Checking the platform before boarding | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Naar welk perron moeten we gaan?

   Which platform should we go to?

   Naar welk

   to which

   perron

   platform

   moeten we

   should we

   gaan

   go

   More detail

   Naar welk means “to which” here. naar is the preposition used for movement toward a destination. welk is the singular form used with a neuter het-word; perron is such a noun: het perron. With a non-neuter singular noun or with a plural noun, Dutch uses welke, as in Naar welke halte? (“To which stop?”). perron means “platform,” specifically the platform at a station. Its plural is perrons: De trein vertrekt van twee perrons. (“The train leaves from two platforms.”) The following context confirms that the intended destination is a platform, namely platform two. moeten we expresses “should we” in this question. moeten is the plural present form of the modal verb moeten; its singular form is moet, as in Moet ik gaan? (“Should I go?”). we is the first-person plural subject, meaning “we.” In a Dutch main-clause question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Moeten we ...? gaan means “go.” Here it is the infinitive after the modal verb moeten, so the combination moeten ... gaan means “should ... go.” The infinitive remains gaan after different subjects: Ik moet gaan (“I should go”) and We moeten gaan (“We should go”). Together, Naar welk perron asks for the destination, while moeten we gaan asks what action the speaker and the other person should take. The complete utterance therefore means “Which platform should we go to?”

2. Het bord wijst naar perron twee.

   The sign points to platform two.

   bord

   sign

   wijst

   points

   naar

   to

   perron

   platform

   twee

   two

   More detail

   bord means “sign” here. Its base form is bord; the plural is borden. Dutch bord can also mean a plate or board in other contexts, so the surrounding verb and destination identify the intended sense here. wijst is the present-tense form of wijzen for a singular subject such as het bord: “points” or, with information, “indicates.” The form wijzen is the infinitive/base form; wijst is used with hij, zij, het, or another singular subject in the present. Example: De pijl wijst naar de uitgang. — “The arrow points to the exit.” naar is a preposition used here for direction toward a destination. The reusable pattern is wijzen naar + destination, meaning “to point to/indicate + destination.” Example: De pijl wijst naar links. — “The arrow points to the left.” perron means “platform,” specifically a railway platform in this context. Its plural is perrons. Example: We wachten op het perron. — “We are waiting on the platform.” twee is the numeral “two.” It specifies the number of the platform in this sentence; it is not an inflected form. Dutch numerals such as twee generally keep the same form when used with different nouns. Example: Ik zie twee treinen. — “I see two trains.” Together, Het bord is “the sign,” wijst naar says that it indicates a direction or destination, and perron twee identifies that destination as platform two. The complete utterance therefore means: “The sign points to platform two.”

3. Ik kan de kleine letters vanaf hier niet lezen.

   I can't read the small letters from here.

   Ik kan

   I can

   kleine

   small

   letters

   letters

   vanaf hier

   from here

   niet

   not

   lezen

   read

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can” here. kan is the present-tense first-person singular form of kunnen, “to be able to/can.” Dutch uses this modal verb with an infinitive: Ik kan lezen means “I can read.” The subject is Ik, “I”; kan agrees with that subject. kleine means “small” here. Its base form is klein. Before a plural noun, the adjective takes -e: kleine letters. The adjective describes the letters, not the ability to read. letters means “letters” here. The singular is letter, and the plural is letters. In this sentence, it refers to the written characters whose size makes them difficult to read from the stated position. vanaf hier means “from here.” vanaf marks the starting point, and hier means “here.” Together they specify the point from which the reading is attempted. For example, Je kunt het vanaf hier zien. means “You can see it from here.” niet means “not.” It negates the ability expressed by kan ... lezen; it does not negate the noun phrase de kleine letters. lezen means “to read.” This is the infinitive, used after the modal kan. A useful contrast is Ik lees (“I read”) versus Ik kan lezen (“I can read”): the first uses the finite form of lezen, while the second uses kan as the finite verb and keeps lezen as an infinitive. Together, Ik kan de kleine letters vanaf hier niet lezen means “I can't read the small letters from here.” The structure is subject + modal verb + object + starting point + negation + infinitive: the speaker is unable to read the small letters from the location referred to as “here.”

4. Er staat dat de trein over tien minuten vertrekt.

   It says the train leaves in ten minutes.

   Er staat dat

   it says that

   trein

   train

   over tien minuten

   in ten minutes

   vertrekt

   leaves; departs

   More detail

   Er staat dat is a fixed impersonal way to report written or displayed information: “it says that” or “it states that.” Here er does not refer to a specific thing, and staat is the present form of staan (“stand”); together, the construction has the reporting meaning. The pattern is Er staat dat + clause. Example: Er staat dat de winkel om acht uur opent. — “It says that the shop opens at eight.” trein means “train.” The noun is used here with the definite article: de trein, “the train,” referring to the train identified in the intended message. Example: De trein is laat. — “The train is late.” over tien minuten is a time expression meaning “in ten minutes,” measured from now. In this use, over introduces the interval until an event happens; it is not the duration of the departure itself. Example: De les begint over vijf minuten. — “The lesson starts in five minutes.” vertrekt means “leaves” or “departs” here. It is the third-person singular present form of vertrekken (“to leave/depart”). Dutch present tense can describe a scheduled or expected future event when a time expression makes that reading clear. Example: De bus vertrekt om negen uur. — “The bus leaves at nine o’clock.” In the clause after dat, the subject is de trein and the verb vertrekt appears at the end: dat de trein over tien minuten vertrekt. This is the usual verb placement of a Dutch subordinate clause. Assembled, Er staat dat de trein over tien minuten vertrekt. means “It says that the train leaves in ten minutes.”

5. Ik ga naar het toilet voordat we instappen.

   I'm going to use the restroom before we board.

   Ik ga

   I’m going

   naar

   to

   toilet

   restroom

   voordat

   before

   we

   we

   instappen

   board

   More detail

   Ik ga contains ga, the first-person singular present form of gaan (“to go”): ik ga, jij gaat, wij/we gaan. In this sentence, the present form describes the speaker’s immediate action or intention, not necessarily movement already completed. The reusable pattern Ik ga naar ... means “I’m going to ...” or “I go to ...” depending on context. naar is the preposition used for movement toward a destination. In naar het toilet, it combines with the definite noun phrase het toilet; het is the Dutch definite article used with this noun. Here the destination is understood idiomatically as the restroom, matching the fixed translation. toilet is a noun meaning “toilet” or, in this context, “restroom.” Its common definite form is het toilet. Example: Waar is het toilet? — “Where is the restroom?” voordat introduces an event that must occur earlier than another event: “before.” It introduces the subordinate clause voordat we instappen. Example: Bel me voordat je vertrekt. — “Call me before you leave.” we is the first-person plural subject pronoun, “we.” It is the shorter, very common form corresponding to wij; the verb with it takes the plural form. Example: We vertrekken om acht uur. — “We leave at eight o’clock.” instappen means “to board” or “to get in,” especially boarding a train, bus, or other vehicle. It is a separable verb. In a main clause, its finite form splits: we stappen in. In the subordinate clause here, the finite present form is instappen and remains together at the end of the clause: voordat we instappen. This is not an infinitive in the fixed sentence; the subject we shows that it is the first-person plural present form. The surrounding context and fixed translation identify boarding as the intended sense. Together, Ik ga naar het toilet says that the speaker is going to the restroom. voordat we instappen places this action before the group boards, so the whole utterance means: “I’m going to use the restroom before we board.”

6. Ik houd de tassen bij me.

   I'll keep the bags with me.

   Ik

   I

   houd

   keep

   tassen

   bags

   bij me

   with me

   More detail

   Ik is the Dutch first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person doing the action. The corresponding plural pronoun is we or wij, meaning “we.” houd is the present-tense form of houden for ik: ik houd, “I keep” or “I hold.” In this sentence, it expresses keeping something with oneself. The same verb can also mean “to like” in another construction, as in Ik houd van muziek (“I like music”), so the surrounding words determine the meaning. Example: Ik houd de deur open. — “I keep the door open.” tassen means “bags” here. Its singular form is tas (“bag”), and tassen is the plural form. Dutch commonly forms the plural of a noun with -en, although plural formation is not identical for every noun. Example: De tas is zwaar. — “The bag is heavy.” bij me is the reusable expression “with me” or “by me,” referring here to keeping something in the speaker’s possession or immediate company. me is the unstressed first-person singular form used after this preposition; the stressed form is mij, as in bij mij (“with me”). Example: De sleutel is bij me. — “The key is with me.” Together, Ik houd gives “I’ll keep” in the fixed translation: Dutch present tense can describe a future intention or arrangement when the context makes that clear. de tassen means “the bags,” and bij me specifies that the speaker will keep them with them. The complete utterance therefore means: “I’ll keep the bags with me.”

7. Blijf alsjeblieft bij dit bord.

   Please stay near this sign.

   Blijf

   stay; remain

   alsjeblieft

   please

   bij

   near; by

   dit

   this

   bord

   sign

   More detail

   Blijf is the imperative form of blijven, “to stay” or “to remain.” It tells the addressed person or people to stay; the subject is understood rather than stated. Compare Blijf hier. — “Stay here.” The present-tense form for “I stay” is also blijf, but the command use here is identified by the sentence’s directive meaning. alsjeblieft adds “please.” It is a polite word that can soften a request or command. For example, Wacht alsjeblieft. means “Please wait.” bij is a preposition meaning “near” or “by” in this sentence. It introduces the place where someone should remain: bij de ingang means “near the entrance.” Its meaning here is spatial, not the “with” sense found in bij me in the earlier sentence. dit means “this” and points to something relatively near. In this use, it is the neuter singular form agreeing with het bord; Dutch uses dit with a singular het-word. The corresponding form for a singular de-word is deze, as in deze deur — “this door.” bord is a noun meaning “sign” here; it can also mean a board or information board in other contexts. Its plural is borden. With the definite article, the singular form is het bord. Together, bij dit bord means “near this sign.” The imperative Blijf tells the listener to remain there, and alsjeblieft makes the instruction polite: “Please stay near this sign.”

8. Ik let op het bord voor het geval het perron verandert.

   I'll watch the board in case the platform changes.

   Ik

   I

   let op

   watch; pay attention to

   bord

   board

   voor het geval

   in case

   perron

   platform

   verandert

   changes

   More detail

   Ik is the Dutch first-person singular pronoun, meaning “I.” It is the subject of the main clause Ik let op het bord. let op is the observed form of the separable verb opletten, “to pay attention” or “to watch.” In the present tense, the first-person singular form is ik let op: the verb part let appears with the subject, while op is separated and placed later in the clause. This is not an imperative here, because Ik explicitly makes it a statement about the speaker. Example: Ik let goed op. — “I pay close attention.” bord means “board” here. With the article in the sentence, het bord is the noun phrase referring to the board being watched. The preceding context also contains dit bord (“this sign”), but the fixed translation establishes the intended meaning here as “the board.” voor het geval is a reusable conjunction meaning “in case.” It introduces a possible circumstance that motivates the action, without asserting that the circumstance will occur. The following clause gives that circumstance. perron means “platform,” as in a station platform. It is a het-word, so the noun phrase here is het perron. The article is part of the noun phrase; it does not itself state a numerical quantity. verandert is the third-person singular present form of veranderen, “to change.” Its subject is het perron, not Ik, so the form agrees with the singular subject. Compare het perron verandert (“the platform changes”) with de perrons veranderen (“the platforms change”): the plural subject takes veranderen. Together, Ik let op het bord means “I’ll watch the board” in this context. voor het geval het perron verandert adds the condition “in case the platform changes.” The full utterance therefore means: “I’ll watch the board in case the platform changes.”