Learning a New Word | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Wat betekent dit woord?

   What does this word mean?

   Wat

   what

   betekent

   means

   dit

   this

   woord

   word

   More detail

   Wat is the question word “what.” Here it asks for the meaning of something, rather than asking about a person or place. A reusable pattern is Wat betekent ...? — “What does ... mean?” betekent is the present-tense form of betekenen, “to mean” or “to signify,” for a singular subject in this sentence. The subject is dit woord, so the form is betekent. For example: Wat betekent die zin? — “What does that sentence mean?” dit means “this” and is the singular neuter form of the Dutch demonstrative. It agrees with woord, which is a singular het-word: dit woord. The corresponding plural form is deze, as in deze woorden — “these words.” woord means “word.” Its plural is woorden, “words.” In this sentence it is the thing whose meaning is being asked about. The sentence uses Dutch question order: the question word Wat comes first, the finite verb betekent comes next, and the subject dit woord follows it. Together, Wat betekent dit woord? means “What does this word mean?”

2. Het betekent een kleine kamer.

   It means a small room.

   Het

   it

   betekent

   means

   kleine

   small

   kamer

   room

   More detail

   Het is the subject pronoun meaning “it” here. Dutch het is also the form used for a singular neuter referent; in the supplied context, the topic is the word being discussed. Do not assume that every English “it” translates as het: the Dutch pronoun must fit the referent’s grammatical properties. betekent means “means” in this sentence. It is the third-person singular present form of betekenen (“to mean”): ik beteken, het betekent, zij betekenen. The -t marks this present-tense singular form. Example: Dit betekent veel. — “This means a lot.” kleine means “small” here. Its base form is klein; kleine is the attributive form used before kamer. In een kleine kamer, the noun kamer is a common-gender de-word, so the adjective takes -e. This differs from an indefinite singular neuter noun, where the adjective commonly has no -e, as in een klein huis — “a small house.” kamer means “room.” Its article is de: de kamer, plural kamers. Example: De kamer is klein. — “The room is small.” Together, Het betekent gives “It means,” and een kleine kamer gives “a small room.” The indefinite article een introduces the noun phrase but does not by itself make a numerical claim that there is exactly one room. The complete utterance therefore means: “It means a small room.”

3. Kun je het langzaam uitspreken?

   Can you pronounce it slowly?

   Kun je

   can you

   het

   it

   langzaam

   slowly

   uitspreken

   pronounce

   More detail

   Kun je is an informal way to ask one person whether they can do something. It consists of kunnen (“can, be able to”) in the present form kun plus the unstressed subject pronoun je (“you”). In a yes/no question, the verb comes before the subject. After a modal such as kunnen, the other verb stays in the infinitive: Kun je helpen? means “Can you help?” het is the unstressed singular neuter object pronoun meaning “it” here. It refers to the thing being pronounced, but the supplied sentence does not identify that thing more specifically. Dutch also uses het as a neuter definite article (“the”), but in this sentence it is the object pronoun because it is the thing affected by uitspreken. langzaam means “slowly” here. This is the adverbial use of the same form associated with “slow”; it describes how the pronunciation should be performed. For example, Spreek langzaam. means “Speak slowly.” uitspreken means “to pronounce.” It is a separable verb, written together in the infinitive. In a finite clause without a modal, its parts can separate: Ik spreek het woord uit. means “I pronounce the word.” With kunnen, the infinitive remains at the end as uitspreken, so the separable parts are not split in this sentence. Together, Kun je asks whether the listener can perform the action, het supplies the object, langzaam specifies the manner, and uitspreken names the action. The complete utterance therefore means “Can you pronounce it slowly?”

4. Ik deel het woord op in delen.

   I'll break it into parts.

   Ik

   I

   deel … op

   break up

   woord

   word

   delen

   parts

   More detail

   Ik means “I” here. It is the first-person singular subject pronoun. The subject form stays ik whether the speaker is male or female; the verb form changes with the subject instead. deel ... op is the separated form of the verb opdelen, “to divide” or “to break up.” In this sentence, deel is the present-tense first-person singular form, while op is separated from it and appears before in delen. The infinitive keeps the parts together: opdelen. Example: Ik deel de zin op. — “I divide the sentence into parts.” woord means “word.” In this sentence it is singular and appears with the definite article het: het woord, “the word.” Dutch nouns with het are commonly called neuter nouns, but the article is part of the noun phrase and does not mean “one.” delen means “parts” here. It is the plural of deel, “part.” The preposition in gives the reusable pattern iets opdelen in delen or, more generally, iets opdelen in [components]: dividing something into parts or components. The form delen can also be an infinitive meaning “to share” or “to divide,” but in this sentence its position after in and the intended translation support the plural noun meaning “parts.” Example: We verdelen de taak in drie delen. — “We divide the task into three parts.” Together, Ik deel het woord op in delen says that the speaker will divide the word into parts. Dutch uses the present tense deel for the planned or intended action conveyed by the fixed translation “I’ll break it into parts”; the separable verb opdelen supplies the meaning “break/divide up,” het woord is what is being divided, and in delen states the resulting parts.

5. Kun je een voorbeeld geven?

   Can you give me an example?

   Kun je

   can you

   een

   an

   voorbeeld

   example

   geven

   give

   More detail

   Kun je is the question pattern for “can you…?” Here, kun is the present-tense form of kunnen (“to be able to/can”) for the subject je (“you”). Dutch places the conjugated modal verb before the subject in this yes/no question. The following lexical verb stays in the infinitive: Kun je helpen? — “Can you help?” een is the indefinite article, used before a singular countable noun when it is not identified as a particular one. It does not by itself assert a numerical count in the English sense. Compare een voorbeeld — “an example” — with het voorbeeld — “the example,” referring to a specific example. voorbeeld is the noun “example.” Its plural is voorbeelden: Ik geef twee voorbeelden. — “I give two examples.” geven is the infinitive “to give.” After kunnen, Dutch uses this infinitive, while kun carries the tense and agrees with je: Je kunt een antwoord geven. — “You can give an answer.” In the fixed question, geven means giving an example. Together, Kun je een voorbeeld geven? means “Can you give me an example?” The pattern is Kun je + [object] + [infinitive verb]?, a reusable way to ask whether someone can perform an action. The question is neutral and suitable for ordinary conversation or explanation.

6. Deze kamer is schoon en licht.

   This room is clean and bright.

   Deze

   this

   kamer

   room

   is

   is

   schoon

   clean

   en

   and

   licht

   bright

   More detail

   Deze means “this” here and points to a nearby singular noun of the Dutch de type. With a singular het-word, Dutch uses dit instead: dit huis (“this house”). kamer means “room.” Its plural is kamers. The phrase deze kamer is therefore “this room”; deze agrees with the noun’s demonstrative pattern, not with the adjective that follows. is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular subject such as de kamer. For example, De kamer is groot means “The room is large.” schoon means “clean” in this sentence. It is a descriptive adjective used after is, so it describes the subject without an adjective ending here. In another context, schoon can also mean “beautiful,” but “clean” is the intended meaning in the fixed translation. en connects two descriptions or other equal elements. Here it joins schoon and licht, both describing the room. licht means “bright” here. It is an adjective describing the room after is; the fixed translation selects “bright,” rather than the other common meaning “light” as a noun or as a description of low weight or color. Together, deze kamer (“this room”) is the subject, is links it to the descriptions, and schoon en licht says that it is “clean and bright.” The complete utterance is: “This room is clean and bright.”

7. Ik wil oefenen met dit woord.

   I want to practice using it.

   Ik wil

   I want to

   oefenen

   practice

   met

   with

   dit

   this

   woord

   word

   More detail

   Ik wil means “I want.” wil is the first-person singular present form of willen (“to want”); the subject Ik (“I”) identifies who has this desire. In a Dutch main clause, the finite verb follows the subject here. With willen, the other verb stays in the infinitive: Ik wil oefenen = “I want to practise.” oefenen means “to practise” or “to practice.” It is an infinitive, the base form used after wil. Dutch commonly uses oefenen met for practising with or using something: Ik oefen met nieuwe woorden. = “I practise with new words.” met means “with” in this construction. It links the activity to what is being practised with or used; the phrase oefenen met is therefore a useful pattern rather than a claim that met always has only this meaning. dit means “this.” It is a demonstrative used here with a singular neuter noun. Dutch has dit with singular neuter nouns and deze with singular common-gender nouns and plural nouns. In the supplied context, dit points to the word being practised, but the form itself expresses the demonstrative and noun-agreement pattern. woord means “word.” Its plural is woorden: een woord = “a word,” woorden = “words.” The noun is neuter, which is why the singular demonstrative here is dit. Together, Ik wil oefenen met dit woord. follows the pattern subject + finite form of willen + infinitive + met + demonstrative + noun. Its fixed meaning is “I want to practise using this word.” The English translation’s “using it” refers to dit woord (“this word”); Dutch states that reference explicitly rather than using an English-style pronoun in the sentence.

8. Probeer het in een korte zin.

   Try it in a short sentence.

   Probeer

   try

   het

   it

   korte

   short

   zin

   sentence

   More detail

   Probeer is the imperative of proberen (“to try”). The stem is probeer; in this sentence it gives a direct instruction to the person addressed. For example: Probeer opnieuw. — “Try again.” het is the neuter singular object pronoun meaning “it” here. The preceding context supports the intended referent as the word being practised. Dutch object pronouns differ from subject pronouns: het is used for a neuter singular object, while het woord is the corresponding noun phrase. korte is the inflected form of the adjective kort (“short”). It appears before zin in een korte zin. Zin is a common-gender singular noun, so an attributive adjective takes the -e form in this noun phrase. The adjective is kort in the predicate example De zin is kort. — “The sentence is short.” With a neuter singular noun after indefinite een, the adjective can remain uninflected: een kort woord — “a short word.” zin means “sentence” here. Its plural is zinnen. The phrase een zin means “a sentence”; een introduces an indefinite noun phrase and does not by itself assert a numerical count. The words in een introduce the setting or form in which the attempt should be made: “in a”. Thus in een korte zin means “in a short sentence”. Together, Probeer het in een korte zin. means “Try it in a short sentence.” This is a direct, reusable instruction pattern: Probeer [object] in een [adjective] [noun].