Finding the event registration desk | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Dit gebouw voelt vanbinnen heel schoon aan.

   This building feels very clean inside.

   Dit

   this

   gebouw

   building

   voelt … aan

   feels

   vanbinnen

   inside

   heel

   very

   schoon

   clean

   More detail

   Dit means “this” and is the Dutch singular form used with a het-word. Here it points to gebouw, so dit gebouw is “this building.” In a different noun phrase, deze is used with singular de-words and with plural nouns. gebouw is the noun “building.” Its plural is `gebouwen: “buildings.” voelt ... aan is the separable verb aanvoelen, meaning “to feel” or, for an impression, “to seem.” The form voelt is the present-tense third-person singular form of voelen; aan is the separable particle placed at the end of the clause. For example, De kamer voelt koud aan. means “The room feels cold.” vanbinnen is an adverb meaning “inside” or “on the inside.” It specifies the interior aspect of the building, rather than changing who or what feels something. heel means “very” here and strengthens the adjective that follows. For example, heel groot means “very large.” schoon is the adjective “clean.” It can also occur in comparisons: schoner means “cleaner,” and het schoonst means “the cleanest.” In this sentence, schoon describes the impression produced by the building’s interior. Together, dit gebouw identifies the subject, vanbinnen specifies its interior, and heel schoon describes the degree of cleanliness. The separable verb voelt ... aan frames the description: Dit gebouw voelt vanbinnen heel schoon aan. means “This building feels very clean inside.”

2. Het hoge plafond maakt de hal ruimtelijk.

   The high ceiling makes the lobby feel open.

   hoge

   high

   plafond

   ceiling

   maakt

   makes

   hal

   lobby

   ruimtelijk

   open; spacious

   More detail

   hoge means “high” here and describes plafond. Its base form is hoog; before a definite noun phrase such as het hoge plafond, the adjective takes the -e form. This adjective agrees with the noun phrase in the construction, while plafond itself is a neuter het-word. Example: een hoog plafond = “a high ceiling,” but het hoge plafond = “the high ceiling.” plafond means “ceiling.” It is a neuter singular noun: het plafond. The plural is plafonds. Example: Het plafond is wit. = “The ceiling is white.” maakt is the present-tense form of maken (“to make”) for the third-person singular subject. The pattern iets maakt iets + adjective expresses that one thing causes another thing to have a quality: De kleur maakt de kamer rustig. = “The color makes the room calm.” Here, maakt is not simply “does”; it links the ceiling as the cause to the resulting description ruimtelijk. hal means “hall” or, in this context, “lobby.” It is a common-gender singular de-word: de hal; its plural is hallen. In de hal, the article identifies a particular hall or lobby. Example: We wachten in de hal. = “We are waiting in the lobby.” ruimtelijk describes a place as open or spacious in its spatial impression. Its base form is already ruimtelijk; the comparative is ruimtelijker (“more spacious”), and the superlative is het ruimtelijkst or, in an attributive phrase, commonly de ruimtelijkste ruimte (“the most spacious room”). In this sentence it is a predicate adjective after maakt, so it does not take the attributive -e ending. Example: De grote ramen maken de kamer ruimtelijk. = “The large windows make the room feel spacious.” The sentence follows the pattern subject + maakt + object + adjective: Het hoge plafond is the subject and cause, de hal is the object affected by that cause, and ruimtelijk describes the resulting impression of the lobby. Together, Het hoge plafond maakt de hal ruimtelijk. means “The high ceiling makes the lobby feel open.”

3. Laten we de inschrijvingsbalie voor het evenement vinden.

   Let's find the event desk for registration.

   Laten we

   let’s

   inschrijvingsbalie

   registration desk

   evenement

   event

   vinden

   find

   More detail

   Laten we is a fixed Dutch construction for suggesting an action that includes the speaker: “let’s …”. Here, laten is not being used with its ordinary standalone meaning “to let,” “to leave,” or “to allow”; together with we and a following infinitive, it introduces the suggestion. Example: Laten we beginnen. — “Let’s begin.” inschrijvingsbalie means “registration desk” or “registration counter.” It is a compound containing inschrijving (“registration”) and balie (“desk” or “counter”). The article de marks this noun as a definite noun phrase: de inschrijvingsbalie, “the registration desk.” Example: Waar is de informatiebalie? — “Where is the information desk?” evenement means “event.” In the source, het evenement is the singular definite form, “the event”; het is the definite article used with this noun. In voor het evenement, voor links the desk to the event it serves, giving “for the event.” vinden means “to find.” It is an infinitive here and follows the suggestion construction Laten we. Useful present-tense forms include ik vind (“I find”) and wij/we vinden (“we find”); vinden is the base infinitive. Example: We vinden de uitgang. — “We find the exit.” Together, Laten we introduces the suggestion, de inschrijvingsbalie identifies the place, voor het evenement specifies the event it is for, and vinden names the suggested action. The complete meaning is: “Let’s find the event desk for registration.”

4. Ik kijk op de plattegrond van het gebouw bij de muur.

   I'll check the building directory by the wall.

   Ik

   I

   kijk

   look; check

   op

   on; at

   plattegrond

   map; floor plan

   gebouw

   building

   bij

   by; near

   muur

   wall

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun: “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person doing the action. It does not by itself indicate whether the action is happening now or is intended shortly. kijk is the present-tense form of kijken (“to look”). With ik, Dutch uses kijk: ik kijk, “I look / I am looking.” In this sentence, kijken op means consulting or looking at something, so the fixed translation uses “check.” op means “on” here and forms the pattern kijken op ..., “look at / consult ...” in this context. The following noun phrase specifies what is being consulted; op is not carrying the meaning of “near” here. plattegrond means “map” or, especially in a building, “floor plan.” It is a noun. A useful contrast is kaart, which is a general map or card, whereas plattegrond is commonly a plan or layout of a place. In this sentence, the fixed translation presents the building plan as a building directory. gebouw means “building.” In van het gebouw, van links this noun to the preceding noun phrase and means “of the building” or “belonging to the building.” The form gebouw itself does not show a plural ending here; plural gebouwen means “buildings.” bij means “by” or “near” when it marks location. The pattern bij de muur therefore places the described activity or object near the wall. This is different from op, which here belongs to the expression for consulting the plan. muur means “wall.” It is singular here, and de muur is “the wall.” The definite article de marks a specific wall in the situation, but the sentence does not identify which wall beyond that context. Together, Ik kijk op de plattegrond means “I’m looking at / checking the map or floor plan,” van het gebouw specifies that it is the building’s plan, and bij de muur places this action near the wall. The complete meaning is: “I’ll check the building directory by the wall,” with the Dutch present form describing the speaker’s looking/checking action in the supplied context.

5. Er staat dat de evenementenbalie boven is.

   It says the event desk is upstairs.

   Er staat dat

   it says that

   evenementenbalie

   event desk

   boven

   upstairs

   is

   is

   More detail

   Er staat dat is a reusable Dutch way to report what a written source says: literally, “there stands that,” but here it means “it says that.” Dutch uses er in this impersonal construction; it does not identify a particular person as the speaker. The pattern is Er staat dat + clause. evenementenbalie means “event desk” here. It is a compound noun: balie is “desk” or “counter,” while evenementen- specifies the type. In Dutch compounds, the final part is the main noun, so this refers to a kind of desk rather than to events themselves. A useful related form is evenement (“event”); do not treat evenementenbalie as two separately inflected words in this sentence. boven means “upstairs” in this location description. It can also mean “above” when describing a position relative to something else; the surrounding location meaning determines the translation. For example, De toiletten zijn boven. means “The toilets are upstairs.” is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular third-person subject such as het or de balie. The same verb has other present forms: ik ben, jij bent, hij/zij/het is, and wij/jullie/zij zijn. Here, is links the desk with its location, boven. Together, Er staat dat introduces the information being reported. The clause de evenementenbalie boven is says that the event desk is upstairs. Thus the complete utterance means: “It says the event desk is upstairs.”

6. Zullen we de roltrap of de trap nemen?

   Should we take the escalator or the stairs?

   Zullen we

   shall we

   roltrap

   escalator

   of

   or

   trap

   stairs

   nemen

   take

   More detail

   Zullen we is a reusable way to make a suggestion or ask about a joint action: literally, it uses zullen (“shall/will”) with we (“we”), but here the natural meaning is “should we …?”. The verb zullen is an auxiliary and is followed by an infinitive: Zullen we wachten? — “Shall we wait?” roltrap means “escalator.” It is a Dutch compound noun, and the noun is used here with the article de: de roltrap. Example: De roltrap is kapot. — “The escalator is broken.” of connects alternatives and means “or.” It presents a choice between the two following possibilities or noun phrases. Example: Koffie of thee? — “Coffee or tea?” trap means “stairs” in this context, referring to a staircase as a way of moving between levels. The Dutch noun is singular in form here: de trap; its plural is trappen. The English translation naturally uses plural “stairs.” Example: De trap is daar. — “The stairs are there.” nemen is the infinitive “take.” After Zullen we, it stays in the infinitive and names the proposed action: Zullen we de bus nemen? — “Shall we take the bus?” The structure is Zullen we [option 1] of [option 2] nemen?: “Should we take the escalator or the stairs?” de roltrap and de trap are the two alternatives, while nemen applies to the chosen one. The question proposes that the speaker and listener make this choice together.

7. Laten we de trap nemen; die is hier.

   Let's take the stairs; they are right here.

   Laten we

   let’s

   de trap

   the stairs

   nemen

   take

   die

   they

   is

   are

   hier

   here

   More detail

   Laten we is a reusable Dutch construction meaning “let’s …”. It combines the imperative form laten (“let”) with we (“we”) and is followed by an infinitive: Laten we beginnen = “Let’s begin.” Here, nemen supplies the action proposed by the speaker. de trap means “the stairs” or “the staircase” here. Trap is a common-gender singular noun, so it takes the definite article de; the article does not itself indicate a plural. The same noun can refer to a staircase or a flight of stairs depending on context. The previous sentence contrasts it with de roltrap (“the escalator”), and the following sentence uses de houten trap (“the wooden staircase/stairs”), confirming the same noun. nemen is the infinitive “to take.” In this sentence it follows Laten we, a pattern that uses the infinitive for the proposed action: Laten we de bus nemen = “Let’s take the bus.” The form is not changed for the subject in this construction. die is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that one” or, as translated here, “they.” It refers to de trap. Because trap is a singular common-gender noun, Dutch uses the die form; the English translation uses plural “they” because English commonly describes stairs that way. In this sentence die is the subject of the next clause, not part of the proposal to take the stairs. is is the singular present form of zijn, “to be”: ik ben (“I am”), jij bent (“you are”), hij/zij/het is (“he/she/it is”), wij zijn (“we are”). The singular form agrees with die, which refers to the singular noun de trap, even though the fixed English translation says “they are.” hier means “here,” referring to the relevant location. A useful pattern is Het is hier = “It is here.” In the fixed sentence, hier comes after is and completes the statement about where the stairs are. Together, Laten we de trap nemen means “Let’s take the stairs.” The semicolon then introduces die is hier, literally “that one is here,” with die referring back to de trap; in the fixed translation this is naturally rendered as “they are right here.”

8. De houten trap geeft de plek een warm gevoel.

   The wooden stairs make the place feel warm.

   houten

   wooden

   trap

   stairs; staircase

   geeft

   gives

   plek

   place

   warm

   warm

   gevoel

   feeling

   More detail

   houten describes what the trap is made of. It is related to the noun hout (“wood”) and is the form used before a noun in this phrase: een houten tafel = “a wooden table.” It does not itself express whether the wood is light or dark. trap means “stairs” or “staircase” here. The preceding context supports the stairs reading. The plural-looking English translation does not require Dutch to use a plural form: de trap is singular in Dutch and can refer to a staircase as one structure. The noun is common gender, shown here by de. geeft is the present-tense third-person singular form of geven (“to give”): geven → geeft. The subject here is singular, de houten trap. Dutch commonly uses the pattern iets geeft iemand ... or iets geeft ... iets for giving someone or something an effect: Muziek geeft de kamer sfeer. = “Music gives the room atmosphere.” plek means “place” or “spot.” In de plek, it is a common-gender noun and therefore takes de. In this sentence, de plek is the location affected by the feeling; it is not the subject. warm means “warm.” Before the neuter noun gevoel, the phrase is een warm gevoel: after the indefinite article een, the adjective has no -e ending in this pattern. Compare het warme gevoel with the definite article het, where the attributive adjective does have -e. gevoel means “feeling” or “sense.” Its base form is gevoel, and it is a neuter noun: het gevoel. In this sentence, een warm gevoel is the thing that the staircase gives to the place. The article een marks it as an indefinite noun phrase; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Together, De houten trap is the subject, geeft is the present-tense verb, de plek identifies what is affected, and een warm gevoel identifies the resulting impression. The sentence therefore means “The wooden stairs make the place feel warm,” literally expressing that the wooden staircase gives the place a warm feeling.