Asking About Homework | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Wat moet ik voor mijn huiswerk doen?

   What should I do for homework?

   Wat moet ik

   What should I

   voor

   for

   mijn

   my

   huiswerk

   homework

   doen

   do

   More detail

   Wat moet ik asks what action the speaker is required or expected to take. Wat means “what”; moet is the present-tense form of moeten (“must,” “have to,” or, in a suitable context, “should”) with singular subject ik (“I”). Dutch main-clause questions commonly place the finite verb before the subject: moet ik. Example: Wat moet ik meenemen? — “What do I have to bring?” voor means “for” here. It introduces the purpose or intended connection of huiswerk: the work is for homework. Its meaning depends on the relation it expresses; it is not itself a marker of possession. mijn means “my” and identifies the homework as belonging to or associated with the speaker. Unlike some Dutch articles and adjectives, mijn does not change form for the gender or number of the noun it accompanies. Example: mijn boek — “my book”; mijn boeken — “my books.” huiswerk means “homework.” It is generally used as an uncountable mass noun, so Dutch normally says huiswerk rather than treating it as an ordinary singular countable item. Example: Ik maak mijn huiswerk. — “I do my homework.” doen means “to do” here. It is the infinitive, used after the modal verb moeten; the finite verb carries the present-tense marking, while doen stays in the infinitive at the end of the question. Example: Je moet dit doen. — “You have to do this.” Together, Wat moet ik asks for the required action, voor mijn huiswerk identifies the homework-related purpose, and doen names the action. The complete utterance therefore means “What should I do for homework?” In the supplied context, the following instruction answers this question by directing the listener to start with a particular exercise.

2. Maak eerst deze oefening.

   Start by completing this exercise.

   Maak

   complete

   eerst

   first

   deze

   this

   oefening

   exercise

   More detail

   Maak is the imperative form of maken (“to make” or “to do”). In this sentence, the context selects the task-related meaning “complete/do,” not physical creation. The imperative gives a direct instruction; maak is the same command form used for one person and for more than one person in ordinary Dutch. eerst means “first” and marks the order of the instruction. It can be reused to put one task before another: Lees eerst de vraag. — “Read the question first.” deze means “this” and points to a nearby or otherwise identifiable item. It agrees with oefening here: oefening is a singular common-gender de noun, so the form is deze, not dit. Deze is also used with plural nouns, while dit is used with singular neuter het nouns. oefening means “exercise” or “practice task.” Its plural is oefeningen: Deze oefeningen zijn kort. — “These exercises are short.” Together, Maak + deze oefening gives the instruction “complete this exercise,” and eerst specifies that it should be done before the other relevant task or tasks. The whole utterance therefore means: “Start by completing this exercise.”

3. Welke pagina moet ik gebruiken?

   Which page should I use?

   Welke

   which

   pagina

   page

   moet ik

   should I

   gebruiken

   use

   More detail

   Welke asks “which” when selecting from identifiable options. Dutch uses welk with singular het-words and welke with singular de-words and with plural nouns; pagina is a singular de-word, so welke pagina is the matching form. pagina means “page.” Its plural is pagina’s (“pages”), so the reusable patterns are een pagina (“a page”), de pagina (“the page”), and welke pagina? (“which page?”). moet ik contains moet, the first-person singular present form of moeten (“must; have to; should”), plus ik (“I”). In this question, moet comes before the subject ik, as is normal for a yes/no or information question in Dutch: Moet ik ...? means “Do I have to ...?” The fixed translation makes the intended meaning here “should I ...?” gebruiken is the infinitive “to use.” After the modal verb moet, the lexical verb remains an infinitive: ik moet ... gebruiken (“I must/should use ...”). For example: Ik moet deze pagina gebruiken. — “I have to use this page.” Together, welke pagina identifies the item being selected, while moet ik gebruiken asks what the speaker should use. The full utterance means “Which page should I use?”

4. Gebruik de pagina met de korte vragen.

   Use the page with the short questions.

   Gebruik

   use

   pagina

   page

   korte

   short

   vragen

   questions

   More detail

   Gebruik is the imperative of gebruiken (“to use”). It gives a direct instruction, with the subject normally left unstated. A reusable pattern is Gebruik + noun: “Use + noun.” Example: Gebruik deze sleutel. — “Use this key.” pagina means “page.” Here it is singular and appears with the definite article de: de pagina means “the page,” referring to a specific page identifiable in the situation. The plural is pagina's (“pages”). korte is the form of the adjective kort (“short”) used before the plural noun vragen. In de korte vragen, the adjective takes -e; the same form also commonly occurs before a noun with de. Example: de korte tekst — “the short text.” vragen means “questions.” It is the plural of vraag; the singular is vraag (“question”). Do not confuse this noun with the verb vragen (“to ask”), which has the same written form in some verb forms; here the surrounding words and the meaning show that it is a noun. Together, de korte vragen means “the short questions,” and met (“with”) links that noun phrase to de pagina: the page is characterized as the one containing or associated with the short questions. The imperative Gebruik then gives the complete instruction: “Use the page with the short questions.”

5. Wanneer moet ik het afmaken?

   When should I finish it?

   Wanneer

   when

   moet ik

   should I

   het

   it

   afmaken

   finish

   More detail

   Wanneer asks about time: “when.” It is useful for asking at what moment something should happen. For example, Wanneer moet ik vertrekken? means “When should I leave?” moet ik contains the form moet, the present-tense form of moeten (“must,” “have to,” or, in this question, “should”), followed by the subject pronoun ik (“I”). Dutch main questions commonly place the finite verb before the subject: Wanneer moet ik ...? The form moet is singular; with wij (“we”), for example, the form is moeten: Wanneer moeten wij vertrekken? means “When should we leave?” het is the object pronoun “it” here. In this exchange, the fixed translation and context support an understood task or piece of work as its referent. As a pronoun, het is not the noun article in this sentence; it receives the action of finishing. afmaken is the infinitive “to finish” or “to complete.” It is a separable Dutch verb: in a simple finite clause, its parts separate, as in Ik maak het af. (“I finish it.”) After the modal verb moet, however, the infinitive stays together at the end: Ik moet het afmaken. (“I have to finish it.”) Together, Wanneer moet ik het afmaken? asks at what time the speaker should complete the understood task: “When should I finish it?” The question structure is Wanneer + finite verb + subject + object + infinitive.

6. Maak het af voor de les.

   Finish it before class.

   Maak … af

   finish

   voor

   before

   les

   class; lesson

   More detail

   Maak ... af is the imperative pattern of the separable verb afmaken, “to finish” or “to complete.” The base verb is afmaken; in a main-clause imperative, its parts separate: maak comes first and af comes at the end of the clause, while the object can stand between them. Maak het af. means “Finish it.” Here maak is the imperative form of maken (“make”), but together with af it expresses finishing rather than simply making. voor means “before” here when it introduces a time. For example: Kom voor acht uur. — “Come before eight o’clock.” les is a noun meaning “class” or “lesson.” The form de les uses the common-gender definite article de; the article does not itself specify whether the class is a particular school subject. In this sentence, de les is the class that sets the time limit. The complete structure is Maak het af voor de les. The imperative Maak ... af tells the listener to finish an understood task, het is the object “it,” and voor de les sets the deadline: “Finish it before class.”

7. Kun je later naar mijn antwoorden kijken?

   Can you look at my answers later?

   Kun je

   can you

   later

   later

   mijn

   my

   antwoorden

   answers

   naar … kijken

   look at

   More detail

   Kun je is a yes/no question pattern meaning “can you”. Kun is the second-person singular present form of kunnen (“to be able to/can”), and je is the subject pronoun “you”. In a Dutch yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject. The following lexical verb remains an infinitive: Kun je helpen? — “Can you help?” later is an adverb meaning “later”. It places the possible action at a later time, without specifying exactly when. Example: Ik bel je later. — “I’ll call you later.” mijn is the possessive word “my”. It identifies the answers as belonging to the speaker. Dutch mijn does not change for the number or gender of the possessed noun: mijn antwoord is “my answer”, while mijn antwoorden is “my answers”. antwoorden means “answers” here. It is the plural of the noun antwoord (“answer”). The same written form can also be the infinitive of the verb antwoorden (“to answer”), but mijn makes it a noun in this sentence. naar ... kijken is the reusable Dutch pattern for “to look at”. kijken is the infinitive “to look”, and it combines with naar for the thing being viewed. The two parts can be separated in the sentence by the possessive and noun: Ik kijk naar de film. — “I’m watching the film.” Here, kijken is an infinitive because it follows the modal kun. Together, Kun je asks whether the listener is able or willing to do something, later gives the time, naar mijn antwoorden kijken means “look at my answers”, and the full utterance means: “Can you look at my answers later?”

8. Breng ze naar mij als je klaar bent.

   Bring them to me after you finish.

   Breng

   bring

   ze

   them

   naar mij

   to me

   als je klaar bent

   after you finish

   More detail

   Breng is the imperative of brengen, “to bring.” It gives a direct instruction to one or more people; the subject “you” is understood rather than stated. A useful contrast is brengen (to bring) versus halen (to fetch or go and get). Example: Breng het boek. — “Bring the book.” ze means “them” here, as confirmed by the fixed translation. It is the unstressed object form referring to plural people or things; the specific items are not identified in this sentence. Dutch also uses ze for some other grammatical roles, so its meaning must be determined from its position and context. naar mij means “to me.” naar marks movement toward a destination, and mij is the stressed object form meaning “me.” In less emphatic speech, Dutch often uses me instead of mij: Breng het naar me. — “Bring it to me.” als je klaar bent means “after you finish” in this sentence. More literally, it is “when you are finished,” with als introducing the time clause, je meaning “you,” and bent being the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for je. klaar means “finished” or “ready”; the intended sense here is “finished.” In a Dutch subordinate clause, the finite verb appears at the end: als je klaar bent. The same pattern can express a condition in other contexts, but here the fixed translation establishes a time condition. Together, the instruction is Breng ze naar mij (“Bring them to me”), followed by the time condition als je klaar bent (“after you finish”). The complete meaning is: “Bring them to me after you finish.”