Giving a task update | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Hoe gaat het met de taak?

   How is the task going?

   Hoe gaat het

   How is it going?

   de taak

   the task

   More detail

   Hoe gaat het is a reusable Dutch way to ask how something is progressing or how a situation is going. Literally, hoe means “how,” while gaat is the present-tense form of gaan (“to go”) for hij/zij/het; het is the neutral pronoun used in this fixed expression. The expression is not asking about physical movement here. For example: Hoe gaat het met je werk? — “How is your work going?” de taak means “the task.” Taak is a noun, and its usual singular form takes the common-gender article de; its plural is taken. The article is definite, so this refers to a particular task identifiable in the situation, rather than introducing just any task. Example: De taak is moeilijk. — “The task is difficult.” Together, Hoe gaat het met de taak? asks how the particular task is progressing: “How is the task going?”

2. Het meeste is gedaan.

   Most of it is done.

   Het meeste

   most of it

   is gedaan

   is done

   More detail

   Het meeste means “most of it” here. meeste is the inflected superlative form related to veel (“much/many”): veel → meer (“more”) → meest (“most”), with meeste used here after het. The noun being measured is not stated; the fixed translation and context support “most of the task.” is gedaan means “is done.” is is the present-tense singular form of zijn (“to be”). gedaan is the irregular past participle of doen (“to do”); a useful form chain is doen → deed → gedaan. Together, these forms describe something as completed. Example: Het werk is gedaan. — “The work is done.” The utterance combines Het meeste (“most of it”) with is gedaan (“is done”), giving “Most of it is done.”

3. Wat moeten we controleren?

   What needs checking?

   Wat

   what

   moeten we

   do we need to

   controleren

   check

   More detail

   Wat means “what” and asks for an unspecified thing or set of things. In this sentence it is the fronted object of controleren; the translation identifies the intended question as asking which things need checking, without specifying them. moeten we combines moeten with we. Moeten is the present-tense form of moeten used with we; it expresses necessity or requirement here. We is the subject, meaning “we.” In a Dutch question, the finite verb comes before the subject: moeten we ...? Compare the statement We moeten ... (“We need to ...”). controleren is the infinitive “to check” or “to verify.” After a modal verb such as moeten, Dutch uses the infinitive: We moeten de cijfers controleren means “We need to check the numbers.” The infinitive itself does not show who performs the action; we supplies that subject here. Together, Wat + moeten we + controleren asks which thing or things are required to be checked: “What needs checking?” The word order is the question pattern question word + finite modal verb + subject + infinitive.

4. Ik moet de cijfers controleren.

   I need to check the numbers.

   Ik moet

   I need to / I must

   cijfers

   numbers

   controleren

   to check

   More detail

   Ik moet means “I need to” or “I must” here. moeten is the base form; moet is its present-tense form with ik. As a modal verb, it is followed by an infinitive: Ik moet ... controleren. Example: Ik moet vertrekken. — “I need to leave.” cijfers means “numbers” here. Its singular is cijfer, “number,” and cijfers is the plural. The same word can refer to numerical figures or digits; the fixed translation supports the numerical sense here. Example: De cijfers zijn duidelijk. — “The numbers are clear.” controleren means “to check.” It is an infinitive, the form used after moet. Example: We moeten het document controleren. — “We need to check the document.” Together, Ik moet + de cijfers + controleren gives “I need to check the numbers.” The article de belongs with the plural noun phrase de cijfers; the modal moet expresses the speaker’s need or obligation, and controleren states the action.

5. Liggen we op schema?

   Are we on schedule?

   Liggen

   are / lie

   we

   we

   op schema

   on schedule

   More detail

   Liggen is the form of the verb liggen (“to lie”) used with we in the present tense. In this utterance, it is used figuratively in op schema liggen: the question is whether the work is proceeding according to the planned timetable, not whether anyone is physically lying down. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Liggen we ...? Compare the ordinary statement We liggen op schema. (“We are on schedule.”) we means “we”: the speaker includes themself and at least one other participant. It is the subject of liggen, so the verb form is plural. The corresponding singular form is ik lig (“I lie / I am”), while wij liggen is a more emphatic or formal version of we liggen in some contexts. op schema is the reusable expression “on schedule” or “according to plan”. Here, op is part of the expression and schema refers to the planned timetable or schedule. The same pattern can be used in the statement We liggen op schema. (“We are on schedule.”) Together, the inverted question pattern Liggen we ...? plus op schema produces the complete meaning: “Are we on schedule?” It asks whether the shared work is progressing according to the planned timetable.

6. We kunnen dit vanmiddag afmaken.

   We can finish this afternoon.

   We kunnen

   we can

   dit

   this

   vanmiddag

   this afternoon

   afmaken

   finish

   More detail

   We kunnen combines we (“we”) with kunnen, the present-tense form of kunnen used with this plural subject. Kunnen expresses ability or possibility here: “can.” With a modal verb such as kunnen, Dutch normally places the other verb in the infinitive at the end of the clause. dit means “this” and is the demonstrative form used with a singular neuter noun or as a standalone neuter object. In this sentence it is the object of finishing; the exact thing it refers to is not specified by the supplied sentence. Compare deze for a singular common-gender noun or for plural nouns, for example: deze stoel — “this chair.” vanmiddag is an adverb meaning “this afternoon.” It specifies when the action can happen. It is written as one word in Dutch and is not the object of afmaken. afmaken means “to finish” or “to complete.” It is an infinitive, and its form does not show the subject or tense here. Afmaken is a separable verb: in a finite clause, the prefix af can separate from maken, as in We maken dit vanmiddag af. — “We finish this this afternoon.” After kunnen, however, the infinitive stays together at the end: We kunnen dit vanmiddag afmaken. Together, We kunnen expresses the possibility or ability, dit names the thing being completed, vanmiddag gives the time, and afmaken supplies the action. The whole utterance therefore means: “We can finish this afternoon.”

7. Moeten we het team een update geven?

   Should we update the team?

   Moeten we

   should we

   team

   team

   update

   update

   geven

   give

   More detail

   Moeten we asks whether the speaker and one or more others should do something. Moeten is the present-tense form of moeten here; with we, it has the same form as the infinitive. In a statement, the order is we moeten ...; placing moeten before we makes the yes/no question. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the meaning “should,” rather than presenting another possible sense of the modal. team means a team or work group. In the complete phrase het team, het is the definite article: it identifies the team as a specific group in the situation. The noun itself does not change form here. update is a noun meaning an update or piece of new information. Dutch also uses this English-derived noun; in een update, een marks an unspecified update. It does not by itself assert a numerical count. A useful related noun is informatie (“information”), but it is not interchangeable in every context: an update is information about a current development or status. geven is the infinitive of geven, “to give.” After a modal such as moeten, the main verb normally remains in the infinitive: We moeten wachten means “We must/should wait.” In the expression iemand iets geven, the first object is the recipient and the second is the thing given. Together, moeten we + het team + een update geven forms a yes/no question: “Should we give the team an update?” In the fixed translation, this natural Dutch construction is rendered as “Should we update the team?” The participants and intended action remain the same: we would provide current information to the specific team.

8. Laten we ze een update geven nadat we dit deel hebben afgemaakt.

   Let's update them after we finish this part.

   Laten we

   let’s

   ze

   them

   update

   update

   geven

   give

   nadat

   after

   we

   we

   dit

   this

   deel

   part

   hebben afgemaakt

   have finished

   More detail

   Laten we is a reusable Dutch construction meaning “let’s ...”. It introduces a suggestion or joint plan with the speaker and others; it is not a literal command to let someone go. Example: Laten we beginnen. = “Let’s begin.” ze is the object pronoun meaning “them” here, as confirmed by the fixed translation. In other contexts, ze can have other functions, but in this sentence it receives the action of giving an update. update is a borrowed Dutch noun. The useful pattern is een update geven, literally “give an update,” which corresponds naturally to “update” someone in English. een is an indefinite article here, not a claim about a numerical count. Example: We geven het team een update. = “We give the team an update.” geven is the infinitive of geven, “to give.” In Laten we ... geven, it follows the Laten we construction and names the proposed action. The recipient is expressed before it: ze een update geven means “give them an update.” nadat is a subordinating conjunction meaning “after.” It introduces the event that must be completed first. In the clause after nadat, Dutch places the finite auxiliary toward the end: nadat we ... hebben afgemaakt. we is the subject pronoun “we,” referring to the speaker together with at least one other participant. It is the subject of the subordinate clause, not the recipient of the update. dit means “this” and is the neuter singular demonstrative form. It agrees with deel, whose Dutch article is het: dit deel = “this part.” The demonstrative identifies the part as the one intended in the situation; it does not by itself state how physically close it is. deel is a noun meaning “part” or “section.” In dit deel, it identifies the portion that the speakers intend to finish. Example: We bespreken dit deel. = “We discuss this part.” hebben afgemaakt means “have finished.” afgemaakt is the past participle of the separable verb afmaken, “to finish” or “to complete,” and hebben is the auxiliary used here for the perfect construction. In this subordinate clause, the auxiliary and participle appear at the end: nadat we dit deel hebben afgemaakt = “after we have finished this part.” Example: Nadat we het werk hebben afgemaakt, gaan we naar huis. = “After we have finished the work, we go home.” Together, Laten we ze een update geven proposes that the speaker and others give them an update. nadat we dit deel hebben afgemaakt sets the timing: that update is to happen after the speaker and the others have finished this part. The complete meaning is: “Let’s update them after we finish this part.”