Planning a Walk with Friends | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Laten we samen wandelen.

   Let's take a walk together.

   Laten we

   let’s

   samen

   together

   wandelen

   walk; take a walk

   More detail

   Laten we is a fixed Dutch pattern for making a suggestion: “let’s …”. It consists of laten (“let” or “allow”) plus we (“we”), but in this pattern it does not mean that someone is literally allowing something. The verb that follows is normally in the infinitive. Example: Laten we beginnen. — “Let’s begin.” samen means “together”: it presents the activity as shared by the people included in we. It is an adverb, so it does not change form for person or number. Example: We werken samen. — “We work together.” wandelen is the infinitive meaning “to walk” or, in a leisure context, “to take a walk.” The same form is used after Laten we; Dutch does not add an English-style “to” here. A related noun is wandeling, meaning “walk” or “stroll,” as in Een korte wandeling klinkt leuk. — “A short walk sounds nice.” Together, Laten we + samen + wandelen means “Let’s take a walk together.” The suggestion is for the speaker and others included in we to walk as a shared activity.

2. Een korte wandeling klinkt leuk.

   A short walk sounds nice.

   korte

   short

   wandeling

   walk

   klinkt

   sounds

   leuk

   nice

   More detail

   korte means “short” here and describes wandeling. Its base form is kort; the -e ending appears in this attributive position before wandeling: een korte wandeling. Example: een korte pauze — “a short break.” wandeling means “walk” as an activity or outing. The related verb wandelen means “to walk,” while wandeling names the activity. Example: De wandeling was rustig. — “The walk was calm.” klinkt means “sounds” in this sentence, in the sense of receiving an evaluation. Its base form is klinken; klinkt is the present-tense singular form used with the singular subject een korte wandeling. Example: Dat klinkt goed. — “That sounds good.” leuk means “nice” or “pleasant” here. It is an adjective used after klinkt to give the walk a positive evaluation. Example: De film klinkt leuk. — “The film sounds nice.” The indefinite article een introduces korte wandeling as a walk without presenting it as a previously identified one. Together, een korte wandeling is “a short walk,” and klinkt leuk says that this walk sounds nice. The complete utterance therefore means “A short walk sounds nice.”

3. Waar zullen we afspreken?

   Where should we meet?

   Waar

   where

   zullen we

   should we

   afspreken

   meet

   More detail

   Waar means “where” and asks for a place. It is a question word, like wanneer “when” for time and hoe “how” for manner. Example: Waar woon je? — “Where do you live?” zullen we combines the auxiliary zullen with the subject pronoun we (“we”). In this question, zullen presents a suggestion or proposal, so the intended meaning is “should we”. The subject is we, and zullen is placed before it because Dutch main-clause questions use inversion. The same pattern is reusable: Zullen we beginnen? — “Shall we start?” afspreken means “to meet by arrangement” or “to arrange to meet”. It is a separable Dutch verb: in a simple present-tense clause, the parts can separate, as in We spreken morgen af — “We are meeting tomorrow.” The form in the fixed sentence is the infinitive because it follows the auxiliary zullen. Together, Waar asks for the location, zullen we proposes an action, and afspreken supplies that action: “Where should we meet?” The question is a natural way to decide the meeting place.

4. De ingang van het park is goed voor mij.

   The park entrance works for me.

   ingang

   entrance

   park

   park

   goed

   good; suitable

   voor mij

   for me

   More detail

   ingang means “entrance” here. Its base form is ingang; the plural is ingangen. In Dutch, ingang is a common-gender noun, which is why it takes the definite article de. Example: De ingang is open. — “The entrance is open.” park means “park.” Its plural is parken. In van het park, van links ingang to the place it belongs to: “the entrance of the park” or, more naturally in English, “the park entrance.” Het is the definite article used with the neuter noun park. goed means “good,” but in goed voor mij it means “suitable” or “works” for the person named after voor. The base adjective is goed; its comparative is beter (“better”) and its superlative is best (“best”). Example: Deze tijd is goed voor mij. — “This time works for me.” voor mij means “for me.” Voor marks the person for whom something is suitable, and mij is the stressed object form of the first-person pronoun; the unstressed form is me. Example: Dat is belangrijk voor mij. — “That is important to me.” The sentence begins with De ingang van het park, “the entrance of the park,” and uses is (from zijn, “to be”) to link that noun phrase to goed voor mij, “suitable for me.” Together, De ingang van het park is goed voor mij. means “The park entrance works for me.” In the meeting context, it presents the entrance as a suitable meeting place for the speaker; it does not assert that the speaker likes the entrance.

5. Ik stuur je een bericht voordat ik vertrek.

   I'll message you before I leave.

   Ik

   I

   stuur

   send; message

   je

   you

   een

   a/an

   bericht

   message

   voordat

   before

   ik

   I

   vertrek

   leave; depart

   More detail

   Ik is the Dutch first-person singular pronoun, meaning “I.” It appears twice here because the main clause and the subordinate clause each have their own stated subject. The form does not change for grammatical gender. stuur is the first-person singular present form of sturen, “to send.” With een bericht as its object, it naturally means “send a message,” matching the fixed translation. The useful pattern is ik stuur ... = “I send ... / I’m sending ...”. Example: Ik stuur een foto. — “I’m sending a photo.” je is the informal “you” in object position here: the person or people receiving the message. In Dutch, je can refer to one informal person or to multiple informal people; this sentence does not specify the number. Je can also be an informal subject form in other sentences, so its role here comes from its position and the surrounding verb. een is the Dutch indefinite article, corresponding here to “a.” It introduces bericht without specifying a particular message; the article itself does not assert a numerical count. bericht is a neuter noun meaning “message.” Its usual singular article is het: het bericht; its plural is berichten. In this sentence it is the thing being sent. voordat is a conjunction meaning “before.” It introduces the time clause voordat ik vertrek. In a Dutch subordinate clause introduced by voordat, the finite verb comes at the end of that clause, so vertrek follows ik. The second ik again means “I” and is the subject of the clause introduced by voordat; it refers to the speaker, as does the first Ik. vertrek is the first-person singular present form of vertrekken, “to leave” or “to depart.” The pattern is ik vertrek; the infinitive is vertrekken. Example: Ik vertrek om acht uur. — “I leave at eight o’clock.” Together, Ik stuur je een bericht means “I’ll message you” in the intended context: literally, “I send you a message.” voordat ik vertrek adds the time relation “before I leave.” The complete utterance therefore means “I’ll message you before I leave.”

6. Dat helpt me om op tijd te zijn.

   That helps me be there on time.

   Dat

   That

   helpt

   helps

   me

   me

   om

   in order to

   op tijd

   on time

   te zijn

   to be

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here and functions as the subject. As a demonstrative pronoun, it can point to a previously mentioned situation or thing; the sentence itself does not identify a more specific referent. Dat is also the form used with singular neuter het-words and with a clause or situation. helpt comes from helpen (“to help”). It is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject, so Dat helpt means “That helps.” Compare ik help (“I help”) with hij/zij/het helpt (“he/she/it helps”). me is the unstressed object form meaning “me,” referring to the speaker. The stressed form is mij; for example, Dat helpt mij is possible when “me” needs emphasis. In helpt me, the speaker is the person receiving the help. om ... te introduces an infinitive construction after a verb such as helpen. The useful pattern is iets helpt me om te + infinitive: “something helps me to …”. The infinitive is placed after te; here it is the separate form te zijn. op tijd is a fixed adverbial expression meaning “on time,” that is, not late. It describes when the state or action is achieved. Do not confuse it with tijdig, another word meaning “in good time” or “promptly,” which is used differently in a sentence. te zijn consists of te plus the infinitive zijn, “to be.” The verb zijn is irregular: ik ben means “I am,” while zijn is the infinitive. In this sentence, zijn refers to being present at the relevant place or event, as reflected by the fixed translation “be there.” Together, Dat helpt me om op tijd te zijn follows the pattern “That helps me to be on time.” The subject Dat provides the help, me identifies the person helped, and om op tijd te zijn states the result that the help makes easier. The full meaning is: “That helps me be there on time.”

7. Zal ik water meenemen?

   Should I bring water?

   Zal ik

   should I

   water

   water

   meenemen

   bring along

   More detail

   Zal ik asks whether the speaker should do something. Zal is the first-person singular present form of zullen, used here to make a suggestion or offer about a possible action. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Zal ik ...? means “Should I ...?” This is different from the statement order Ik zal .... water means water. It is a mass noun here, so the sentence can use it without an article when referring to water generally or to an unspecified amount. An amount can be added when needed, for example: genoeg water — “enough water.” meenemen means to take or bring something along. It is the infinitive of the separable verb meenemen, built from mee (“along”) and nemen (“take”). In the infinitive, the parts stay together: Ik wil water meenemen — “I want to bring water.” In a finite clause, they separate: Ik neem water mee — “I am bringing water.” Together, Zal ik water meenemen? forms a yes/no question: “Should I bring water?” The speaker asks whether bringing water is the appropriate action, with water as what will be brought and meenemen as the action.

8. Neem genoeg water mee voor jezelf.

   Bring enough for yourself.

   Neem … mee

   bring along

   genoeg

   enough

   water

   water

   voor jezelf

   for yourself

   More detail

   Neem ... mee is the imperative form of the separable Dutch verb meenemen, meaning “to bring/take along.” In the sentence, Neem appears at the start and mee later because the verb is split in this construction. The imperative addresses one or more people without stating the subject. A reusable pattern is Neem [something] mee. — “Bring [something] along.” Example: Neem een jas mee. — “Bring a coat along.” genoeg means “enough” and indicates a sufficient amount. It comes before the noun here: genoeg water — “enough water.” It can also stand alone when the thing is already understood, as in Heb je genoeg? — “Do you have enough?” water is the noun “water.” Dutch commonly uses this uncountable noun directly for an amount of water; genoeg water therefore means a sufficient amount of water, without stating a particular number of containers or units. voor jezelf means “for yourself.” voor introduces the intended beneficiary, and jezelf is the emphatic reflexive form related to je, used when the beneficiary is the person addressed. It distinguishes that person as the one for whom something is intended. Example: Koop iets voor jezelf. — “Buy something for yourself.” Together, Neem genoeg water mee says “Bring enough water along,” and voor jezelf specifies that it is for the person addressed. The complete meaning is: “Bring enough water for yourself.”