Finding and choosing juice | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Pardon, waar is het sap?

   Excuse me, where is the juice?

   Pardon

   Excuse me

   waar is

   where is

   sap

   juice

   More detail

   Pardon is a polite way to get someone's attention before asking a question, equivalent here to “Excuse me.” It can also be used after a misunderstanding, but that is not its function in this sentence. Example: Pardon, waar is de uitgang? — “Excuse me, where is the exit?” waar means “where” and asks about a location. In waar is, is is the third-person singular present form of zijn (“to be”). The subject is the singular noun phrase het sap, so Dutch uses is here; other subjects require other forms, such as Waar ben ik? — “Where am I?” and Waar zijn de dranken? — “Where are the drinks?” In this type of question, the verb comes before the subject: Waar is ...? sap is the noun meaning “juice” here. In the sentence, it appears with the definite article as het sap; sap itself is the noun, while het marks the noun phrase as definite. Example: Ik drink sap. — “I drink juice.” Together, Pardon politely opens the request, waar is asks for a location, and het sap names what is being located. The complete utterance therefore means: “Excuse me, where is the juice?”

2. Het staat in dit vak, naast de koude dranken.

   It's in this section, next to the cold drinks.

   Het

   it

   staat

   is located

   dit

   this

   vak

   section

   naast

   next to

   koude

   cold

   dranken

   drinks

   More detail

   Het is a singular neuter pronoun meaning “it” here. In the supplied exchange, it refers to the juice asked about in the preceding question. Dutch het is also the article used with neuter nouns; it is distinct from hij (“he”) and zij (“she/they”). staat is a form of staan, literally “to stand.” For objects or places, staan is commonly used to describe location, so staat means “is located” here. It is the present-tense form for singular het, hij, or zij. Example: Het boek staat op de tafel. — “The book is on the table.” dit means “this” and is the neuter singular demonstrative. It agrees with vak, which is a het-word: dit vak (“this section”). With a singular de-word, Dutch uses deze, as in deze winkel (“this shop”); with plural nouns, deze is also used. vak means “section” in this context. Its meaning can depend on the setting; for example, in a shop it can designate a section or compartment. Example: Dit vak is leeg. — “This section is empty.” naast is a preposition meaning “next to” or “beside.” It introduces the thing used as the positional reference: naast de deur means “next to the door.” koude is the inflected form of the adjective koud, “cold.” Before a noun with a definite article, the adjective normally takes -e: de koude dranken (“the cold drinks”). The adjective describes dranken, not vak. dranken is the plural of drank, “drink” or “beverage.” A common Dutch plural pattern adds -en: drank becomes dranken. Dutch uses the plural article de: de dranken (“the drinks”). Together, Het staat in dit vak says that the previously mentioned item is located in this section. naast de koude dranken adds its position relative to the cold drinks. The complete meaning is: “It’s in this section, next to the cold drinks.”

3. Wat raadt u aan?

   What do you recommend?

   Wat

   what

   raadt … aan

   recommend

   u

   you (formal)

   More detail

   Wat means “what” and asks for the thing being recommended. It is the Dutch question word used for an unknown thing or choice. For example: Wat koop je? — “What are you buying?” raadt ... aan comes from the separable verb aanraden, “to recommend.” In the fixed sentence, raadt is the present-tense form used with u; the prefix aan appears separately at the end. The reusable pattern is iets aanraden — “to recommend something.” For example: Ik raad deze thee aan. — “I recommend this tea.” u means “you” in the formal form. It can refer to one or more people, while the form itself does not show that distinction. In this question, u is the person being asked for a recommendation. In a Dutch question with this structure, the finite verb comes before the subject: raadt u. Because aanraden is separable, its prefix remains at the end: Wat raadt u aan? Literally, the structure is “What recommend you?”; naturally, it means “What do you recommend?”

4. Dit sap heeft een frisse smaak en is makkelijk te drinken.

   This juice has a fresh taste and is easy to drink.

   Dit

   this

   sap

   juice

   heeft

   has

   frisse

   fresh

   smaak

   taste

   makkelijk

   easy

   te drinken

   to drink

   More detail

   Dit means “this” here and refers to the juice being discussed. It is the singular neuter demonstrative used with a singular het-word such as sap; the form is not chosen merely because the noun is singular. Compare deze with singular de-words and plural nouns. Sap means “juice”. Its definite article is het: het sap. In the sentence, dit sap forms the noun phrase “this juice”. Heeft is the third-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”): ik heb, jij hebt, hij/zij/het heeft. Here it states that the juice has a fresh taste. For example: De drank heeft een zoete smaak. — “The drink has a sweet taste.” Frisse comes from the adjective fris, “fresh”. Before the singular common-gender noun smaak, the attributive adjective takes -e: een frisse smaak. The form fris is also used predicatively, as in De smaak is fris — “The taste is fresh.” Smaak means “taste” or “flavour”. The phrase een frisse smaak means “a fresh taste”; een introduces an unspecified singular noun, but does not by itself assert a numerical count. Makkelijk means “easy” here. It is a predicate adjective after is, so it is not given the attributive -e ending. The sentence uses it to describe how easy the juice is to drink. Te drinken consists of te plus the infinitive drinken, “to drink”. This construction commonly expresses that something is easy, difficult, pleasant, or unpleasant to do: makkelijk te drinken means “easy to drink”. The subject understood by drinken is the juice, the same thing described by dit sap. The unselected linking words complete the structure: een frisse smaak is the thing the juice has, and en is makkelijk te drinken adds a second description. Thus Dit sap heeft een frisse smaak en is makkelijk te drinken. means “This juice has a fresh taste and is easy to drink.”

5. Dan neem ik die fles.

   Then I'll get that bottle.

   Dan

   Then

   neem

   get

   ik

   I

   die

   that

   fles

   bottle

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here, marking the time or sequence of the action. It can introduce what happens next: Dan ga ik naar huis. — “Then I go home.” neem is the present-tense form of nemen (“to take” or, in this context, “to get”) with ik: ik neem. Dutch often uses the present tense for a planned or expected future action when the time or context makes that clear. The form changes with the subject: ik neem, but jij neemt and hij neemt. ik is the first-person singular pronoun “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out neem. For example, Ik neem de trein. means “I take the train” or “I’ll take the train,” depending on context. die is the demonstrative determiner “that” before fles. In this sentence it points to a specific bottle understood from the situation. Dutch uses die with singular common-gender nouns and with plural nouns; fles is a singular common-gender noun. The contrasting form for a nearby or more immediate item is often deze: deze fles — “this bottle.” fles is the noun “bottle.” Its plural is flessen: een fles — “a bottle”; twee flessen — “two bottles.” Together, Dan sets the sequence, neem ik expresses the speaker’s action using the present tense, and die fles identifies the specific object. The complete meaning is “Then I’ll get that bottle.”