Using paper for new words | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik ben vergeten mijn notitieboekje mee te nemen.

   I forgot to bring my notebook.

   Ik ben

   I am

   vergeten

   forgotten

   mijn

   my

   notitieboekje

   notebook

   mee te nemen

   to bring along

   More detail

   Ik ben is the first-person singular form of zijn, “to be”: ik ben = “I am.” Here it combines with vergeten to form a completed past construction, rather than describing a present state alone. vergeten means “forgotten” here, in the construction zijn vergeten te + verb = “to have forgotten to do something.” Its base form is also vergeten; this verb has the same form for the infinitive and past participle. For example: Ik ben vergeten te bellen. — “I forgot to call.” mijn means “my.” It is a possessive form used with a singular or plural noun; its form does not change here to mark the speaker’s gender. For example: mijn tas — “my bag” and mijn boek — “my book.” notitieboekje means “notebook.” The ending -je is a diminutive ending, so notitieboekje is a small-book/notebook term; the word is neuter and takes the article het when used with a definite article: het notitieboekje — “the notebook.” mee te nemen means “to bring along” in this sentence. It comes from the separable verb meenemen, “to take or bring along”; with te, the parts appear as mee te nemen. For example: Ik probeer mijn tas mee te nemen. — “I try to bring my bag along.” Together, Ik ben vergeten expresses “I forgot,” and mijn notitieboekje mee te nemen specifies what was forgotten: bringing the speaker’s notebook along. The complete meaning is: “I forgot to bring my notebook.”

2. Je kunt dit papier gebruiken.

   You can use this paper.

   Je kunt

   you can

   dit

   this

   papier

   paper

   gebruiken

   use

   More detail

   Je kunt means “you can” here: it expresses the addressee’s ability or permission to do something. It is the second-person singular form of kunnen (“can, be able to”). The form je kunt is used with one informal “you”; jij kunt is the stressed version. In everyday Dutch, je kan is also heard, but je kunt is the form shown here. Example: Je kunt komen. — “You can come.” dit means “this” and points to one nearby or contextually identified neuter singular thing. It agrees with the noun it determines, not with the speaker or listener. Dutch uses dit with singular het-words; the corresponding plural form is deze. Example: Dit boek is nieuw. — “This book is new.” papier means “paper.” In this sentence it is a singular mass noun referring to paper as the material or to a sheet/piece understood from the context. Its definite article is het: het papier. The noun does not itself show a plural ending here; papieren can mean “papers” or “documents” in contexts where separate items are intended. gebruiken means “to use.” This is the infinitive, and after the modal verb kunnen Dutch places the infinitive at the end of the clause. The reusable pattern is Je kunt + [object] + [infinitive]: Je kunt dit woordenboek gebruiken. — “You can use this dictionary.” Together, Je kunt introduces the possibility or permission, dit papier identifies the thing to be used, and gebruiken names the action. The complete utterance therefore means: “You can use this paper.”

3. Dank je. Ik wil de nieuwe woorden opschrijven.

   Thank you. I want to write the new words.

   Dank je

   Thanks

   Ik wil

   I want to

   nieuwe

   new

   woorden

   words

   opschrijven

   write down

   More detail

   Dank je is an informal way to say “Thanks” or “Thank you.” Here, je is part of this fixed expression; do not treat the phrase as a literal instruction to thank someone. A more formal alternative is Dank u. Ik wil means “I want to.” ik is the first-person singular subject, and wil is the present-tense first-person singular form of willen (“to want”). The infinitive normally follows: Ik wil leren. — “I want to learn.” In this sentence, wil expresses the speaker’s intention, while opschrijven names the intended action. nieuwe means “new” here. Its base form is nieuw; before the plural noun woorden, it has the form nieuwe. The same form also commonly appears before a singular noun with de: de nieuwe fiets — “the new bicycle.” This adjective describes the words; it is not a form of the noun. woorden means “words.” It is the plural of woord (“word”): één woord — “one word”; twee woorden — “two words.” In the fixed sentence, it is the object of the writing action. opschrijven means “to write down.” It is a separable verb. In a main clause with a finite verb, its parts separate: Ik schrijf de woorden op. — “I write the words down.” After wil, the infinitive stays together at the end: Ik wil de woorden opschrijven. — “I want to write the words down.” Together, Ik wil de nieuwe woorden opschrijven says that the speaker wants to write down the new words. The pattern is subject + willen + object + separable-verb infinitive: Ik wil de woorden opschrijven. The opening Dank je. is a separate expression of thanks.

4. Goed idee. Ik schrijf ze ook op.

   Good idea. I will write them too.

   Goed

   good

   idee

   idea

   Ik

   I

   schrijf … op

   write down

   ze

   them

   ook

   too; also

   More detail

   Goed means “good” here. Before the singular neuter noun idee with the indefinite article, the adjective has the form goed: een goed idee = “a good idea.” idee means “idea.” Its plural is ideeën, with the diaeresis showing that the vowels are pronounced separately: een idee → twee ideeën (“two ideas”). Ik means “I” and is the subject of the following verb. schrijf is the first-person singular present form of schrijven, “to write.” The present tense can refer to a planned future action in context, so ik schrijf can mean “I write” or “I will write.” Here, however, the subject is explicitly written as Ik; it is not merely inferred from the verb ending. schrijf and op are separated parts of the separable verb opschrijven, “to write down.” In a finite main clause, the conjugated part appears after the subject and the particle moves to the end: Ik schrijf ... op. The particle changes the meaning from general writing to writing something down. ze is the unstressed third-person plural object pronoun meaning “them” here. The fixed translation and context support the reading of the things being written down as the words under discussion. Its exact referent is supplied by context, not by the form alone. ook means “too” or “also.” It adds this action to something already relevant; it does not itself identify the earlier action. Together, Goed idee is the short evaluation “Good idea.” Ik schrijf ze ook op means “I will write them down too,” matching the fixed translation “I will write them too” while making the op meaning explicit.

5. Kunnen we ze na de les controleren?

   Can we check them after class?

   Kunnen we

   Can we

   ze

   them

   na

   after

   les

   class

   controleren

   check

   More detail

   Kunnen we is a reusable way to ask whether a group including the speaker is able or allowed to do something: “Can we …?” The verb is kunnen, whose infinitive is also the base form. In this question, kunnen is the finite form for we; the following lexical verb remains an infinitive. Compare Kun je helpen? — “Can you help?” In a main-clause question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Kunnen we ...? ze is an unstressed object pronoun meaning “them” here. Its exact referents are not identified by the fixed sentence itself, but the translation establishes a plural object. In this sentence, its position after the subject and finite verb and before the time phrase and infinitive is consistent with that object role. Dutch ze can also have other functions in other contexts, so its role here comes from the sentence structure and intended meaning. Example: Ik zie ze. — “I see them.” na means “after” and introduces the later time in this expression. It is a preposition here. The reusable pattern is na + noun, as in na de les — “after class.” A contrasting time preposition is voor, meaning “before”: voor de les — “before class.” les is a noun meaning “class” or “lesson.” In de les, the article de belongs with this noun; les itself does not show a plural form here. The plural is lessen: de lessen — “the classes/lessons.” The fixed translation supports “class” as the intended meaning in this context. controleren is an infinitive meaning “to check.” Its base form is controleren; after a conjugated modal such as kunnen, Dutch uses the infinitive: We kunnen controleren — “We can check.” The infinitive comes at the end of this question. This verb is different from kijken, “to look/watch”: checking involves examining something, while looking does not necessarily imply checking it. Together, Kunnen we asks about the speaker’s group’s ability or permission, ze supplies the plural object, na de les places the action after class, and controleren names the action. The whole utterance therefore means: “Can we check them after class?”

6. We kunnen ze samen lezen.

   We can read them together.

   We kunnen

   we can

   ze

   them

   samen

   together

   lezen

   read

   More detail

   We kunnen means “we can.” we is the first-person plural subject pronoun. kunnen is the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with we. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the meaning of ability. In other contexts, kunnen can also express permission or possibility. ze means “them” here. It is a short object pronoun referring to a plural group; the supplied sentence does not identify exactly which people or things it refers to. In more formal Dutch, hen is used for a direct object or after a preposition, while hun is used for an indirect object without a preposition. samen is an adverb meaning “together.” It shows that the reading is done jointly. Example: We werken samen. — “We work together.” lezen is the infinitive “to read.” After a modal verb such as kunnen, Dutch places the other verb in the infinitive: We kunnen lezen — “We can read.” The same verb has the present form lezen with we or wij: Wij lezen — “We read.” Together, We kunnen ze samen lezen. means “We can read them together.” The reusable pattern is subject + kunnen + object + adverb + infinitive, as in the labeled practice example We kunnen het samen bekijken. — “We can look at it together.”