Choosing a seat near the front | Learn Dutch in English

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Use Choosing a seat near the front to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Zit je hier altijd?

zit yuh HEER ALL-tite? Do you always sit here?

Ik zit graag vooraan.

ik zit GHRAH kh vohr-AHN. I like sitting at the front.

Ik kan de leraar goed horen.

ik kahn duh lay-RAHR GHOOT HOH-run. I can hear the teacher well.

Hier kun je makkelijk vragen stellen.

HEER kuhn yuh MAH-kuh-luk VRAH-ghun STELL-un. It is easy to ask questions here.

Laten we de volgende keer samen zitten.

LAH-tun wuh duh VOL-ghun-duh KAYR SAH-mun ZIT-un. Let's sit together next time.

Dat zou ik graag willen.

daht zow ik GHRAHK WILL-un. I would like that.

Vooraan zitten helpt me om me te concentreren.

vohr-AHN ZIT-un HELPT muh om muh tuh kon-sen-TRAY-run. Sitting at the front helps me focus.

Word by Word

Zit In “Zit je hier altijd?”, “Zit” means “sit” and starts the question about whether someone sits here. The infinitive is “zitten”; this exact form is used at the start of the question.

je In “Zit je hier altijd?”, “je” means “you” and refers to the person being addressed. In this question, it follows the verb: “Zit je...?”.

hier “hier” means “here”, referring to the place where the speaker is sitting. It can be used to point out or refer to the current place, as in “Zit je hier altijd?”.

altijd “altijd” means “always” and asks whether something happens every time. In “Zit je hier altijd?”, it comes after “hier” and describes the regularity of sitting there.

Ik “Ik” means “I” and identifies the speaker in “Ik zit graag vooraan” and “Ik kan de leraar goed horen.” It is written with a capital letter here because it begins a sentence; the same pronoun appears as lowercase “ik” in “Dat zou ik graag willen.”

graag In “Ik zit graag vooraan”, “graag” expresses that the speaker likes or is happy to sit at the front. It commonly follows the verb when expressing a preference, as in “zit graag”.

vooraan “vooraan” means “at the front”, referring to the front area of the classroom. It appears in “Ik zit graag vooraan” and at the beginning of “Vooraan zitten helpt me om me te concentreren.”

kan In “Ik kan de leraar goed horen”, “kan” expresses the ability to hear the teacher. It is used with an infinitive, here “horen”, which comes later in the sentence.

de “de” means “the” and introduces the noun phrase “de leraar” in “Ik kan de leraar goed horen.” A common reuse pattern is “de” followed by a noun.

leraar “leraar” means “teacher” in the classroom expression “de leraar.” In “Ik kan de leraar goed horen”, it identifies the person whose voice the speaker can hear.

goed In “Ik kan de leraar goed horen”, “goed” means “well” and describes how clearly the speaker can hear. It appears directly with the verb “horen” in the pattern “goed horen”.

horen “horen” means “hear” in “Ik kan de leraar goed horen.” After “kan”, it stays in this infinitive form and appears at the end of the sentence.

kun In “Hier kun je makkelijk vragen stellen”, “kun” expresses that someone can or is able to ask questions here. A common pattern is “kun je” followed by an infinitive, here “vragen stellen”.

makkelijk “makkelijk” means “easily” in “Hier kun je makkelijk vragen stellen.” It describes the ease of asking questions and is placed before the expression “vragen stellen”.

vragen “vragen” means “questions” in the expression “vragen stellen.” In Dutch, “vragen stellen” is the common combination for asking questions.

stellen In “vragen stellen”, “stellen” contributes to the meaning “ask”; here it does not mean simply “put.” The reusable expression is “vragen stellen”, with the questions placed before “stellen”.

Laten At the beginning of “Laten we de volgende keer samen zitten”, “Laten” helps make a suggestion meaning “Let’s.” The pattern is “Laten we” followed by an infinitive for the proposed action.

we “we” means “we”, referring to the speaker and the person being addressed together. In “Laten we...”, it is part of a suggestion for a shared action.

volgende “volgende” means “next” in “de volgende keer.” It describes the upcoming occasion and comes before the time word “keer”.

keer “keer” means “time” or “occasion” in “de volgende keer”, meaning “next time.” The common expression is the complete phrase “de volgende keer”.

samen “samen” means “together” in “Laten we de volgende keer samen zitten.” It shows that the speaker and listener will do the action together, as in “samen zitten”.

zitten “zitten” means “sit” in “samen zitten” and “Vooraan zitten.” It is the infinitive used after “Laten we” and also names the activity of sitting at the front.

Dat “Dat” means “that” in “Dat zou ik graag willen” and refers to the suggested plan of sitting together. It is capitalized because it begins the sentence.

zou In “Dat zou ik graag willen”, “zou” contributes “would” to the polite response. Together with “graag willen”, it expresses that the speaker would like the suggested plan; the reusable pattern here is “zou ... willen”.

willen In “Dat zou ik graag willen”, “willen” means “want” and contributes to the expression “would like.” It appears in the infinitive after “zou”, with “graag” before it.

helpt In “Vooraan zitten helpt me om me te concentreren”, “helpt” means “helps” and says that sitting at the front is useful to the speaker. A common pattern is a helpful action followed by “helpt me”.

me In “helpt me”, “me” means “me” and identifies the person who receives the help. It is used after the verb in the pattern “helpt me”.

om In “om me te concentreren”, “om” introduces the purpose of the action, meaning “in order to.” It works together with the following structure “te concentreren”.

te In “om me te concentreren”, “te” marks the infinitive “concentreren” within the purpose expression. The complete form “om me te concentreren” explains what the front seating helps the speaker do.

concentreren In “om me te concentreren”, “concentreren” means “focus” or “concentrate.” It is used with “me” and “te” in this purpose expression to describe focusing during class.

Grammar Points

graag + infinitief

graag helpen

GHRAHK HELP-un

to like to help; to gladly help

In Dutch, graag before an infinitive expresses that someone likes or is willing to do something.

te + infinitief

te concentreren

tuh kon-sen-TRAY-run

to concentrate

Dutch uses te before the infinitive in certain verb constructions, as in te concentreren.

Dutch Vocabulary

altijd adv

ALL-tite always

Zit je hier altijd?

goed adv

GHOOT well

Ik kan de leraar goed horen.

graag adv

GHRAHK gladly; like to

Ik zit graag vooraan.

hier adv

HEER here

Zit je hier altijd?

horen verb

HOH-run to hear

Ik kan de leraar goed horen.

laten verb

LAH-tun to let; to have Laten

Laten we de volgende keer samen zitten.

leraar noun

lay-RAHR teacher

Ik kan de leraar goed horen.

makkelijk adv

MAH-kuh-luk easily

Hier kun je makkelijk vragen stellen.

stellen verb

STELL-un to ask; to pose

Hier kun je makkelijk vragen stellen.

vooraan adv

vohr-AHN at the front

Ik zit graag vooraan.

vraag noun

VRAHKH question vragen

Hier kun je makkelijk vragen stellen.

zitten verb

ZIT-un to sit zit

Zit je hier altijd?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Do you always sit here?

Show Answer

Zit je hier altijd?

I like sitting at the front.

Show Answer

Ik zit graag vooraan.

I can hear the teacher well.

Show Answer

Ik kan de leraar goed horen.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

well

Show Answer

goed

gladly; like to

Show Answer

graag

here

Show Answer

hier

teacher

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leraar