About This Lesson
Use Starting class slowly to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Ik voel me zenuwachtig voor de les.
ik VOOL muh ZAY-noo-akh-tukh VOHR duh LESS. I feel nervous before class.
B
Dat gevoel is normaal. De groep is vriendelijk.
DAHT guh-VOOL iss nor-MAHL. Duh GROOP iss VREAN-duh-luk. That feeling is normal. The group is friendly.
A
Ik ben blij om dat te horen.
ik BEN BLYE oom daht tuh HOH-run. I am glad to hear that.
B
In het begin doen we het rustig aan.
in ut buh-GHIN DOON wuh ut RUS-tukh AHN. We take things slowly at first.
A
Dat klinkt goed.
DAHT klinkt GHOOT. That sounds good.
B
Het eerste deel is makkelijk.
ut AYR-stuh DAYL iss MAH-kuh-luk. The first part is easy.Word by Word
Ik
In "Ik voel me zenuwachtig voor de les", "Ik" means "I" and identifies the speaker as the person who feels nervous. It is used before the verb in the pattern "Ik voel me ..." when talking about your own state. Use it when speaking about yourself, such as before a class.
voel
In "Ik voel me zenuwachtig", "voel" means "feel" and describes the speaker’s inner state. It is the form of voelen used with "Ik"; a reusable pattern is "Ik voel me ...". Use it to describe how you feel in a situation.
me
In "Ik voel me zenuwachtig", "me" refers back to the speaker and completes the expression for feeling a state. Together with "voel", it is used in the pattern "Ik voel me ...", followed by a description of the state. Use it when describing your own feelings.
zenuwachtig
In "Ik voel me zenuwachtig", "zenuwachtig" means nervous and describes the speaker’s feeling before class. It follows "voel me" to name the state being felt. Use it when you feel nervous before a lesson or another event.
voor
In "voor de les", "voor" means "before" and places the class after the time reference. A reusable pattern is "voor de ..." for something happening before a specific event. Use it when saying when a feeling or action occurs relative to an event.
de
In "voor de les", "de" means "the" and identifies "les" as a specific class or lesson. It appears before the noun in the phrase "de les". Use it when referring to a specific noun that takes "de".
les
In "voor de les", "les" means class or lesson, the event that is about to begin. The reusable phrase "voor de les" refers to the time before a class. Use it when talking about a school or language lesson.
Dat
In "Dat gevoel is normaal", "Dat" means "that" and points back to the feeling just mentioned. It comes before "gevoel" in the phrase "Dat gevoel". Use it to refer to a specific thing that has already been mentioned.
gevoel
In "Dat gevoel", "gevoel" means feeling, here referring to the nervous feeling before class. It follows "Dat" in the noun phrase "Dat gevoel". Use it to name an emotion or inner experience being discussed.
is
In "Dat gevoel is normaal" and "De groep is vriendelijk", "is" means "is" and links the subject to a description. It is the present form of zijn used with a singular subject here. Use it in the pattern "X is Y" to describe or identify something.
normaal
In "Dat gevoel is normaal", "normaal" means normal and reassures the listener that the feeling is not unusual. It follows "is" in the pattern "X is normaal". Use it when describing a common or expected situation.
groep
In "De groep is vriendelijk", "groep" means group, here referring to the people in the class. It is used with "de" in the phrase "De groep". Use it to talk about several people considered together, such as a class group.
vriendelijk
In "De groep is vriendelijk", "vriendelijk" means friendly and describes how the group treats others. It follows "is" in the pattern "De groep is vriendelijk". Use it to describe a person or group that is pleasant and welcoming.
ben
In "Ik ben blij", "ben" means "am" and links the speaker to the feeling "blij". It is the form of zijn used with "Ik"; a reusable pattern is "Ik ben ..." for describing your current state. Use it to express your own reaction or feeling.
blij
In "Ik ben blij", "blij" means glad or happy about hearing the reassuring information. It follows "ben" in "Ik ben blij" to describe the speaker’s feeling. Use it to express pleasure about news or a situation.
om
In "om dat te horen", "om" is part of the infinitive expression meaning "to hear" and connects the feeling "blij" with its reason. It works together with "te horen" in the pattern "blij om ... te ...". Use it when saying you are glad to do or hear something.
te
In "om dat te horen", "te" marks the infinitive "horen", so the phrase means "to hear that". It is placed between "dat" and "horen" in this construction. Use the pattern "om ... te ..." when linking a feeling or purpose to an action.
horen
In "om dat te horen", "horen" means hear and refers to receiving the information that the group is friendly. It is the infinitive form after "te"; a reusable pattern is "te horen" after expressions such as "blij om". Use it when talking about hearing information.
In
In "In het begin", "In" means "in" and places the action within the beginning period. The pattern "In het begin" is used to talk about the early stage of an activity. Use it when explaining what happens at the start of a lesson, process, or event.
het
In "In het begin", "het" means "the" and identifies a specific beginning period. It appears before "begin" in the time expression "In het begin". Use it as part of this expression when referring to the start of an activity.
begin
In "In het begin", "begin" means beginning, the early part of the lesson. Together with "in het", it forms the time expression "In het begin". Use it to say what happens at the start of an activity.
doen
In "doen we het rustig aan", "doen" carries the action of proceeding calmly and slowly in this expression. It is the form of doen used with "we"; it comes before "we" because the sentence begins with "In het begin". Use the pattern "doen we het ..." after a time expression to say how you proceed.
we
In "doen we het rustig aan", "we" means "we" and refers to the speaker together with others. It is the subject of "doen" in "doen we het rustig aan". Use it when describing something that you and other people do together.
rustig aan
In "In het begin doen we het rustig aan", "rustig aan" means taking things slowly and calmly. "rustig" contributes the calm or unhurried manner, while "aan" completes this expression. The full phrase is used after "doen we het"; use it when reassuring learners that an activity will proceed without rushing.
klinkt
In "Dat klinkt goed", "klinkt" means sounds and expresses an assessment of how something seems based on what was heard. It is the form of klinken used with "Dat"; a reusable pattern is "Dat klinkt ...". Use it to respond to a suggestion or information.
goed
In "Dat klinkt goed", "goed" means good and gives a positive evaluation. It follows "klinkt" in the pattern "Dat klinkt goed". Use it to show that a plan or suggestion seems acceptable.
eerste
In "Het eerste deel", "eerste" means first and identifies the part that comes at the beginning. It comes before "deel" in the noun phrase "Het eerste deel". Use it to order parts of a lesson, process, or event.
deel
In "Het eerste deel", "deel" means part, here the first section of the lesson. It is combined with "eerste" to identify one section in "Het eerste deel". Use it when an activity or lesson has separate sections.
makkelijk
In "Het eerste deel is makkelijk", "makkelijk" means easy and describes the first part as not difficult. It follows "is" in the pattern "Het ... is makkelijk". Use it to say that a lesson section, task, or activity is easy.
Grammar Points
in het begin
In het begin voel ik me zenuwachtig.
in ut buh-GHIN VOOL ik muh ZAY-noo-akh-tukh.At first, I feel nervous.
Een vaste tijdsuitdrukking voor het begin van een periode of activiteit.
rustig aan doen
Rustig aan doen klinkt goed.
RUS-tukh AHN DOON klinkt GHOOT.Taking it easy sounds good.
Een vaste uitdrukking die betekent dat je iets langzaam of zonder stress doet.
Dutch Vocabulary
ben
verb
BEN
am
blij
adj
BLYE
glad; happy
dat
pron
DAHT
that
gevoel
noun
guh-VOOL
feeling
groep
noun
GROOP
group
les
noun
LESS
class; lesson
me
pron
muh
myself
normaal
adj
nor-MAHL
normal
voel
verb
VOOL
feel
voor
prep
VOHR
before
vriendelijk
adj
VREAN-duh-luk
friendly
zenuwachtig
adj
ZAY-noo-akh-tukh
nervous
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
That sounds good.
Show Answer
Dat klinkt goed.The first part is easy.
Show Answer
Het eerste deel is makkelijk.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
nervous
Show Answer
zenuwachtiggroup
Show Answer
groepbefore
Show Answer
voorfeel