Why is Dutch so difficult? Well, it shouldn't be that hard, 'cause it's the native language of 23 million people in the European Union , but even if you are Dutch you will be making lingual mistakes.

Let's have a look at Dutch and its challenges.

1) We have 15 open sounds!
bal, baal, lek, leek, vis, vies, rok, rook, stug, stuur, vijl/veil, gauw/oud, leuk, uit, boek. That is much more than in most languages.

2) The g is in most countries the g of goal and not like our soft and hard g.

3) The compound verbs and their conjugations.
To agree: 'het ergens mee eens zijn'. I agree: 'Ik ben het ermee eens'. To matter: 'ertoe doen'. It doesn't matter: 'Het doet er niet toe'.

4) The sentence structure (word sequence). This depends on the conjunction, which is usually not the case in other languages.
'Ik kan niet komen, want mijn fiets is kapot' (I cannot go for my bike is broken).
'Ik kan niet komen, OMDAT mijn fiets kapot is' (I cannot go BECAUSE my bike is broken).

5) Words like 'er', 'toch' and 'maar'. We use the word 'er' in so many sentences, while it has little meaning.
'Heb je eraan gedacht dat er geen bier meer is?' ("Did it cross your mind that there is no beer left?").
'Je kunt er maar beter niet naartoe gaan, toch?' ("You better not go there, right?")
'Ik ga toch!' ("I'm going!")

6) Standing / lying / sitting (staan / liggen / zitten).
There is a stain on the table: 'Er zit een vlek op de tafel'. (zitten = to sit)
There is a glass on the table: 'Er staat een glas op de tafel'. (staan = to stand)
There is a book on the table: 'Er ligt een boek op de tafel'. (liggen = to lie) (uhm ... liegen = to (tell a) lie)

7) The articles 'de' / 'het'
In English it is always THE.
You just have to learn whether you should use 'de' or 'het'.

8) No clear rules for use of present/future tense.
We will use the present tense for the future tense: 'Ik kom morgen' (I will come by tomorrow.)
We can even use the past for something that hasn't happened yet: 'Kwam je nu morgen of overmorgen?' ("Did you come tomorrow or the day after?")

9) Expressions.
Dutch suffers from expressions, there are lots. Talking about superfluous ... ('Appeltje, eitje' ("little apple, little egg") = easypeasy) when there is already 'Eitje!' (Easy!)

10) The change of sounds in the conjugation of a verb.
Komen (to come) - Ik kom (not "Ik koom")
Dromen (to dream) - Ik droom (not "Ik drom")
You just have to learn this.

The Undutchables part 1 installment
- and a bit more
31% is very good, and I don’t think the light at the end of the tunnel is a train – unless you are being sent another trainload of materieal to be OCRed.

I'm pleased to hear that the new frontdesksomputer runs so well without any signs of cloggying up. My laptop is not sure it likes the most recent Windows update. It has an tendency to clog up, so I have to close all I have up for multitasking and reboot. Could be I just ask too much from it considered its capacity.

You fired back:

What would you do, if you were me, when you were sitting at the table of language and you were told that there are 20 ways to pronounce the letter 'r' in Dutch?

If I were you sitting across from me with 20 different pronunciations of an ’r’ – you would hear me say:
1. ’There is just one way – and then give you my plain ’Northern tribe’ version – just an ’r’ – no frills nor shrills nor rolls of tongue, no nothing.’
2. ’Will I be understood?’
Seems as if I’m on my way to getting less humble

The Undutchables
I’m not that far yet, but I made a couple of observations.
It may be an imperfection of my sense of humor, but I don’t care all that much for the authors’ ’cloggy/cloggies’ word.
On the other hand I care a lot for you being described as koffie addicts. Something to relate to – as I’m sitting here with an uncharacteristic giant mug of tea.
I also like the assertion that you are ’always speaking your minds and ask what most foreigners consider to be probing questions about one’s personal life.’
I recall that at some point you asked me if I 'wanted to know everything' …
’Their directness gives many the impression that they are rude and crude – attributes they prefer to call ”openness”. You can put it to a test by discussing intimate and schocking topics with them that you would never dare speak about with any other nationality.’ The authors claim that such discussions would be no more embarrassing or unusual to you than discussing the weather.
They underline the BICYCLE – which they should do. Never did I see a country this much designed to the needs and wishes of bicyclists. The bicycles look like mopeds in many ways. Lots of optional equipment. Windscreens, those mittens (in fact I had some as a child – they were really good but I was ashamed at how they looked) – many different ways to carry your shopping home. The sheer quantity of bicycles was mind-boggling to me – who comes from a fairly well developed bicyclist country myself.
Your relationship to water is well described and deserves all the admiration it can get. Also the fact that this relationship has made you world champions in water construction of any kind – which is probably a fine source of income from all over the world, also.
I went the entire stretch of the Deltawerken even as it was not planned but I was too tempted, and I said wow! incessantly. Kind of a ’Manhattan Project’ just bigger.
I saw a Dutch company establishing a tunnel for either waste or surface water under a roundabout near me. There must have been something special needed to be done, because we can dig a simple hole.

They devote a bit to windows and curtains (we discussed curtains at some point). I love your tall windows. They may be a consequence of the houses being deep an narrow with no possibility of light coming in at the facades (which they in effect are, as we talk gable houses) at attached houses. The rooms needs all the light they can get – therefore they should be as tall and wide as possible. Light and air is also supposed to keep tuberculosis away

We have spionnetje, too.
most prominently in some towns in Southwest Jutland – and now we’re already on our way to the Netherlands.

You have a word: ’gezellig’ that min of meer comes close to ’gemütlich’ and which must mean something like does Danish ’hygge’ – a word we are very proud of has entered the vocabulary of many foreign languages. Therefore we regard ourselves champions of ’hygge’
– but perhaps you are better at it?
Ingredients: Dark, ugly weather outside – plitter platter regen an den zolderraam – fire (fireplace, woodburning stove, candles), a blanket, woolen socks, a book, a mandatory mug of hot cocoa and preferably a purring cat .
How do you create gezelligheid?

I think the reason why I don't really find the book's description of you comical is due to the fact that I find most things sensible ....

EDIT: The 'your' that should be 'you' - several instances of this
Tried to mend the 'if you were me ....' part. Did not succeed 100%, but I hope - and think - I will be understood

There is a saying 'een vroege vogel vangt veel wormen', literally meaning 'an early bird catches many worms'.
A well-known Dutch saying runs as follows: 'de morgenstond heeft goud in de mond' (the early morning carries gold in its mouth);
another saying reads: 'vroeg begonnen, veel gewonnen' (early started, much gained).
Yes, in Dutch we say: 'wie het eerst komt, die het eerst maalt' (whoever comes first, mills first), the fifo principle.

I can't find any actual proof that we do. There is one page and it isn't proof: http://actuamaasland.blogspot.nl/2017/07/vroege-vogel-voor-de-kat.html