Planning lunch at a restaurant | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Wil je samen lunchen?

   Would you like to have lunch together?

   Wil je

   would you like to…?

   samen

   together

   lunchen

   have lunch

   More detail

   Wil je comes from the verb willen, “to want.” Here wil is its present-tense form with the subject je (“you”). Dutch places the finite verb before the subject in a yes/no question, giving the pattern Wil je ...? This pattern commonly makes an invitation or offer, so in this sentence it naturally means “Would you like to ...?” rather than sounding like a blunt statement of desire. In a statement, the order is different: Je wilt lunchen. — “You want to have lunch.” samen is an adverb meaning “together.” It indicates that the activity is shared by the people included in the situation. Its useful opposite is alleen, “alone.” Example: We werken samen. — “We work together.” lunchen is the verb “to have lunch” or “to eat lunch.” It is the infinitive used after wil: wil + lunchen. The same verb can be used independently in a sentence such as We lunchen om twaalf uur. — “We have lunch at twelve o’clock.” Together, Wil je + samen + lunchen forms the reusable question pattern Wil je samen [infinitive]? The sentence asks whether the addressee would like to have lunch together: “Would you like to have lunch together?”

2. Dat klinkt leuk. Waar zullen we heen gaan?

   That sounds nice. Where should we go?

   Dat

   that

   klinkt

   sounds

   leuk

   nice; fun

   Waar

   where

   zullen we

   shall we; should we

   heen gaan

   go to a place

   More detail

   Dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It refers to the preceding suggestion or idea as a whole, rather than identifying a particular noun. Dutch also uses dit for “this” and dat for “that”; dat is the neuter singular demonstrative when it refers to a neuter noun, and it can also refer to an entire proposition. klinkt is the present-tense form of klinken, “to sound.” The -t ending marks third-person singular in the present: het klinkt = “it sounds.” Here, the subject is Dat, so the verb is singular. Example: Dat klinkt goed. — “That sounds good.” leuk is a descriptive adjective meaning “nice,” “fun,” or “pleasant” here. After a linking verb such as klinken, it describes how something seems or sounds: Dat klinkt leuk = “That sounds nice.” A predicative adjective in Dutch does not take the attributive ending used before many nouns. Example: De film is leuk. — “The film is fun.” Together, Dat klinkt leuk expresses a positive reaction to the idea just mentioned: “That sounds nice.” Waar is the question word “where.” It asks about a place or destination. Compare waar = “where” with wanneer = “when”; the choice depends on whether the question concerns location or time. Example: Waar woon je? — “Where do you live?” zullen we contains zullen, the present plural form of zullen, and the subject pronoun we, “we.” With we, this is first-person plural. In a question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Zullen we ...? This construction can suggest “shall we ...?” or, as in the fixed translation, “should we ...?” It proposes or considers an action together. Example: Zullen we beginnen? — “Shall we start?” heen gaan combines gaan, “to go,” with heen, a directional element indicating movement to or toward a place. Gaan is the infinitive after zullen; the reusable pattern is zullen we ... gaan? The question Waar zullen we heen gaan? asks for the destination and naturally means “Where should we go?” Dutch can also say Waar zullen we gaan?; adding heen makes the movement-toward-a-destination meaning more explicit. The complete utterance has two parts. Dat klinkt leuk reacts positively to the proposed lunch, while Waar zullen we heen gaan? asks the participants to choose a destination. Together: “That sounds nice. Where should we go?”

3. Misschien het kleine restaurant hier in de buurt.

   Maybe the small restaurant near here.

   Misschien

   maybe

   kleine

   small

   restaurant

   restaurant

   hier in de buurt

   near here

   More detail

   Misschien means “maybe” and marks the suggestion as possible rather than definite. It can appear at the beginning of a sentence or fragment. Example: Misschien morgen. — “Maybe tomorrow.” kleine is the adjective “small” in its attributive form. Its base form is klein; in het kleine restaurant, the -e ending is used because the adjective stands before a singular noun with the definite article het. The adjective agrees with the noun phrase here; klein is the form used when it is not attributive in this way, as in Het restaurant is klein. — “The restaurant is small.” restaurant is the noun “restaurant.” Dutch uses the definite article het with this noun: het restaurant. In the fixed utterance, restaurant is the head noun, while kleine describes it. hier in de buurt is the reusable expression “near here” or “in the area around here.” buurt means “neighborhood” or “nearby area”; the whole expression is more natural here than translating each word separately. Example: Er is een supermarkt hier in de buurt. — “There is a supermarket near here.” Together, Misschien + het kleine restaurant hier in de buurt presents the nearby small restaurant as a possible destination. The utterance is a conversational fragment rather than a full finite clause: Dutch can use a noun phrase after misschien when the intended suggestion is clear. In the supplied context, it answers the question about where to go and means, “Maybe the small restaurant near here.”

4. Laten we daarheen gaan als het niet druk is.

   Let's go there if it isn't busy.

   Laten we

   let’s

   daarheen

   to there

   gaan

   go

   als

   if

   druk

   busy

   is

   is

   More detail

   Laten we is a reusable Dutch suggestion pattern meaning “let’s …”. In this pattern, laten occurs with we, and the following verb stays in the infinitive; avoid treating laten here as an ordinary standalone “let” command. Example: Laten we beginnen. — “Let’s begin.” daarheen means “to there,” with a directional meaning. It contrasts with daar, which usually indicates a location (“there”) without itself expressing movement toward that place. Here it gives the destination of gaan. gaan is the infinitive “to go.” Useful present-tense forms include ik ga (“I go”), jij gaat (“you go”), and we gaan (“we go”). After Laten we, the infinitive is used: Laten we naar buiten gaan. — “Let’s go outside.” als introduces the condition “if” here. In a clause introduced by als, the finite verb normally comes at the end, as in als het regent — “if it rains.” druk is the adjective “busy,” here in the sense of crowded or full of activity. Its opposite is commonly rustig (“quiet” or “not busy”). Example: Het café is druk. — “The café is busy.” is is the present-tense, third-person singular form of zijn (“to be”). Here it agrees with het, rendered as “it” in the fixed translation. In the conditional clause, druk describes the condition expressed with het; niet negates that description, producing “isn’t busy.” Together, Laten we daarheen gaan means “Let’s go there.” The conditional part als het niet druk is means “if it isn’t busy”; niet negates druk, and is appears at the end because this is an als subordinate clause. The complete utterance is: “Let’s go there if it isn’t busy.”

5. Zullen we bij de voordeur afspreken?

   Should we meet by the front door?

   Zullen we

   shall we?

   bij

   by; at

   voordeur

   front door

   afspreken

   meet; arrange to meet

   More detail

   Zullen we combines zullen with we to make a proposal or question about a joint action: “Shall we …?” Here, zullen is the present-tense form used with the subject we; it is not the action “meet” itself. Example: Zullen we morgen vertrekken? — “Shall we leave tomorrow?” bij places something at or near a reference point. In this sentence it introduces the location connected with the meeting. Example: Ik wacht bij de ingang. — “I’ll wait by the entrance.” voordeur means “front door.” It is a compound noun: voor means “front” in this compound, and deur means “door.” The compound refers to the main or front entrance, rather than to a door in general. Example: De voordeur is open. — “The front door is open.” afspreken is the infinitive meaning “to arrange to meet” or, in this context, simply “to meet.” Its separable form is used in other structures: We spreken morgen af. — “We are meeting tomorrow.” After the auxiliary zullen, the infinitive stays together at the end: Zullen we morgen afspreken? — “Shall we meet tomorrow?” Together, Zullen we asks about a joint plan, bij de voordeur gives the meeting location, and afspreken names the proposed action. The complete meaning is: “Should we meet by the front door?”

6. Ik wacht waar je me kunt zien.

   I'll wait where you can see me.

   wacht

   wait

   waar

   where

   je

   you

   me

   me

   kunt

   can

   zien

   see

   More detail

   wacht is the present-tense form of wachten (“to wait”) for the first-person singular subject ik: ik wacht. Dutch present tense can refer to a planned future action when the context makes that clear; here the fixed translation gives “I’ll wait.” Example: Ik wacht hier. — “I’ll wait here.” waar introduces a place clause and means “where” here. It links the waiting location to the clause that follows. Example: Ik zit waar je me kunt zien. — “I’m sitting where you can see me.” je means “you” here. It is the unstressed form used for an informal singular or plural addressee; this sentence does not identify the number. As the subject of the subordinate clause, it controls the form kunt. me is the unstressed first-person singular object pronoun, “me.” It is the person who can be seen in this sentence. The stressed object form is mij, often used for emphasis or contrast: Je kunt mij zien. — “You can see me.” kunt is the present-tense form of the modal verb kunnen (“can, be able to”) with je as its subject. In this clause it expresses ability: “can see.” After a modal verb, the other verb remains in the infinitive. zien is the infinitive “to see.” In kunt zien, it supplies the action whose possibility is expressed by kunt. Example: Je kunt de deur zien. — “You can see the door.” Together, waar je me kunt zien means “where you can see me”: waar introduces the place clause, je is its subject, and me is the object of zien. Dutch subordinate clauses commonly place the finite verb before the infinitive at the end, giving kunt zien. Combined with Ik wacht, the whole utterance means “I’ll wait where you can see me.”

7. Dan kom ik je zoeken.

   Then I'll come find you.

   Dan

   Then

   kom

   come

   ik

   I

   je

   you

   zoeken

   find

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here: it places the action after an earlier point or event. In Dutch, an adverb such as dan can come first; when it does, the finite verb normally comes before the subject: Dan kom ik ... (“Then I come ...”). kom is the present-tense first-person singular form of komen (“to come”): ik kom, jij komt, hij/zij komt, wij komen. Here it is the finite verb and expresses the speaker’s planned or intended movement in the fixed translation. ik is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” In Dan kom ik, it follows the finite verb because Dan occupies the first position. This is a word-order pattern, not a change in the meaning of ik. je is the unstressed object form meaning “you.” The stressed form is jou, used when the pronoun needs emphasis or contrast. In this sentence, je is the person whom the speaker will search for. zoeken is the infinitive “to search for” or “to look for.” After komen, Dutch can use komen + infinitive to express coming in order to do something: Ik kom helpen means “I’m coming to help.” Here kom ... zoeken means “come to find/search for you”; the infinitive remains zoeken, while je is its object. Together, Dan kom ik je zoeken is assembled as Dan (“then”) + kom ik (“I come,” with inversion after the initial adverb) + je zoeken (“search for you”). The complete meaning is: “Then I’ll come find you.”

8. Daarna kunnen we om een tafel vragen.

   After that, we can ask for a table.

   Daarna

   after that; then

   kunnen we

   we can

   om … vragen

   ask for

   tafel

   table

   More detail

   Daarna means “after that” or “then”: it points to a time after something already mentioned. It is a time adverb and does not itself identify what the earlier event was. Example: Daarna ga ik naar huis. — “After that, I go home.” kunnen we combines kunnen with we. Here kunnen is the modal verb “can/be able to,” and we is the first-person plural subject “we.” In the present tense, kunnen has the forms ik kan, jij kunt/kan, hij/zij kan, wij/we kunnen, and jullie kunnen; the form kunnen is therefore the form used with we. A modal verb is followed by an infinitive: We kunnen wachten. — “We can wait.” In this sentence, the infinitive belonging with kunnen is vragen, which comes later. The separated construction om ... vragen means “to ask for ...” or “request ...”. vragen is the infinitive and base form meaning “to ask.” With a requested thing, Dutch commonly uses om before the noun phrase: Ik vraag om hulp. — “I ask for help.” This is different from asking a person a question, which can use iemand iets vragen, as in Ik vraag hem de weg. — “I ask him for directions.” tafel is the noun “table.” The phrase een tafel means “a table”; een is an indefinite article, but it does not by itself state a numerical count. The plural is tafels. Example: Er staat een tafel in de kamer. — “There is a table in the room.” Together, Daarna sets the time as after the earlier event, kunnen we expresses what the speakers are able or permitted to do, and om een tafel vragen names the requested action and item. The whole utterance means: “After that, we can ask for a table.”