sënn vun der Gesetzgebung — in terms of legislation
7. Compound / multi-word prepositional expressions
Luxembourgish also uses many expressions that function like prepositions.
Expression Transliteration English meaning
am Verglach mat am fer-glakh mat compared with
am Géigesaz zu am gay-ge-zats tsoo in contrast to
am Hibléck op am hee-blek op with regard to
am Bezuch op am betsoogh op with regard to
bezunn op betsoon op concerning, related to
am Kader vun am kah-der vun within the framework of
am Numm vun am noom vun on behalf of
am Plaz vun am plats vun instead of
am Fall vun am fall vun in the case of
am Géigendeel zu am gay-gen-dayl tsoo contrary to
am Verglach zu am fer-glakh tsoo compared with
am Ufank vun am oo-fank vun at the beginning of
um Enn vun oom enn vun at the end of
ënner dem Afloss vun en-ner dem af-loss vun under the influence of
ënner Bedingung vun en-ner bay-ding-ong vun under the condition of
am Zesummenhang mat am tse-soo-men-hang mat in connection with
a Bezuch op a betsoogh op with regard to
mat Hëllef vun mat hel-lef vun with the help of
mat Ausnam vun mat ous-nam vun with the exception of
ausserhalb vun ous-ser-halp vun outside of
bannent ban-ent within
ausser ous-ser except, besides
am Géigeniwwer zu am gay-gen-ee-ver tsoo in opposition to
8. Important preposition-like words
Some Luxembourgish words can function as prepositions in certain constructions but are also classified differently in other grammatical analyses.
Word Transliteration Meaning
ausser ous-ser except, besides
bannent ban-ent within
ausserhalb ous-ser-halp outside of
ënnerhalb en-ner-halp within, inside
iewerhalb ee-ver-halp above
ënnerhalb vun en-ner-halp vun within
ausserhalb vun ous-ser-halp vun outside of
laanscht lahnsht along, past
géintiwwer gayn-tee-ver opposite
bezunn op betsoon op concerning
statt shtat instead of
9. Preposition + case
Luxembourgish, like German, has important case relationships with prepositions.
Dative-oriented prepositions
Preposition Example English
bei bei dem Frënd at the friend's place
mat mat dem Frënd with the friend
vun vun dem Frënd from the friend
aus aus dem Haus out of the house
zu zu dem Dokter to the doctor
no no dem Iessen after the meal
ënner ënner dem Dësch under the table
virun virun dem Haus in front of the house
hannert hannert dem Haus behind the house
bei bei der Schoul at the school
Accusative-oriented / two-way constructions
Some spatial prepositions can distinguish location from direction/movement.
Preposition Location Direction
an an der Stad = in the city an d'Stad = into the city
op op dem Dësch = on the table op den Dësch = onto the table
ënner ënner dem Dësch = under the table ënner den Dësch = to under the table
virun virun dem Haus = in front of the house virun d'Haus = to in front of the house
hannert hannert dem Haus = behind the house hannert d'Haus = to behind the house
iwwer iwwer dem Dësch = above the table iwwer den Dësch = over/across the table
tëscht tëscht den Haiser = between the houses tëscht d'Haiser = to between the houses
12- DETERMINERS
Gender/number Nominative Accusative Dative English
Masculine de — de den — den dem — dem the
Feminine d' — d d' — d der — der the
Neuter d' — d d' — d dem — dem the
Plural d' — d d' — d den — den the
Examples:
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
de Mann de man the man
d'Fra d fra the woman
d'Kand d kant the child
d'Kanner d kan-er the children
Ech gesinn den Hond. ekh ge-sin den hond I see the dog.
Ech schwätzen mam Mann. ekh shvet-sen mam man I am talking with the man.
2. Indefinite articles
The indefinite article means a/an.
Gender Nominative Accusative Dative English
Masculine e en engem a/an
Feminine eng eng enger a/an
Neuter e e engem a/an
Plural — — — no indefinite article
Examples:
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
e Mann e man a man
eng Fra eng fra a woman
e Kand e kant a child
Ech hunn e Buch. ekh hon e bookh I have a book.
Ech hëllefen engem Kand. ekh hel-ef-en eng-em kant I help a child.
3. Demonstrative determiners
These correspond to this, that, these, those.
dësen / dëse / dëst — this
Form Luxembourgish English
Masculine dësen this
Feminine dës this
Neuter dëst this
Plural dës these
Examples:
dësen Auto — this car
dës Fra — this woman
dëst Haus — this house
dës Kanner — these children
deen / déi / dat — that
Form Luxembourgish English
Masculine deen that
Feminine déi that
Neuter dat that
Plural déi those
Examples:
deen Auto — that car
déi Fra — that woman
dat Haus — that house
déi Kanner — those children
4. Possessive determiners
These mean my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their.
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
mäin / meng mine / meng my
däin / deng dine / deng your
säin / seng zine / zeng his / its
hir / hir heer her
eisen / eis eye-zen / ice our
ären / är eh-ren / air your
hiren / hir heer-en / heer their
The exact form changes according to the noun's gender, number, and case.
Examples:
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
mäin Auto mine auto my car
meng Fra meng fra my wife/woman
mäi Kand my kant my child
meng Kanner meng kan-er my children
däi Brudder dye brood-er your brother
seng Schwëster zeng shves-ter his sister
eis Haus ice hous our house
hir Frënn heer fren their friends
Important possessive forms
Possessor Masculine/neuter Feminine/plural English
1st singular mäi-/mäin- meng- my
2nd singular däi-/däin- deng- your
3rd singular masculine/neuter säi-/säin- seng- his/its
3rd singular feminine hir- hir- her
1st plural eis- eis- our
2nd plural/formal ären- är- your
3rd plural hiren- hir- their
5. Interrogative determiners
wéi ee / wéi eng — which / what kind of
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
wéi ee vay ay which one / what kind of
wéi eng vay eng which
wéi en vay en which
wéi eng vay eng which
Examples:
Wéi ee Buch liest du?
vay ay bookh leest doo
Which book are you reading?
Wéi eng Faarf wëlls du?
vay eng farf vels doo
Which color do you want?
wat fir e / wat fir eng — what kind of / what
Luxembourgish English
wat fir e Mann what kind of man
wat fir eng Fra what kind of woman
wat fir e Buch what kind of book
wat fir Kanner what kind of children
Example:
Wat fir e Buch liest du?
wat feer e bookh leest doo
What kind of book are you reading?
6. Indefinite determiners
These express some, a certain, any, some kind of, etc.
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
e puer e poo-er a few
e puer aner e poo-er ah-ner a few other
e gewësse e ge-ves-se a certain
eng gewëssen eng ge-ves-sen a certain
iergendeen eer-gend-ayn some/anyone
iergendeng eer-gend-eng some/any
iergendengem eer-gend-eng-em to some/any
iergendeng eer-gend-eng some/any
eppes ep-es something
all Zort vu all zort voo every kind of
verschidden fer-shid-en various/several
e puer e poo-er several/a few
verschidde fer-shid-de several/different
Example:
E puer Studenten hu Froen.
e poo-er shtoo-dent-en hoo fro-en
A few students have questions.
7. Universal determiners
These express every, each, all, everyone, everything.
all — all
Luxembourgish English
all all
alle all
alles everything
Examples:
all Leit — all people
all Kanner — all children
alles ass prett — everything is ready
jiddereen / jiddwer — every/each
Luxembourgish English
jiddwereen everyone
jiddwer every/each
jiddwer Kand every child
jiddwer Persoun every person
Example:
Jiddwer Kand kritt e Buch.
jid-ver kant krit e bookh
Every child gets a book.
all Kéier — every time
All Kéier wann ech kommen, ass hien do.
all kay-er van ekh kom-en, ass heen doh
Every time I come, he is there.
8. Distributive determiners
Luxembourgish English
all every/all
jiddwer every/each
jiddereen everyone
all Kéier every time
jee each/every
pro per/each
Examples:
Jee Kand kritt e Stéck.
Each child gets a piece.
Zwee Euro pro Persoun.
Two euros per person.
9. Negative determiners
keen / keng — no / not any
Gender/number Luxembourgish English
Masculine keen no/not a
Feminine keng no/not a
Neuter keen no/not a
Plural keng no/not any
Examples:
keen Auto — no car
keng Fra — no woman
keen Haus — no house
keng Kanner — no children
Ech hunn keen Auto.
ekh hon keen auto
I don't have a car.
Si huet keng Kanner.
zee hat keng kan-er
She has no children.
10. Other negative/indefinite forms
Luxembourgish English
keen eenzegen not a single
keen aneren no other
näischt nothing
ni ee never a / not ever one
keng Aart vu no kind of
op kee Fall under no circumstances
Some of these are technically pronouns or phrases rather than determiners, but they can perform a determiner-like function.
11. Quantifying determiners
Luxembourgish uses many quantity expressions before nouns.
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
vill vil much/many
wéineg vay-neg little/few
e bëssen e bes-en a little
e bësse e bes-se a little
genuch ge-nookh enough
ze vill tse vil too much/many
ze wéineg tse vay-neg too little/few
méi may more
manner man-er less/fewer
sou vill zoh vil so much/many
sou wéineg zoh vay-neg so little/few
esou vill e-zoh vil that much/many
esou wéineg e-zoh vay-neg that little/few
genuch ge-nookh enough
vill méi vil may much more
vill manner vil man-er much less
Examples:
Vill Leit wunnen hei.
vil lite woon-en hay
Many people live here.
Ech hunn e bëssen Zäit.
ekh hon e bes-en tsight
I have a little time.
12. Partitive / quantity expressions
Luxembourgish English
e puer a few
eng Partie a number of / a group of
eng Rei a series/number of
eng Mass a lot of
eng Rëtsch a bunch/lot of
eng Quantitéit vu a quantity of
eng Villzuel vu a large number of
eng Partie vu a number of
eng grouss Zuel vu a large number of
eng kleng Zuel vu a small number of
Example:
Eng Rei Leit hunn dat gesinn.
A number of people saw that.
13. Numeral determiners
Cardinal numbers can function as determiners.
Luxembourgish English
een one
zwee two
dräi three
véier four
fënnef five
sechs six
siwen seven
aacht eight
néng nine
zéng ten
eelef eleven
zwielef twelve
dräizéng thirteen
véierzéng fourteen
fofzéng fifteen
siechzéng sixteen
siwwenzéng seventeen
uechtzéng eighteen
nonzéng nineteen
zwanzeg twenty
honnert hundred
dausend thousand
eng Millioun one million
Example:
dräi Bicher
dry beekh-er
three books
fënnef Kanner
five children
14. Ordinal determiners
Ordinals mean first, second, third, etc.
Luxembourgish English
éischten / éischt first
zweete / zweet second
drëtten / drëtt third
véierte / véiert fourth
fënnefte / fënneft fifth
sechste / sechst sixth
siwente / siwent seventh
aachte / aacht eighth
néngte / néngt ninth
zéngte / zéngt tenth
leschten / lescht last
nächsten / nächst next
viregten / viregt previous
Examples:
den éischten Dag
den aysh-ten dahk
the first day
déi zweet Woch
the second week
dat drëtt Kapitel
the third chapter
15. Multiplicative/number-related determiners
Luxembourgish English
all zwee every two/both
béid both
all dräi all three
e puer a few
vill many
méi more
manner fewer/less
d'Hallschent vun half of
en Drëttel vun a third of
e Véierel vun a quarter of
béid — both
Béid Kanner schlofen.
Both children are sleeping.
16. Reciprocal/collective determiner-like forms
Luxembourgish English
béid both
all béid both/all two
zesummen together
een aneren another/one another
deen aneren the other
déi aner the other ones
Example:
Déi aner Kanner spillen dobaussen.
The other children are playing outside.
17. Other / another
aner / aneren / anerer
Luxembourgish English
aner other
en aneren another/another one
eng aner another
dat anert the other
déi aner the other/others
all déi aner all the others
Examples:
en anert Buch — another book
eng aner Persoun — another person
déi aner Kanner — the other children
18. Same / same kind
Luxembourgish English
selwecht same
déi selwecht the same
deeselwechten the same
datselwecht the same thing
selwecht Aart same kind
Example:
Mir hunn dat selwecht Buch.
We have the same book.
19. Such / such a
esou / esou e / esou eng
Luxembourgish English
esou e such a
esou eng such a
esou such/such a
sou e such a
sou eng such a
Example:
Ech hunn nach ni esou e Buch gelies.
I have never read such a book.
20. Every kind / any kind
Luxembourgish English
all Zort every kind
all Aart every kind
iergendeng Aart any kind
eng Aart vu a kind of
verschidden Aarten different kinds
Example:
All Zort vu Leit kommen heihinner.
All kinds of people come here.
21. Free-choice determiners
These express any, whichever, whatever kind of.
Luxembourgish English
iergendeng any/some
egal wéi eng whichever
egal wéi ee whichever
egal wat fir eng whatever kind of
all Zort vu any/every kind of
jee no depending on
Example:
Huelt egal wéi eng Faarf.
Take whichever color you want.
22. Negative/free-choice combination
Luxembourgish English
keng no/any
net eng eenzeg not a single
keen eenzegen not a single one
op kee Fall under no circumstances
keng Aart vu no kind of
Example:
Keen eenzegt Kand huet geäntwert.
Not a single child answered.
23. Determiner-like particles and emphasis
Some words can occur with determiners or noun phrases but are not strict determiners.
Luxembourgish English Classification
och also/even particle/adverb
souguer even particle/adverb
just just/only particle/adverb
nëmmen only adverb/particle
bal almost adverb
ongeféier approximately adverb
praktesch practically adverb
virun allem above all phrase
13- IF CONDITIONAL
Zero Conditional wann + present, present Wann et reent, gëtt et naass.
First Conditional wann + present, wäert + infinitive Wann ech kommen, wäert ech hëllefen.
Second Conditional wann + géif/wier/hätt, géif + infinitive Wann ech Zäit hätt, géif ech kommen.
Third Conditional wann + past perfect, géif/hätt/wier + participle Wann ech geléiert hätt, hätt ech bestanen.
ech Ech géif maachen. I would do.
du Du géifs maachen. You would do.
hien Hien géif maachen. He would do.
si Si géif maachen. She would do.
et Et géif maachen. It would do.
mir Mir géife maachen. We would do.
dir Dir géift maachen. You would do.
si Si géifen maachen. They would do.
Some verbs (especially movement verbs) use sinn.
goen -> gaagnen
ech Ech géif gaange sinn I would have gone
du Du géifs gaange sinn You would have gone
hien Hien géif gaange sinn He would have gone
si Si géif gaange sinn She would have gone
mir Mir géife gaange sinn We would have gone
dir Dir géift gaange sinn You would have gone
si Si géifen gaange sinn They would have gone
Would I work? Géif ech schaffen?
Would you work? Géifs du schaffen?
Would he work? Géif hien schaffen?
Would she work? Géif si schaffen?
Would we work? Géife mir schaffen?
Would you work? Géift dir schaffen?
Would they work? Géifen si schaffen?
ech Ech géif geschafft hunn I would have worked
du Du géifs geschafft hunn You would have worked
hien Hien géif geschafft hunn He would have worked
si Si géif geschafft hunn She would have worked
mir Mir géife geschafft hunn We would have worked
dir Dir géift geschafft hunn You would have worked
si Si géifen geschafft hunn They would have worked
FOR MOVEMENT VERBS:
ech Ech géif gaange sinn I would have gone
du Du géifs gaange sinn You would have gone
hien Hien géif gaange sinn He would have gone
si Si géif gaange sinn She would have gone
mir Mir géife gaange sinn We would have gone
dir Dir géift gaange sinn You would have gone
si Si géifen gaange sinn They would have gone
Géifs du gehollef hunn? Would you have helped?
ech Ech géif net maachen I would not do
du Du géifs net maachen You would not do
hien Hien géif net maachen He would not do
si Si géif net maachen She would not do
et Et géif net maachen It would not do
mir Mir géife net maachen We would not do
dir Dir géift net maachen You would not do
si Si géifen net maachen They would not do
Would I not work? Géif ech net schaffen?
Would you not work? Géifs du net schaffen?
Would he not work? Géif hien net schaffen?
Would she not work? Géif si net schaffen?
Would we not work? Géife mir net schaffen?
Would you not work? Géift dir net schaffen?
Would they not work? Géifen si net schaffen?
ech Ech géif net gemaach hunn I would not have done
du Du géifs net gemaach hunn You would not have done
hien Hien géif net gemaach hunn He would not have done
si Si géif net gemaach hunn She would not have done
et Et géif net gemaach hunn It would not have done
mir Mir géife net gemaach hunn We would not have done
dir Dir géift net gemaach hunn You would not have done
si Si géifen net gemaach hunn They would not have done
ech Ech géif net geschafft hunn I would not have worked
du Du géifs net geschafft hunn You would not have worked
hien Hien géif net geschafft hunn He would not have worked
si Si géif net geschafft hunn She would not have worked
mir Mir géife net geschafft hunn We would not have worked
dir Dir géift net geschafft hunn You would not have worked
si Si géifen net geschafft hunn They would not have worked
FOR MOVEMENT VERBS:
ech Ech géif net gaange sinn I would not have gone
du Du géifs net gaange sinn You would not have gone
hien Hien géif net gaange sinn He would not have gone
si Si géif net gaange sinn She would not have gone
mir Mir géife net gaange sinn We would not have gone
dir Dir géift net gaange sinn You would not have gone
si Si géifen net gaange sinn They would not have gone
Would I not have worked? Géif ech net geschafft hunn?
Would you not have worked? Géifs du net geschafft hunn?
Would he not have worked? Géif hien net geschafft hunn?
Would she not have worked? Géif si net geschafft hunn?
Would we not have worked? Géife mir net geschafft hunn?
Would you not have worked? Géift dir net geschafft hunn?
Would they not have worked? Géifen si net geschafft hunn?
ech Ech géif gemaach ginn I would be done
du Du géifs gemaach ginn You would be done
hien Hien géif gemaach ginn He would be done
si Si géif gemaach ginn She would be done
et Et géif gemaach ginn It would be done
mir Mir géife gemaach ginn We would be done
dir Dir géift gemaach ginn You would be done
si Si géifen gemaach ginn They would be done
Would I be seen? Géif ech gesi ginn?
Would you be seen? Géifs du gesi ginn?
Would he be seen? Géif hien gesi ginn?
Would she be seen? Géif si gesi ginn?
Would we be seen? Géife mir gesi ginn?
Would you be seen? Géift dir gesi ginn?
Would they be seen? Géife si gesi ginn?
ech Ech géif gemaach gi sinn I would have been done
du Du géifs gemaach gi sinn You would have been done
hien Hien géif gemaach gi sinn He would have been done
si Si géif gemaach gi sinn She would have been done
et Et géif gemaach gi sinn It would have been done
mir Mir géife gemaach gi sinn We would have been done
dir Dir géift gemaach gi sinn You would have been done
si Si géifen gemaach gi sinn They would have been done
Would I have been seen? Géif ech gesi gi sinn?
Would you have been seen? Géifs du gesi gi sinn?
Would he have been seen? Géif hien gesi gi sinn?
Would she have been seen? Géif si gesi gi sinn?
Would we have been seen? Géife mir gesi gi sinn?
Would they have been seen? Géife si gesi gi sinn?
ech Ech géif net gemaach ginn I would not be done
du Du géifs net gemaach ginn You would not be done
hien Hien géif net gemaach ginn He would not be done
si Si géif net gemaach ginn She would not be done
et Et géif net gemaach ginn It would not be done
mir Mir géife net gemaach ginn We would not be done
dir Dir géift net gemaach ginn You would not be done
si Si géifen net gemaach ginn They would not be done
Would I not be seen? Géif ech net gesi ginn?
Would you not be seen? Géifs du net gesi ginn?
Would he not be seen? Géif hien net gesi ginn?
Would she not be seen? Géif si net gesi ginn?
Would we not be seen? Géife mir net gesi ginn?
Would you not be seen? Géift dir net gesi ginn?
Would they not be seen? Géife si net gesi ginn?
ech Ech géif net gemaach gi sinn I would not have been done
du Du géifs net gemaach gi sinn You would not have been done
hien Hien géif net gemaach gi sinn He would not have been done
si Si géif net gemaach gi sinn She would not have been done
et Et géif net gemaach gi sinn It would not have been done
mir Mir géife net gemaach gi sinn We would not have been done
dir Dir géift net gemaach gi sinn You would not have been done
si Si géifen net gemaach gi sinn They would not have been done
Would I not have been called? Géif ech net geruff gi sinn?
Would you not have been called? Géifs du net geruff gi sinn?
Would he not have been called? Géif hien net geruff gi sinn?
Would she not have been called? Géif si net geruff gi sinn?
Would we not have been called? Géife mir net geruff gi sinn?
Would you not have been called? Géift dir net geruff gi sinn?
Would they not have been called? Géife si net geruff gi sinn?
ech Ech géif sinn I would be
du Du géifs sinn You would be
hien Hien géif sinn He would be
si Si géif sinn She would be
mir Mir géife sinn We would be
dir Dir géift sinn You would be
si Si géifen sinn They would be
Ech géif frou sinn. I would be happy.
Mir géife prett sinn. We would be ready.
14- COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
Positive adjective adjective grouss big
Comparative méi + Adj. méi grouss bigger
Comparative + than méi + Adj. + wéi méi grouss wéi bigger than
Less manner + Adj. manner grouss less big
Less + than manner + Adj. + wéi manner grouss wéi less big than
Equality sou/esou + Adj. + wéi sou grouss wéi as big as
Negative equality net sou/esou + Adj. + wéi net sou grouss wéi not as big as
Superlative am + Adj. + -sten am gréissten biggest
Attributive superlative de/déi/dat + Adj. + -st de gréisste the biggest
Least am mannsten + Adj. am mannsten aktiv least active
Much more vill méi + Adj. vill méi grouss much bigger
Much less vill manner + Adj. vill manner grouss much less big
More noun méi + noun méi Bicher more books
Fewer/less noun manner + noun manner Bicher fewer books
Most noun déi meescht + noun déi meescht Bicher most books
Fewest noun déi mannsten + noun déi mannste Bicher fewest books
More action méi + verb méi schaffen work more
Less action manner + verb manner schaffen work less
Most action am + adverb + -sten am meeschten schaffen work the most
Least action am mannsten + verb am mannsten schaffen work the least
De Mann ass méi grouss wéi säi Brudder. The man is bigger than his brother.
15- RELATIVE CLAUSES
Masculine deen deen deem
Feminine déi déi där
Neuter dat dat deem
Nominative déi
Accusative déi
Dative deenen
De Jong, deen spillt, ass mäi Brudder. The boy who is playing is my brother.
D'Buch, dat ech liesen, ass gutt. The book that I read is good.
D'Fra, där ech hëllefen, ass léif. The woman whom I help is nice.
De Mann, mat deem ech schwätzen, ass en Dokter. The man with whom I speak is a doctor.
D'Haus, wou si wunnen, ass al. The house where they live is old.
We can use without the relative pronoun, however this is optional:
the book I read D'Buch, ech liesen
the man I saw De Mann, ech gesinn hunn
the house where I live D'Haus, wou ech wunnen
the man I work with De Mann, De Mann, wou ech mat schaffen
FORMATION:
De de the definite article, masculine singular
Mann man man noun (masculine)
wou wou who/that/where (relative marker) introduces the relative clause
ech ekh I subject pronoun
mat mat with preposition
schaffen shaffen work verb
WITH THE RELATIVE PRONOUN:
the book I read D'Buch, dat ech liesen
the man I saw De Mann, deen ech gesinn hunn
the house where I live D'Haus, wou ech wunnen
the man I work with De Mann, mat deem ech schaffen
16- REPORTED SPEECH AND DIRECT SPEECH
Direct Speech: Person + verb of saying + "exact words"
Reported Speech:
Present datt hien schafft that he works
Past datt hien geschafft huet that he worked
Past state datt hien krank war that he was sick
Past perfect datt hien geschafft hat that he had worked
Future datt hien wäert kommen that he will come
Future in past datt hien géif kommen that he would come
Negative datt hien net kënnt that he does not come
Yes/no question ob hien kënnt whether he comes
Wh-question wou hien wunnt where he lives
Command datt hien komme soll that he should come
Passive datt et gemaach gëtt that it is done
17- INFINITIVES AND VERBAL NOUNS
to eat iessen
eating iessen / d'Iessen
to eat (with ze) ze iessen
I want to eat Ech wëll iessen
I try to eat Ech probéieren ze iessen
I like eating Ech iesse gär
Reading is good Liesen ass gutt
I see him running Ech gesinn hien lafen
I am happy to see you Ech si frou, dech ze gesinn
in order to eat fir ze iessen
I am happy seeing you Ech si frou, dech ze gesinn adjective + ze + infinitive
FORMATION:
Ech I
si am
frou happy
dech you (object)
ze gesinn to see
I am happy to see you Ech si frou, dech ze gesinn adjective + ze + infinitive
FORMATION:
Ech I
si am
frou happy
dech you (object)
ze gesinn to see
I plan to eat Ech plangen ze iessen verb + ze + infinitive
FORMATION:
Ech I
plangen plan
ze iessen to eat
I plan eating Ech plangen ze iessen OR: Ech plangen d'Iessen. (however this is unnatural) no true gerund; use infinitive
I see him run Ech gesinn hien lafen perception verb + object + infinitive
FORMATION:
Ech I
gesinn see
hien him/he
lafen run
I see him running Ech gesinn hien lafen same structure
FORMATION:
Ech I
gesinn see
hien him/he
lafen run
I eat to play Ech iessen, fir ze spillen fir ze + infinitive
FORMATION:
Ech I
iessen eat
fir for/in order
ze spillen to play
18- SUBJUNCTIVE
would do géif + infinitive would do
would be wier would be
would have hätt would have
could kéint/kéints could
would have to misst would have to
should sollt should
would have done hätt/wier + participle would have done
19- TAG QUESTIONS
gell? right? / isn't it? most common spoken tag
net? isn't it? / don't you? very common
oder? or? / right? confirmation
stëmmt? correct? formal
bass du? are you? repeated verb
ass et? is it? repeated verb
When the sentence is negative, the tag asks for confirmation.
Du bass midd, gell? You are tired, aren't you?
Et ass kal, net? It is cold, isn't it?
Hien kënnt muer, oder? He is coming tomorrow, right?
Si huet Zäit, stëmmt? She has time, correct?
Dir hutt dat gemaach, gell? You did that, didn't you?
Hien ass net do, oder? He is not there, is he?
Bass du net midd? Aren't you tired?
Hues du net Zäit? Don't you have time?
Kënnt hien net kommen? Can't he come?
Hutt dir dat net gesinn? Didn't you see that?
Wëlls du net goen? Don't you want to go?
Firwat gees du net? Why don't you go?
Ass et net schéin? Isn't it beautiful?
20- MODAL WORDS
# Luxembourgish Transliteration English meaning Example
1 kënnen ken-en can, be able to Ech kann schwammen. — I can swim.
2 mussen moos-en must, have to Ech muss schaffen. — I must work.
3 däerfen day-er-fen may, be allowed to Du däerfs goen. — You may go.
4 sollen zol-en should, be supposed to Du solls léieren. — You should study.
5 wëllen vel-en want to, will Ech wëll goen. — I want to go.
6 wënschen vensh-en wish Ech wënschen ze goen. — I wish to go.
7 brauchen brow-khen need to Ech brauch ze schaffen. — I need to work.
8 hunn ... ze hon ... tse have to Ech hunn ze schaffen. — I have to work.
The five central Germanic-style modal verbs are:
kënnen, mussen, däerfen, sollen, wëllen
2. Können — can / be able to
kënnen
Person Luxembourgish English
ech kann I can
du kanns you can
hien/si/et kann he/she/it can
mir kënnen we can
dir kënnt you can
si kënnen they can
Example:
Ech kann Däitsch schwätzen.
ekh kan daytsh shvet-sen
I can speak German.
3. Mussen — must / have to
mussen
Person Luxembourgish English
ech muss I must
du muss you must
hien/si/et muss he/she/it must
mir mussen we must
dir musst you must
si mussen they must
Example:
Du muss elo goen.
doo moos ay-loh go-en
You must go now.
4. Däerfen — may / be allowed to
däerfen
Person Luxembourgish English
ech däerf I may/am allowed to
du däerfs you may
hien/si/et däerf he/she/it may
mir däerfen we may
dir däerft you may
si däerfen they may
Example:
Dir däerft hei sëtzen.
You may sit here.
Negative:
Dir däerft hei net fëmmen.
You may not smoke here.
5. Sollen — should / supposed to
sollen
Person Luxembourgish English
ech soll I should
du solls you should
hien/si/et soll he/she/it should
mir sollen we should
dir sollt you should
si sollen they should
Example:
Du solls méi Waasser drénken.
You should drink more water.
It can also mean be supposed to:
Hie soll muer kommen.
He is supposed to come tomorrow.
6. Wëllen — want / intend / will
wëllen
Person Luxembourgish English
ech wëll I want
du wëlls you want
hien/si/et wëll he/she/it wants
mir wëllen we want
dir wëllt you want
si wëllen they want
Example:
Ech wëll Lëtzebuergesch léieren.
I want to learn Luxembourgish.
7. Brauchen — need
brauchen can express necessity, especially in negative constructions and with ze + infinitive.
Ech brauch méi Zäit.
I need more time.
Ech brauch net ze goen.
I don't need to go.
8. Hunn ... ze — have to
This is an important Luxembourgish modal construction.
Ech hunn dat haut ze maachen.
I have to do that today.
Formation:
Subject + hunn + object + ze + infinitive
It expresses an obligation similar to mussen.
9. Modal adverbs — possibility
These express may, might, perhaps, possibly.
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
vläicht vlaykht perhaps, maybe
méiglecherweis mayg-lekh-er-vays possibly
eventuell event-oo-el possibly/eventually
méiglecherweis mayg-lekh-er-vays possibly
et kann sinn et kan zin it may be
et kéint sinn et kaynt zin it might be
kéint kaynt could/might
kann kan can/may
Examples:
Vläicht kënnt hien muer.
Maybe he will come tomorrow.
Méiglecherweis ass et richteg.
It is possibly correct.
Et kéint reenen.
It might rain.
10. Probability
Luxembourgish English
wahrscheinlech probably/likely
warscheinlech probably/likely
vermutlech presumably/probably
vläicht perhaps
méiglecherweis possibly
eventuell possibly
bestëmmt certainly/definitely
sécher certainly/surely
villäicht perhaps
scheinbar apparently
anscheinend apparently
wuel probably
warscheinlech likely
Examples:
Hie kënnt wahrscheinlech muer.
He will probably come tomorrow.
Si ass wuel doheem.
She is probably at home.
11. Certainty
Luxembourgish Transliteration English
sécher say-kher certainly/surely
bestëmmt besh-temt definitely
definitiv day-fee-nee-teef definitely
ganz sécher gants say-kher absolutely certainly
natierlech nah-tee-er-lekh naturally/of course
selbstverständlech zelpsht-fer-shtent-lekh obviously/of course
zweifellos tsvay-fol-los undoubtedly
ouni Zweifel oo-nee tsvay-fel without doubt
sécherlech say-kher-lekh certainly
wierklech veer-klekh really
tatsächlech tat-sekh-lekh actually/in fact
Example:
Hie kënnt sécher muer.
He will certainly come tomorrow.
12. Obligation and necessity
Luxembourgish English
mussen must/have to
hunn ze have to
brauchen need
néideg sinn be necessary
noutwenneg sinn be necessary
et ass néideg it is necessary
et ass noutwenneg it is necessary
onbedéngt necessarily/absolutely
obligatoresch obligatory
verflicht sinn be obliged
gezwonge sinn be forced
Examples:
Et ass néideg, dat ze maachen.
It is necessary to do that.
Ech muss schaffen.
I have to work.
13. Advice and recommendation
Luxembourgish English
sollen should
sollt should
et wier besser it would be better
besser better
am beschten best / preferably
et wier ubruecht it would be advisable
ubruecht advisable/appropriate
empfehlenswert advisable/recommended
et ass besser it is better
ech géif roden I would advise
ech géif recommandéieren I would recommend
Example:
Du solls méi fréi schlofen.
You should sleep earlier.
Et wier besser, wann s du géifs waarden.
It would be better if you waited.
14. Permission
Luxembourgish English
däerfen may/be allowed to
erlaabt sinn be allowed
dürfen be allowed to
d'Erlaabnes hunn have permission
kënnen can/be permitted to, contextually
Examples:
Dir däerft eran.
You may come in.
Dat ass erlaabt.
That is allowed.
15. Prohibition
Luxembourgish English
net däerfen must not/not be allowed
verbueden sinn be forbidden
net erlaabt sinn not be allowed
verbueden forbidden
ni däerfen must never be allowed
Example:
Du däerfs dat net maachen.
You must not do that.
Fëmmen ass hei verbueden.
Smoking is forbidden here.
16. Ability
Luxembourgish English
kënnen can/be able to
fäeg sinn be capable of
a sengem Stand sinn be in a position to
et fäerdeg bréngen manage to
schafen manage to/succeed in
Examples:
Ech kann et maachen.
I can do it.
Hie ass fäeg, dat ze maachen.
He is capable of doing that.
17. Willingness
Luxembourgish English
wëllen want to
wënschen wish
bereet sinn be willing/ready
gären gladly/like to
mat Freed gladly
Loscht hunn feel like/want to
gewëllt sinn be willing
Examples:
Ech wëll hëllefen.
I want to help.
Ech si bereet ze hëllefen.
I am willing to help.
Ech hätt Loscht erauszegoen.
I feel like going out.
18. Intention
Luxembourgish English
wëllen intend/want
plangen plan
virhunn intend/plan to
Absicht hunn intend
virgesinn intend/plan
gedenken intend
wëlles hunn intend/want
Examples:
Ech plangen, muer ze goen.
I plan to go tomorrow.
Hie huet vir, méi ze léieren.
He intends to study more.
19. Desire
Luxembourgish English
wëllen want
wënschen wish
gären like to
gär gladly/like
Loscht hunn feel like/want
sech wënschen wish for
hoffentlech hopefully
Example:
Ech wënsche mir eng Paus.
I wish for a break.
20. Conditional modality
The conditional is particularly important for would, could, should, might.
Luxembourgish English
kéint could/might
géif would
misst would have to / would need to
däerft might be allowed to
sollt should / were supposed to
wëllt would want
hätt would have
wier would be
Examples:
Ech kéint kommen.
I could come.
Ech géif kommen.
I would come.
Ech misst goen.
I would have to go.
Ech géif dat maachen.
I would do that.
21. “Could”
kënnen → kéinten / kéint
Ech kéint hëllefen.
I could help.
It can express either:
ability under a condition
possibility
tentative suggestion
22. “Would”
géif + infinitive
Ech géif goen.
I would go.
Si géif hëllefen.
She would help.
This is the normal Luxembourgish conditional construction.
23. “Should”
sollen
Du solls goen.
You should go.
Conditional/tentative:
Du solls besser waarden.
You should better wait.
24. “Might”
Several constructions can express might.
Luxembourgish English
kéint might/could
vläicht maybe
méiglecherweis possibly
et kéint sinn, datt... it might be that...
wuel probably
Example:
Hie kéint muer kommen.
He might come tomorrow.
25. Evidential / inferential modal words
These indicate that something is based on evidence, appearance, or inference.
Luxembourgish English
anscheinend apparently
scheinbar apparently/seemingly
wuel presumably/probably
vermutlech presumably
warscheinlech probably
offensichtlech obviously
scheinbar seemingly
et schéngt it seems
schéngen seem
et gesäit aus wéi it looks as if
anscheinend apparently
sou wéi et ausgesäit as it appears
Example:
Hie schéngt krank ze sinn.
He seems to be ill.
26. “Apparently”
anscheinend
Anscheinend kënnt hien net.
Apparently he isn't coming.
scheinbar
Scheinbar ass alles an der Rei.
Apparently/seemingly everything is fine.
27. “Probably”
Luxembourgish English
wahrscheinlech probably
warscheinlech probably
wuel probably
vermutlech presumably
aller Wahrscheinlechkeet no in all probability
Example:
Si ass wahrscheinlech doheem.
She is probably at home.
28. “Certainly / definitely”
Luxembourgish English
sécher certainly
bestëmmt definitely
definitiv definitely
onbedéngt absolutely/definitely
sécherlech certainly
ouni Zweifel without doubt
zweifellos undoubtedly
natierlech of course
selbstverständlech naturally/of course
29. “Maybe / perhaps”
Luxembourgish English
vläicht maybe
méiglecherweis possibly
eventuell possibly
vläicht och perhaps also
et kéint sinn it might be
30. Modal particles
Luxembourgish also has particles that modify the speaker's attitude rather than expressing a straightforward modal meaning.
Luxembourgish English/function
jo indeed/as you know
mol just/for a moment; softens command
roueg simply/just, reassuringly
nach still/yet
schonn already
eben simply/just
awer indeed/but, emphatic
dach after all/indeed
nëmmen only
souguer even
och also/even
vläicht perhaps
wuel probably
just just
guer at all, really
Example:
Komm mol heihinner.
Come over here for a moment.
Here mol softens the imperative rather than meaning a literal “moment” in the normal sense.
31. “Of course”
Luxembourgish English
natierlech of course
selbstverständlech of course/naturally
sécher certainly
jo indeed/yes
natierlech jo of course
Example:
Natierlech kann ech hëllefen.
Of course I can help.
32. “Hopefully”
hoffentlech
Hoffentlech kënnt hien muer.
Hopefully he comes tomorrow.
33. “Necessarily”
onbedéngt
Dat muss net onbedéngt stëmmen.
That doesn't necessarily have to be true.
This is especially useful because onbedéngt can express strong necessity or, in a negative construction, “necessarily.”
34. Modal expressions with et ass
Luxembourgish frequently expresses modality with impersonal constructions.
Formation English
Et ass néideg, ... ze + infinitive It is necessary to...
Et ass noutwenneg, ... ze + infinitive It is necessary to...
Et ass méiglech, ... ze + infinitive It is possible to...
Et ass onméiglech, ... ze + infinitive It is impossible to...
Et ass erlaabt, ... ze + infinitive It is permitted to...
Et ass verbueden, ... ze + infinitive It is forbidden to...
Et ass wahrscheinlech, datt... It is probable that...
Et ass méiglech, datt... It is possible that...
Examples:
Et ass méiglech, datt hien kënnt.
It is possible that he will come.
Et ass verbueden, hei ze fëmmen.
It is forbidden to smoke here.
21- THERE IS / HAVE / BE
There is a book Et gëtt e Buch
There are books Et gi Bicher
Is there a book? Gëtt et e Buch?
Are there books? Ginn et Bicher?
There is no book Et gëtt kee Buch
There are no books Et gi keng Bicher
There was a problem Et gouf e Problem
There will be a problem Et wäert e Problem ginn
have hunn Ech hunn en Auto
had hat Ech hat en Auto
have done hunn + participle Ech hunn geschafft
have to mussen Ech muss goen
would have hätt Ech hätt Zäit
have something done loossen + infinitive Ech loossen et maachen
Ech hunn I have
Du hues You have
Hien huet He has
Si huet She has
Et huet It has
Mir hunn We have
Dir hutt You have
Si hunn They have
Ech hunn e Buch. I have a book.
IMPERATIVES:
Du verb stem Komm! Come!
Dir stem + t Kommt! Come! (Plural)
Mir Loosst eis + infinitive Loosst eis kommen Let's come
Vergiess net! Don't forget!
Let it be done looss + object + participle + ginn Looss et gemaach ginn
Let them be done (formal/plural) loosst + object + participle + ginn Loosst et gemaach ginn
It should be done soll + participle + ginn Et soll gemaach ginn
It must be done muss + participle + ginn Et muss gemaach ginn
Do not let it be done net + loossen structure Looss et net maachen