Coffee during a break | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Wil je koffie?

   Do you want coffee?

   Wil je

   do you want

   koffie

   coffee

   More detail

   Wil je is a question pattern meaning “do you want ...?” The verb wil is the present-tense form of willen (“to want”) used with je/jij (“you”); wil is therefore not the noun or the pronoun. In a yes/no question, the conjugated verb comes before the subject pronoun: Wil je koffie? Compare the ordinary statement order Je wilt koffie. (“You want coffee.”). Wilt is the form used with the subject je/jij in that statement, while wil is used in this inverted question pattern. koffie means “coffee.” It is a mass noun here, referring to coffee as a drink rather than asserting a specific number of cups. Dutch commonly uses a bare noun for this kind of general offer or request: Wil je thee? means “Do you want tea?” Together, Wil je asks the addressee whether they want koffie, producing the complete meaning “Do you want coffee?”

2. Ja, alsjeblieft. Alleen een klein kopje.

   Yes, please. Just a small cup.

   Ja

   yes

   alsjeblieft

   please

   Alleen

   just; only

   klein

   small

   kopje

   cup

   More detail

   Ja is the Dutch word for “yes”. It confirms the offer or question. In this exchange, it accepts the offer of coffee. alsjeblieft means “please” here. It is commonly used when accepting or requesting something politely. The same form can also be used in other contexts with the meaning “here you are”, but that is not the intended meaning in this sentence. Alleen means “just” or “only”. It limits the request that follows: the speaker wants no more than the specified item. Example: Alleen water, alstublieft. — “Just water, please.” klein means “small”. In een klein kopje, it describes kopje. Dutch attributive adjectives usually take -e, but a singular neuter noun after the indefinite article een is an important exception: een klein kopje. Compare het kleine kopje — “the small cup”, where the adjective has -e. kopje means “cup” here. It is the diminutive form of kop; the diminutive suffix -je makes kopje a neuter noun, so it takes het: het kopje. Diminutives can also convey smallness, but the separate adjective klein explicitly describes the cup as small in this utterance. Together, Alleen een klein kopje means “Just a small cup.” The first sentence, Ja, alsjeblieft, accepts the offer politely; the second specifies the requested item and describes it as small. The complete utterance is therefore: “Yes, please. Just a small cup.”

3. Alsjeblieft.

   Here you are.

   Alsjeblieft.

   Here you are.

   More detail

   Alsjeblieft is a common Dutch fixed expression used when handing something to someone; here it means “Here you are.” It can also mean “please” in a request, so the situation determines the English translation. In this utterance, the following context supports the handing-something use. The form is normally written as one word: alsjeblieft. It is an idiomatic expression rather than a verb form that you need to change for person or number. A more formal variant is alstublieft, using u instead of je; je is the informal second-person form. Example: Alsjeblieft, je koffie. — “Here you are, your coffee.” As a request, the same expression can mean “please”: Een koffie, alsjeblieft. — “A coffee, please.” This is a different use from the handing-over meaning in the fixed utterance. Together, the single Dutch expression Alsjeblieft. functions as a polite handover phrase: “Here you are.”

4. Het ruikt lekker.

   It smells nice.

   Het

   it

   ruikt

   smells

   lekker

   nice; pleasant

   More detail

   Het is the Dutch third-person singular pronoun used here as the subject, translated as “it.” The sentence does not identify exactly what “it” refers to; that must come from context. In other contexts, het can also be the neuter singular definite article (“the”), but here it stands before the verb and functions as the subject pronoun. ruikt means “smells” here. It is the present-tense, third-person singular form of ruiken (“to smell”). The same verb can also describe a person actively smelling something, depending on the construction: Ik ruik de koffie means “I smell the coffee.” lekker means “nice” or “pleasant” in this sensory description. With ruiken, it commonly describes a pleasant smell, so lekker ruiken is a useful pattern meaning “to smell nice.” Lekker can also describe pleasant taste in other contexts, but that is not its meaning in this sentence. Together, Het ruikt lekker. means “It smells nice.” The pattern is het + present-tense verb + lekker; it can be reused when the context already makes the thing being described clear. The utterance is a simple present-tense statement about how something smells.

5. Heb je suiker nodig?

   Do you need sugar?

   Heb je … nodig

   do you need …?

   suiker

   sugar

   More detail

   Heb je is the inverted question form of je hebt (“you have”). Heb is the present-tense form of hebben for je in this question pattern; the subject pronoun je follows the verb because this is a yes/no question. Compare the statement Je hebt suiker nodig. (“You need sugar.”) with the question Heb je suiker nodig? (“Do you need sugar?”). nodig means “needed” or “necessary” here. Dutch commonly expresses “to need” with the reusable pattern iets nodig hebben, literally “to have something needed”: Ik heb water nodig. means “I need water.” In this construction, nodig belongs with hebben; it is not the noun suiker. suiker means “sugar.” It is commonly used without an article when referring to sugar as an unspecified substance: Heb je suiker nodig? asks whether sugar is needed, without stating a particular amount. A specified amount can be added separately, for example: Ik heb een beetje suiker nodig. — “I need a little sugar.” Together, Heb je + suiker + nodig forms a yes/no question using hebben ... nodig: “Do you need sugar?”

6. Nee, alleen melk, alsjeblieft.

   No, just milk, please.

   Nee

   No

   alleen

   just; only

   melk

   milk

   alsjeblieft

   please

   More detail

   Nee is the Dutch word for “no.” Here it rejects the immediately relevant question, Heb je suiker nodig? (“Do you need sugar?”). Do not confuse it with niet, which normally negates a verb, adjective, or another part of a clause. Example: Nee, dank je. — “No, thank you.” alleen means “only” or “just.” It limits what is being requested: the speaker wants milk and no additional item is requested. Example: Alleen water, alstublieft. — “Just water, please.” melk means “milk.” It is a noun for a substance, commonly used without an article when referring to milk generally or to an unspecified amount, as here. The definite form is de melk (“the milk”) when a specific milk supply is meant. Example: Ik drink melk. — “I drink milk.” alsjeblieft is a familiar, everyday Dutch way to say “please.” It can also mean “here you are” in another context, but in this utterance it politely marks the request. A more formal alternative is alstublieft. Together, Nee, alleen melk, alsjeblieft. means “No, just milk, please.” The answer first says no, then restricts the requested item to milk, and finally adds a polite request marker. The short noun phrase alleen melk is a natural way to request only that substance without stating a full sentence such as Ik wil alleen melk (“I only want milk”).

7. Sorry, er is geen melk.

   Sorry, there is no milk.

   Sorry

   Sorry

   er is

   there is

   geen

   no; not any

   melk

   milk

   More detail

   Sorry is an apology or polite expression of regret. It is also commonly used to soften a correction or refusal. Example: Sorry, ik begrijp het niet. — “Sorry, I do not understand.” er is is the Dutch existential pattern meaning “there is.” Here, er is a grammatical placeholder introducing what exists; it is not a specific person or thing. is is the singular present form of zijn (“to be”): zijn → is for a singular subject in the present. Example: Er is een probleem. — “There is a problem.” geen means “no” or “not any” before a noun. It negates an indefinite or non-specific noun phrase. With an uncountable noun such as melk, it gives the meaning “no milk.” Compare een (“a/an”) with geen (“no/not any”): Er is een probleem. — “There is a problem”; Er is geen probleem. — “There is no problem.” melk means “milk.” It is a noun for the substance and is commonly used without an article when referring to milk generally or an unspecified amount. Example: Ik drink melk. — “I drink milk.” Together, er is introduces what is present, while geen melk says that the relevant substance is absent. Thus Sorry, er is geen melk. means “Sorry, there is no milk.”

8. Dat is goed.

   That is okay.

   Dat

   that

   is

   is

   goed

   okay; good

   More detail

   Dat is a Dutch demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. In this sentence it points to the thing or situation being evaluated; the supplied translation does not identify a more specific referent. Dat is the form used for a singular neuter noun and can also refer to a situation or statement. is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular third-person subject. A useful pattern is dat is ... = “that is ...”. goed means “good” here, with the contextually suitable translation “okay”. It is the basic form of the adjective, used after zijn to describe or evaluate the subject. The opposite is slecht (“bad”). Example: Het eten is goed. — “The food is good.” Together, Dat is goed. literally forms “That is good,” and in this context naturally means “That is okay.”