Reviewing word cards | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik wil deze woorden herhalen.

   I want to review these words.

   Ik wil

   I want

   deze

   these

   woorden

   words

   herhalen

   to review

   More detail

   Ik wil means “I want” here. wil is the first-person singular present form of willen (“to want”); Ik wil is therefore a reusable way to state a desire. After wil, Dutch places the other verb in the infinitive: Ik wil leren means “I want to learn.” deze means “these” in this sentence. It is a demonstrative used with a plural noun, and it also has a singular use with a de-word. The form is selected because woorden is plural; the demonstrative points to the words intended in the situation. woorden means “words” here. It is the plural of woord (“word”): woord → woorden. The plural ending is part of woorden, while deze signals the plural group in this phrase. Example: Ik schrijf deze woorden op. — “I write these words down.” herhalen means “to review” in the supplied translation, and its basic meaning is “to repeat.” It is the infinitive after wil, so the sentence literally presents wanting to repeat or go over the words. In a learning context, “review” is the natural English meaning. Example: Ik wil deze zin herhalen. — “I want to repeat this sentence.” Together, Ik wil + deze woorden + herhalen forms “I want to review these words.” The subject is Ik (“I”); wil expresses the desire, deze woorden identifies what is involved, and the final infinitive herhalen names the intended action. Dutch commonly uses the pattern Ik wil + infinitive for “I want to …”.

2. Laten we deze woordkaarten gebruiken.

   Let's use these word cards.

   Laten we

   let's

   deze

   these

   woordkaarten

   word cards

   gebruiken

   use

   More detail

   Laten we is a reusable Dutch way to make a suggestion: “let’s …”. In this construction, laten comes before the subject we, and the other verb stays in the infinitive. Example: Laten we beginnen. — “Let’s begin.” deze means “these” here because it points to more than one nearby item. It agrees with the plural noun it accompanies; the form is also used with a singular common-gender noun, so number and noun type both matter. Example: deze woorden — “these words.” woordkaarten is the plural of woordkaart, meaning “word card.” It is a compound noun: woord (“word”) + kaart (“card”). The plural ending is -en: woordkaart → woordkaarten. Example: Ik gebruik een woordkaart. — “I use a word card.” gebruiken is the infinitive of gebruiken, “to use.” After Laten we, it names the suggested action and remains in the infinitive. Example: Laten we deze woorden gebruiken. — “Let’s use these words.” Together, Laten we deze woordkaarten gebruiken means “Let’s use these word cards.” The suggestion is formed by Laten we + the object deze woordkaarten + the infinitive gebruiken.

3. Ik kan dit woord niet onthouden.

   I can't remember this one.

   Ik kan

   I can

   dit

   this

   woord

   word

   niet

   not

   onthouden

   remember

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can” here. kan is the present-tense form of kunnen for ik; it expresses ability or possibility. In a modal pattern, kunnen is followed by another verb in the infinitive: Ik kan zwemmen. — “I can swim.” dit means “this” and points to a singular neuter noun in this sentence. Dutch also has deze for “this” with other noun types; the choice depends on the noun, not simply on distance. Here, dit agrees with woord. woord means “word.” Its plural is woorden: een woord — “a word”; twee woorden — “two words.” niet means “not.” It negates the ability expressed by the surrounding verb phrase. In this sentence it comes before the final infinitive, rather than being part of the meaning of woord alone. onthouden is the infinitive meaning “to remember” or “to retain.” It follows the modal verb kan: Ik kan het onthouden. — “I can remember it.” The infinitive itself does not show the subject here; kan carries the present-tense form for ik. Together, Ik kan dit woord niet onthouden. has the pattern subject + modal verb + object + negation + infinitive: “I can’t remember this word.” The fixed translation renders dit woord naturally as “this one,” while the target sentence explicitly says “this word.”

4. Kijk naar de voorbeeldzin.

   Look at the example sentence.

   Kijk naar

   look at

   voorbeeldzin

   example sentence

   More detail

   Kijk naar is the command form of kijken naar, “to look at.” The verb is kijken, and kijk is its imperative form. This form can be used in a command addressed to one or more people; the utterance itself does not specify the number or level of formality of the addressee. Naar completes the pattern kijken naar and marks what someone looks at. For example: Kijk naar de foto. — “Look at the photo.” voorbeeldzin means “example sentence.” It is a compound of voorbeeld (“example”) and zin (“sentence”); the whole compound names a sentence used as an example. Dutch compounds are written as one word, so do not copy the spacing of the English translation. For example: Lees de voorbeeldzin. — “Read the example sentence.” Together, Kijk naar de voorbeeldzin. means “Look at the example sentence.” De is the definite article used here with voorbeeldzin. The complete utterance is a direct command, while the source does not specify the addressee's number or formality.

5. De zin helpt me het woord te onthouden.

   The sentence helps me remember it.

   zin

   sentence

   helpt

   helps

   me

   me

   woord

   word

   te onthouden

   to remember

   More detail

   zin means “sentence” here. Its base form is zin; the plural is zinnen. In De zin, de is the definite article used with this noun. The subject is therefore “the sentence.” helpt is the present-tense form of helpen, “to help.” The -t ending marks the third-person singular subject De zin: de zin helpt = “the sentence helps.” Dutch can use helpen with a person receiving help and an infinitive describing the action: Zij helpt me leren. = “She helps me learn.” me is the unstressed object form meaning “me.” It names the person receiving the help. A more emphatic form is mij, but me is the ordinary unstressed form in this sentence. woord means “word.” Its base form is woord, and its plural is woorden. In the full phrase het woord, het is the definite article belonging to this noun; the translation’s “it” refers back to this word. te onthouden means “to remember” or, more literally in some contexts, “to retain.” onthouden is the infinitive, and te marks the infinitive in this construction. The phrase me het woord te onthouden expresses the action that the sentence helps me carry out. Example: Ik probeer de naam te onthouden. = “I try to remember the name.” Together, De zin is the subject, helpt me says that it gives me help, and het woord te onthouden states the action being helped. The whole utterance means: “The sentence helps me remember it,” with “it” referring to the word.

6. Probeer een andere kaart en kijk eerst naar de voorbeeldzin.

   Try another card and check the example first.

   Probeer

   try

   andere

   another, different

   kaart

   card

   kijk … naar

   look at; check

   eerst

   first

   voorbeeldzin

   example sentence

   More detail

   Probeer is the imperative of proberen, “to try.” In this sentence it directly addresses the listener: “Try …”. The imperative singular and plural have the same form here; the surrounding context determines how many people are addressed. Example: Probeer deze oefening. — “Try this exercise.” andere means “another” here: it asks for a card that is different from the one currently being used. Its base form is ander; the -e form appears in een andere kaart. Compare een ander woord — “another word” — with andere woorden — “other words.” The adjective changes according to the noun phrase, not according to kaart as though kaart were its base. kaart means “card” here. Its usual plural is kaarten, as in twee kaarten — “two cards.” The noun phrase een andere kaart means “another card”; een is an indefinite article and does not by itself assert a numerical count. kijk naar is the imperative of kijken naar, literally “look at,” and in this context naturally “check.” Dutch uses kijken naar with naar before what is being viewed or checked. Example: Kijk naar de foto. — “Look at the photo.” Kijk is the imperative of kijken. eerst is the adverb “first.” It places checking the example sentence before a later or other action in the sequence. Example: Lees eerst de vraag. — “Read the question first.” voorbeeldzin means “example sentence.” It is a compound noun made from voorbeeld (“example”) and zin (“sentence”); its plural is voorbeeldzinnen. In the utterance, de voorbeeldzin is definite: “the example sentence.” The conjunction en links two commands. First, Probeer een andere kaart means “Try another card.” Then kijk eerst naar de voorbeeldzin means “check the example sentence first.” Together, the utterance is: “Try another card and check the example first.”

7. Ik probeer nu de volgende kaart.

   I will try the next card now.

   probeer

   try

   nu

   now

   volgende

   next

   kaart

   card

   More detail

   probeer is the present-tense form of proberen (“to try”). With the subject ik, Dutch uses probeer: ik probeer = “I try” or, as here, “I will try.” Dutch present tense can refer to a planned near-future action when the context makes that clear. Other forms include je probeert (“you try”) and wij proberen (“we try”). nu means “now” and places the action at the current moment. Example: Ik begin nu. — “I am starting now.” volgende means “next,” in the sense of the one that comes after the current or previously considered one. It modifies kaart in de volgende kaart. The adjective is volgende; its form is also used with plural nouns, while a singular het-word has het volgende ..., for example het volgende woord (“the next word”). kaart means “card.” It is a common-gender noun, so its definite article is de: de kaart. In this sentence, the compound noun phrase de volgende kaart means “the next card.” Together, Ik probeer gives the actor and action, nu specifies when it happens, and de volgende kaart identifies what is being tried. The whole utterance therefore means: “I will try the next card now.”

8. Lees eerst de zin en zeg dan het woord.

   Read the sentence first, then say the word.

   Lees

   read

   eerst

   first

   zin

   sentence

   zeg

   say

   dan

   then

   woord

   word

   More detail

   Lees means “read” here and is the imperative of lezen (“to read”), used to give a direct instruction to one person. The present-tense form for “I read” is also lees, but the sentence position and instruction context make this an imperative here. Example: Lees dit. — “Read this.” eerst means “first” or “before anything else.” It sets the order of the two instructions. Example: Eerst luisteren, dan spreken. — “First listen, then speak.” zin means “sentence.” In de zin, the noun uses the definite article de; de zin is therefore “the sentence.” The related plural is zinnen (“sentences”). Example: Deze zin is kort. — “This sentence is short.” zeg means “say” here and is the imperative of zeggen (“to say”). The imperative uses the verb stem zeg; the infinitive has the form zeggen. Example: Zeg je naam. — “Say your name.” dan means “then.” Here it marks the second step, after the action introduced with eerst. Together, eerst ... dan ... is a reusable way to express “first ..., then ...”. woord means “word.” In het woord, the noun takes the definite article het; het woord means “the word.” Its plural is woorden (“words”). Example: Schrijf het woord. — “Write the word.” The full utterance has two coordinated instructions: Lees eerst de zin (“Read the sentence first”) and zeg dan het woord (“then say the word”). The pattern eerst ... dan ... makes the sequence clear: read the sentence before saying the word.