Hurrying to the train platform | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. De weg is vandaag erg druk.

   The road is really busy today.

   weg

   road

   vandaag

   today

   erg

   very; really

   druk

   busy; crowded

   More detail

   weg means “road” here. It is commonly used with the article de: de weg (“the road”), and its plural is wegen (“roads”). vandaag means “today” and is an adverb of time. It can occur in different positions depending on emphasis; here it appears after is and before the description. erg intensifies the following description. Here, erg druk means “really/very busy.” A reusable pattern is erg + adjective, for example: erg koud — “very cold.” druk is an adjective meaning “busy” here: the road has a lot of traffic. In suitable contexts, it can also mean “crowded.” Its comparison forms are druk, drukker (“busier”), and het drukst (“the busiest”). Example: Deze straat is drukker. — “This street is busier.” The sentence begins with the singular noun phrase De weg. De is the definite article used here; it does not by itself mark singularity, since it is also used with plural nouns. is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”). The time adverb vandaag specifies when the description applies, and erg druk describes the road’s condition. Together, De weg is vandaag erg druk. means “The road is really busy today.”

2. De spits is begonnen.

   Rush hour has started.

   spits

   rush hour

   is begonnen

   has started

   More detail

   spits means “rush hour” here: the period when traffic is especially busy, not a person who plays at the front in a sports team. It is used as a common-gender noun with the article de, as in de spits. Example: De spits is druk. — “Rush hour is busy.” is begonnen is the perfect construction of beginnen (“to begin”): is is the present-tense form of zijn used as the auxiliary, and begonnen is the past participle. The finite auxiliary is agrees with the singular subject de spits; begonnen itself does not show that agreement. The same verb has the simple past begon and the participle begonnen. Example: De les is begonnen. — “The lesson has started.” Together, De spits identifies rush hour as the subject, and is begonnen says that it has started. The complete utterance therefore means “Rush hour has started.”

3. Kunnen we de volgende trein nog halen?

   Can we still catch the next train?

   Kunnen we

   Can we…?

   volgende

   next

   trein

   train

   nog

   still

   halen

   catch; reach

   More detail

   Kunnen we is the question pattern “can we …?” Here kunnen is the present-tense form of kunnen used with we (“we can”). In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Kunnen we ...? Compare the statement We kunnen ... (“We can ...”). Kunnen expresses ability or feasibility here, not a request for permission. volgende means “next” and describes trein. It is the form used before this definite noun phrase: de volgende trein (“the next train”). A useful contrast is de vorige trein (“the previous train”). trein is the noun “train.” Its plural is treinen, as in twee treinen (“two trains”). In this utterance, de trein refers to a particular train identified as the next one in the relevant sequence. nog means “still” here. It says that catching the train remains possible at the relevant time. Its position before halen is natural in this question. For example, We kunnen nog vertrekken. means “We can still leave.” halen is the infinitive meaning “catch” in this context: successfully getting to and boarding the train in time. Dutch halen can also mean “fetch” or “reach” in other contexts, so its exact meaning comes from the object and situation. In the modal pattern kunnen ... halen, the modal kunnen is finite and halen remains an infinitive at the end of the clause. Together, de volgende trein identifies the train, nog adds the idea that the opportunity remains, and kunnen ... halen asks about feasibility. The complete utterance therefore means: “Can we still catch the next train?”

4. Dat moet lukken. Het station is vlak voor ons.

   We should. The station is just ahead.

   Dat

   That / it

   moet

   should / must

   lukken

   work out

   station

   station

   vlak voor ons

   just ahead of us

   More detail

   Dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “it.” Here it refers to the situation under discussion—successfully catching the next train—rather than naming a person. In Dat moet lukken, it is the singular subject of moet. moet is the present singular form of moeten, “must” or “should.” With a third-person singular subject such as dat, Dutch uses moet; with we, the form is moeten. The modal is followed by an infinitive: moet lukken = “must/should work out.” In this context, the fixed translation naturally gives the encouraging meaning “We should [manage it].” lukken is an infinitive meaning “to succeed” or “to work out.” It describes whether an attempt or plan has a successful result. Example: Dat lukt. — “That works out.” The finite form lukt is used in a present-tense clause with a singular subject, while lukken remains the infinitive after a modal such as moet. Het station means “the station.” Het is the definite article used here, and station is a neuter noun. The article identifies a particular station; it does not mean “one station.” is is the present singular form of zijn, “to be.” It links het station to its location phrase. vlak voor ons means “just ahead of us” in this utterance. Vlak strengthens the location, roughly “right” or “just”; voor means “in front of” in this spatial expression; and ons is the first-person plural form used after the preposition, “us.” Example: De ingang is voor ons. — “The entrance is in front of us.” Together, Dat moet lukken says that the relevant plan or attempt should succeed. Het station is vlak voor ons then locates the station directly ahead of the speakers. The complete utterance is therefore: “We should. The station is just ahead.”

5. Ik kan de ingang nu zien.

   I can see the entrance now.

   Ik kan

   I can

   ingang

   entrance

   nu

   now

   zien

   see

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can” here. Ik is the first-person singular subject, and kan is the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with ik. In a modal pattern, kunnen is followed by an infinitive: Ik kan ... zien = “I can see ...”. Example: Ik kan helpen. — “I can help.” ingang means “entrance.” Its base form is ingang; the plural is ingangen. In this sentence it appears after the definite article de: de ingang (“the entrance”). The article is not a numeric statement; it presents the entrance as identifiable in the situation. nu means “now” and locates the seeing in the present moment. Example: Ik ga nu. — “I’m leaving now.” zien means “see.” It is the infinitive of the verb; after the modal kan, Dutch keeps this infinitive form. Example: Wij kunnen de uitgang zien. — “We can see the exit.” Together, Ik kan + de ingang + nu + zien forms the reusable pattern Ik kan [object] nu zien: “I can see [object] now.” The full utterance means “I can see the entrance now.”

6. Laten we direct naar het perron gaan.

   Let's head straight to the platform.

   Laten we

   let’s

   direct

   straight

   naar

   to; toward

   perron

   platform

   gaan

   go

   More detail

   Laten we is a reusable Dutch way to make a suggestion meaning “let’s …”. It uses laten (“let/allow”) with we (“we”); here, laten is followed by the infinitive gaan, not a finite verb. Example: Laten we beginnen. — “Let’s begin.” direct means “straight” or “directly” here. It modifies the movement, indicating that the destination should be reached without a detour. Together with naar, it forms the reusable pattern direct naar (“straight to”). naar is the preposition used for movement toward a destination. A useful pattern is naar + destination: naar het station — “to the station.” It expresses the destination, while gaan expresses the movement. perron means “platform,” especially a platform at a railway station. It is a singular noun and normally takes the neuter article het: het perron. Its plural is perrons: de perrons. gaan means “go” and is the infinitive used after laten in the suggestion pattern Laten we ... gaan. In an ordinary present-tense clause, its form changes with the subject: ik ga (“I go”) but we gaan (“we go”). After laten we, however, the infinitive gaan is retained. Together, Laten we direct naar het perron gaan. means “Let’s head straight to the platform.” The construction proposes that the speaker and the addressee go together; direct naar het perron specifies the destination and the direct route.

7. De trein komt al binnen.

   The train is pulling in already.

   trein

   train

   komt … binnen

   is coming in; is pulling in

   al

   already

   More detail

   trein means “train.” Its plural is treinen; the noun keeps the same form regardless of whether it is the subject or object. In this sentence, De trein is the definite noun phrase “the train.” komt ... binnen is the split present-tense form of binnenkomen, “to come in” or, for a train, “to pull in.” The part komt is the third-person singular present form of komen (“to come”); binnen appears later because binnenkomen is a separable verb. In a main clause, the conjugated part comes in the usual verb position and binnen moves to the end: De bus komt binnen. — “The bus is coming in.” al means “already.” Here it indicates that the train is pulling in by this time. It is different from nog (“still”): De trein komt nog binnen. means “The train is still coming in.” Together, De trein + komt ... binnen + al gives “The train is pulling in already.” The sentence describes the train’s arrival in progress; it does not say that passengers have boarded yet.

8. Blijf dicht bij me, dan stappen we samen in.

   Stay close, and we'll board together.

   Blijf

   stay

   dicht

   close

   bij me

   near me

   dan

   then

   stappen … in

   board / get in

   we

   we

   samen

   together

   More detail

   Blijf is the imperative of blijven, “to stay/remain.” It directly instructs the listener. The infinitive is blijven, while the imperative form here is blijf. Example: Blijf hier. — “Stay here.” dicht means “close” here: it describes how near the listener should remain. In dicht bij, this form is used adverbially and has no ending. Example: Kom dicht bij het raam. — “Come close to the window.” bij me means “near me.” bij is a preposition meaning “near/by,” and me is the unstressed form of the first-person pronoun mij in this phrase. It identifies the speaker as the person to stay near. Example: Zit bij me. — “Sit near me.” dan means “then.” Here it links the instruction to the action that follows. The surrounding sentence gives the relation between staying close and boarding; dan itself contributes the linking “then,” not the whole conditional meaning. Example: Eerst eten, dan vertrekken. — “First eat, then leave.” stappen ... in is the separable verb instappen, “to board” or “to get in,” especially a vehicle. The finite form is stappen, which agrees with the plural subject we, while the particle in appears later in the clause. The infinitive is instappen, not stappen in. Example: We stappen in. — “We board / We get in.” The preceding train context supports “board” here. we means “we,” the first-person plural subject. It refers to the speaker together with at least one other participant. we is the unstressed form of wij; wij can be used for emphasis. In this sentence, we occurs between the finite part stappen and the separated particle in. Example: We gaan samen. — “We are going together.” samen means “together.” It specifies that the participants will board as a group. Example: We reizen samen. — “We travel together.” The utterance first gives the instruction Blijf dicht bij me (“Stay close to me”). dan links it to we stappen ... in (“we’ll board” / “we’ll get in”), and samen adds the meaning “together.” With the train context, the complete meaning is “Stay close, and we’ll board together.” Dutch can use the present tense for an upcoming action, as stappen does here; the context supplies the future time.