Adding one more detail to a work note | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use Adding one more detail to a work note to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Ik heb een korte notitie geschreven.

ik hayp un KOR-tuh noh-TEE-tsee guh-SHRAY-vun. I wrote a short note.

Kan ik het nu lezen?

kahn ik ut nü LAY-zun now? Can I read it now?

Hier is het.

heer is ut. Here it is.

Het leest goed.

ut LAYST khoot. It reads well.

Zou nog één detail helpen?

zow nokh ayn day-TAHL HELP-un? Would one more detail help?

Nog één regel zou het verbeteren.

nokh ayn RAY-khul zow ut vur-BAY-tuh-run. One more line would improve it.

Ik voeg dat nu toe.

ik VOOKH daht nü TOO. I'll add that now.

Dan zijn we klaar om het te delen.

dahn zine wuh KLAHR um ut tuh DAY-lun. Then we should be ready to share it.

Word by Word

Ik ‘Ik’ means ‘I’ and identifies the speaker in ‘Ik heb een korte notitie geschreven.’ The same pronoun refers to the speaker in ‘Kan ik het nu lezen?’, and it is used before a verb when talking about your own action or ability.

heb ‘heb’ means ‘have’ in ‘Ik heb een korte notitie geschreven.’ Here it helps form the completed-action expression with ‘geschreven’; a useful reuse pattern is ‘Ik heb’ followed by the thing written and ‘geschreven’.

een ‘een’ means ‘a’ in ‘een korte notitie’. It comes before a singular noun when introducing one note that has not been specified before, and the same pattern can introduce another singular object.

korte ‘korte’ means ‘short’ and describes the length of the note in ‘een korte notitie’. It is placed before ‘notitie’ to give information about that noun, for example when describing a brief workplace message.

notitie ‘notitie’ means ‘note’, specifically the short written message being discussed. It is the object of ‘geschreven’ in ‘Ik heb een korte notitie geschreven’, so it is useful when talking about writing, reading, or reviewing a note.

geschreven ‘geschreven’ means ‘written’ in ‘Ik heb een korte notitie geschreven.’ It is the form of ‘schrijven’ used with ‘heb’ for the completed action, and it can be reused after ‘Ik heb’ when saying what you have written.

Kan ‘Kan’ means ‘can’ in ‘Kan ik het nu lezen?’ and asks whether the speaker may read the note now. ‘Kan ik ...?’ is a useful pattern for asking about permission or ability in a direct everyday situation.

het ‘het’ refers to the note in ‘Kan ik het nu lezen?’ and ‘Het leest goed.’ In the first sentence it is the thing being read, while in the second it refers back to the note as the thing being evaluated; it avoids repeating ‘notitie’.

nu ‘nu’ means ‘now’ and places the reading in the present moment in ‘Kan ik het nu lezen?’ It is useful when clarifying that an action should happen immediately or at this point in a conversation.

lezen ‘lezen’ means ‘read’ in ‘Kan ik het nu lezen?’ It follows ‘Kan ik’ as the action the speaker is asking to perform, and the same form can be used when asking to read a document or message.

Hier ‘Hier’ means ‘here’ and points to the note being presented in ‘Hier is het.’ The expression is useful when handing someone something that is nearby or directing their attention to it.

is ‘is’ means ‘is’ in ‘Hier is het.’ It states that the note is present at the indicated place, and it can be reused when presenting or locating something with ‘Hier is ...’.

leest ‘leest’ means ‘reads’ in ‘Het leest goed.’ Here it describes how the note comes across when someone reads it, rather than describing a person performing the reading; it is useful for giving feedback on written text.

goed ‘goed’ means ‘well’ in ‘Het leest goed’ and evaluates the quality or flow of the note. The combination ‘leest goed’ is useful when saying that a text sounds or reads well.

Zou ‘Zou’ means ‘would’ in ‘Zou nog één detail helpen?’ and makes the suggestion tentative. ‘Zou ... helpen?’ is useful when asking whether a possible change or addition would be beneficial.

nog ‘nog’ means ‘more’ or ‘additional’ in ‘nog één detail’ and ‘Nog één regel’. It shows that the speaker wants to add one further item to what is already there, and it is commonly used before a quantity and noun.

één ‘één’ specifies the number one in ‘nog één detail’ and ‘Nog één regel’. The accent makes the exact number clear, which is useful when emphasizing that only one additional item is intended.

detail ‘detail’ means ‘detail’, an additional piece of information in the note. In ‘Zou nog één detail helpen?’, it names the possible addition being considered, such as when reviewing a short work message.

helpen ‘helpen’ means ‘help’ in ‘Zou nog één detail helpen?’ and names the possible benefit of adding the detail. It is used after ‘zou’ to ask whether a proposed action or change would be useful.

regel ‘regel’ means ‘line’ in ‘Nog één regel zou het verbeteren’ and refers to one more line of written text. It is useful when discussing the amount or structure of information in a note or document.

verbeteren ‘verbeteren’ means ‘improve’ in ‘Nog één regel zou het verbeteren.’ It describes making the note better, with ‘het’ referring to the note, and it is used after ‘zou’ to describe a possible result.

voeg ‘voeg’ means ‘add’ in ‘Ik voeg dat nu toe.’ It is the verb part used with ‘toe’ to form the separable verb ‘toevoegen’, and ‘Ik voeg ... toe’ is a useful pattern for saying that you add something.

dat ‘dat’ means ‘that’ in ‘Ik voeg dat nu toe’ and refers to the detail or line just discussed. It lets the speaker refer to a previously mentioned item instead of repeating the noun.

toe ‘toe’ is the separable particle paired with ‘voeg’ in ‘Ik voeg dat nu toe’; together, ‘voeg ... toe’ means ‘add’. The object comes between the verb part and ‘toe’, which is a useful word-order pattern when adding a specific item.

Dan ‘Dan’ means ‘then’ in ‘Dan zijn we klaar om het te delen.’ It connects the completed addition with the next step, and it is useful for introducing a consequence or planned action.

zijn ‘zijn’ means ‘are’ in ‘Dan zijn we klaar om het te delen.’ It states the group’s condition together with ‘we’ and ‘klaar’, and after ‘Dan’ it appears before the subject in this sentence.

we ‘we’ means ‘we’ and refers to the two speakers together in ‘Dan zijn we klaar om het te delen.’ It is useful when describing a shared state, decision, or action involving the speaker and another person.

klaar ‘klaar’ means ‘ready’ in ‘Dan zijn we klaar om het te delen.’ It describes that the note is complete enough for the next action, and the pattern ‘klaar om ... te’ introduces what the people are ready to do.

om ‘om’ contributes ‘to’ in ‘klaar om het te delen’ and introduces the action that the speakers are ready for. The reusable pattern is ‘klaar om ... te’ followed by an action, for example when preparing to send or share something.

te ‘te’ marks the infinitive ‘delen’ in ‘om het te delen’. Together with ‘om’, it helps introduce the action after ‘klaar’, which is useful when stating what someone is ready or intending to do.

delen ‘delen’ means ‘share’ in ‘om het te delen’, with ‘het’ referring to the note. It is the infinitive after ‘te’ and is useful when talking about sending or making a document available to other people.

Grammar Points

voeg ... toe

Voeg één detail toe.

VOOKH ayn day-TAHL TOO.

Add one detail.

Toevoegen is a separable verb: voeg comes first, while toe moves to the end of the sentence.

Dutch Vocabulary

detail noun

day-TAHL detail

één num

AYN one

goed adv

KHOOT well

helpen verb

HELP-un to help

hier adv

HEER here

korte adj

KOR-tuh short

een korte notitie

lezen verb

LAY-zun to read

nog adv

NOKH more; still

notitie noun

noh-TEE-tsee note

regel noun

RAY-khul line

schrijven verb

SKH-RY-vun to write geschreven

verbeteren verb

vur-BAY-tuh-run to improve

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I wrote a short note.

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Ik heb een korte notitie geschreven.

Can I read it now?

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Kan ik het nu lezen?

Here it is.

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Hier is het.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

well

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goed

to write

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geschreven

short

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korte

to read

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lezen