Deciding what to bring | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Wat moet ik meenemen?

   What should I bring with me?

   Wat

   what

   moet ik

   should I

   meenemen

   bring along

   More detail

   Wat asks for an unspecified thing or information. Here it asks which thing the speaker should bring. Example: Wat koop je? — “What are you buying?” moet ik contains the finite form moet of moeten (“must/should”) and the subject pronoun ik (“I”). With ik, the present-tense form is moet; plural subjects use moeten, as in wij moeten (“we must/should”). In this question, inversion places the finite verb before the subject: Wat moet ik ...? Example: Moet ik wachten? — “Should I wait?” meenemen is the infinitive of the separable verb meenemen, meaning “to bring along” or “to take with one.” After the modal moet, the infinitive stays together: moet ik meenemen. In a main-clause imperative, the same verb can split: Neem ... mee — “Bring ... along.” Together, Wat moet ik meenemen? means “What should I bring with me?” The question asks which item the speaker is expected or advised to bring; it does not itself name that item.

2. Neem alsjeblieft een kleine deken mee.

   Please bring a small blanket.

   Neem … mee

   bring along

   alsjeblieft

   please

   kleine

   small

   deken

   blanket

   More detail

   Neem ... mee is the imperative of the separable Dutch verb meenemen, “to take/bring along.” The infinitive is meenemen; in a main clause its parts separate, as in Ik neem een jas mee (“I am taking a coat along”). Here, Neem gives the instruction and mee completes the meaning “along.” alsjeblieft means “please” here. It softens the request and can be placed in several positions, for example Neem alsjeblieft een jas mee (“Please bring a coat along”). kleine means “small” here. Its base form is klein. Dutch attributive adjectives commonly take -e before a definite noun phrase and also before an indefinite singular common-gender noun phrase: de kleine deken (“the small blanket”) and een kleine deken (“a small blanket”). With an indefinite singular neuter noun, the adjective usually has no -e, as in een klein huis (“a small house”). Thus, the -e in kleine is the adjective’s form in this noun phrase; it does not make the blanket plural. deken means “blanket.” It is a common-gender noun used with the article de: een deken means “a blanket,” while de deken means “the blanket.” The indefinite article een identifies the requested item without by itself asserting a numerical count. Together, Neem ... mee supplies the instruction “bring along,” alsjeblieft adds “please,” and een kleine deken identifies what should be brought. The complete meaning is: “Please bring a small blanket.”

3. Hebben we ook drinken nodig?

   Do we need drinks too?

   Hebben we … nodig

   do we need

   drinken

   drinks; beverages

   ook

   too; as well

   More detail

   Hebben we starts a yes/no question. hebben is the present-tense form of hebben (“to have”) for we; Dutch commonly places the finite verb before the subject in this question pattern. Compare the reusable pattern Hebben we ... nodig? — “Do we need ...?” Example: Hebben we water nodig? — “Do we need water?” drinken means “drinks” or “beverages” here. Dutch also uses drinken as the infinitive “to drink,” but in this sentence it is the noun referring to something to drink; the fixed translation supports that reading. The noun form does not itself state a particular number or type of beverage. Example: Er is drinken op tafel. — “There are drinks on the table.” nodig means “needed” or “necessary.” Together with hebben, the construction iets nodig hebben means “to need something.” The object comes before nodig: We hebben een kaart nodig. — “We need a map.” In the question, inversion gives Hebben we ... nodig? ook means “too” or “as well.” It adds this need to the surrounding discussion without changing who needs the drinks or whether they are needed. Example: Hebben jullie ook een stoel nodig? — “Do you also need a chair?” Together, Hebben we + drinken + nodig, with ook placed after the subject, forms Hebben we ook drinken nodig? — “Do we need drinks too?”

4. Een koud drankje zou fijn zijn.

   A cold drink would be nice.

   koud

   cold

   drankje

   drink

   zou … zijn

   would be

   fijn

   nice

   More detail

   koud means “cold” here and is the adjective describing drankje. In Dutch, an adjective before a singular neuter noun with the indefinite article een normally has no -e: een koud drankje. Compare een koude dag (“a cold day”), where dag is a common-gender noun. The adjective’s form is determined by the noun phrase, not by drankje being singular alone. drankje means “drink” here. It is a diminutive form related to drank (“drink”); the ending -je is part of the noun, not a separate word. Diminutives are neuter in Dutch, which is why this phrase uses een and the adjective form koud. Example: Ik wil een drankje. — “I want a drink.” zou ... zijn expresses “would be” in this sentence. zou is the singular form used here of zullen, while zijn is the infinitive “to be”; Dutch places the infinitive at the end in this construction. Together they present the drink as a desirable possibility rather than stating simply that it is nice. Example: Dat zou fijn zijn. — “That would be nice.” fijn means “nice” or “pleasant” here. It is an adjective and is used after zijn as a description of the situation. The form fijn is not inflected in this position: Het is fijn. — “It is nice.” The full sentence begins with een koud drankje, “a cold drink.” The indefinite article een introduces the noun phrase without by itself asserting a specific numerical count. zou fijn zijn then says that this would be pleasant. Together, Een koud drankje zou fijn zijn. means “A cold drink would be nice.”

5. Ik kan wat bekers meenemen.

   I can bring some cups.

   Ik kan

   I can

   wat

   some

   bekers

   cups

   meenemen

   bring along

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can” here. Ik is the first-person singular pronoun, “I”. kan is the singular present form of kunnen, “can/be able to”. The modal verb expresses ability or possibility; the following action is stated with an infinitive. In a main clause, the finite verb is in the second position, while the infinitive commonly goes to the end: Ik kan komen = “I can come.” wat means “some” here: it indicates an unspecified amount, without asserting an exact number. It is useful with a plural noun or an uncountable noun, for example wat appels = “some apples.” bekers means “cups.” Its base form is the singular noun beker; bekers is its plural form. The plural ending -s is part of the noun form here. Example: Ik zie twee bekers. = “I see two cups.” meenemen means “bring along” in this sentence. It is the infinitive of the separable verb meenemen, formed with mee (“along”) and nemen (“take”), but it functions as one verb. In a finite clause, the parts separate: Ik neem bekers mee. = “I bring cups along.” With the modal kan, the infinitive remains together at the end: Ik kan bekers meenemen. = “I can bring cups along.” Together, Ik kan + wat bekers + meenemen gives “I can bring some cups.” The speaker presents bringing an unspecified number of cups as possible or as an available action. The wording is neutral and reusable with another plural noun, such as Ik kan wat appels meenemen (“I can bring some apples”).

6. Dat zou helpen, bedankt. We kunnen ze delen.

   That would help, thanks. We can share them.

   Dat

   that

   zou

   would

   helpen

   help

   bedankt

   thanks

   We

   we

   kunnen

   can; be able to

   ze

   them

   delen

   share

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here and functions as a demonstrative pronoun referring to the helpful action or proposal just mentioned, rather than naming a new object. Dutch also has dit for “this”; the choice depends on the intended demonstrative distance or discourse reference. zou is the singular form of zouden, the conditional forms of zullen. With an infinitive, zou presents something as a possible or hypothetical result: Dat zou helpen = “That would help.” The plural counterpart is zouden: Dat zouden we doen = “We would do that.” helpen is the infinitive “to help.” After the conditional auxiliary zou, the lexical verb remains in the infinitive and comes after it. Example: Dat zou werken. — “That would work.” bedankt is the conventional Dutch expression “thanks” or “thank you.” It is used here as a brief independent expression after the statement. A more explicit expression is dank je in informal speech or dank u in formal speech. We is the unstressed subject form of “we”; the stressed form is wij. Dutch commonly uses we in ordinary neutral sentences, while wij can add emphasis or contrast. Example: We komen morgen. — “We are coming tomorrow.” kunnen is the present-tense plural form of kunnen, “can” or “to be able to.” With a subject such as we, it is followed by an infinitive: We kunnen delen = “We can share.” The singular forms include ik kan (“I can”) and hij kan (“he can”); the plural form is we/jullie/zij kunnen. ze is the object pronoun “them” in this sentence. The fixed translation and context identify the referent as the cups mentioned earlier. Dutch ze can also be an unstressed subject pronoun meaning “they” in other sentences, so its grammatical role comes from its position and the verb construction here. delen is the infinitive “to share.” After the modal verb kunnen, it stays in the infinitive and appears at the end of this clause. Example: We kunnen het eten delen. — “We can share the food.” Together, Dat zou helpen expresses a hypothetical helpful result: “That would help,” followed by bedankt, “thanks.” We kunnen ze delen combines the subject we, the modal kunnen, the object ze (“them,” the cups), and the infinitive delen (“share”) to mean “We can share them.”

7. Ze passen in mijn tas.

   They can fit in my bag.

   Ze

   they

   passen

   fit

   in

   in

   mijn

   my

   tas

   bag

   More detail

   Ze means “they” here: a third-person plural pronoun for the items being discussed. Dutch also uses ze for “she” or “her” in other contexts, but the fixed translation establishes the plural “they” reading here. Example: Ze komen morgen. — “They are coming tomorrow.” passen is the present-tense plural form of passen, “to fit.” Its subject is plural, matching ze. The Dutch verb itself states that the items fit; the English translation uses “can fit” as its natural rendering and does not mean that a separate Dutch modal verb is present. The singular present form is past: Het past in de tas. — “It fits in the bag.” in is the preposition meaning “in” or “inside.” It introduces the container or location. Example: De boeken passen in de doos. — “The books fit in the box.” mijn is the possessive determiner meaning “my.” It identifies the bag as belonging to the speaker. In Dutch, mijn does not change here for the noun’s gender or number: mijn tas and mijn tassen both use mijn. Do not confuse it with mij, the object form of “me.” tas means “bag.” It is a singular noun; its common plural is tassen: Mijn tassen staan daar. — “My bags are there.” Together, ze passen says that the plural items fit, and in mijn tas specifies the container as the speaker’s bag. The complete utterance therefore means that the items under discussion can fit in the speaker’s bag.

8. Dan zijn we klaar.

   Then we're ready.

   Dan

   Then

   zijn we

   we are

   klaar

   ready

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here: it places this statement after something already understood in the conversation. It can also introduce a consequence, but this utterance uses the time/sequence meaning. Example: Dan ga ik. — “Then I’ll go.” zijn we is the Dutch form of “we are.” The verb is zijn (“to be”); we is the subject pronoun “we.” In this sentence, the verb comes before the subject because Dutch places the finite verb first in this statement pattern after Dan. Compare the ordinary order We zijn klaar. — “We are ready.” klaar means “ready” here. It is a descriptive word used after zijn to describe the subject’s state. Example: Ik ben klaar. — “I am ready.” Together, Dan + zijn we + klaar gives “Then we’re ready.” The sentence presents readiness as the resulting state at that point in the sequence.