A short break | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik ben moe.

   I feel tired.

   Ik ben

   I am

   moe

   tired

   More detail

   Ik ben means “I am.” Ik is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” ben is the present-tense first-person singular form of zijn, “to be”: ik ben, jij bent, hij/zij is. The form ben is used with ik; it is not the form used with every subject. Example: Ik ben thuis. — “I am at home.” moe means “tired.” It is a descriptive adjective used after zijn to describe the subject’s state. In this position, it appears as moe, without an adjective ending. Example: Zij is moe. — “She is tired.” Together, Ik ben moe. literally expresses “I am tired,” with Ik as the subject, ben as the present form of “to be,” and moe as the description of the subject’s current state. The natural English translation is “I feel tired.”

2. Laten we een korte pauze nemen.

   Let's take a short break.

   Laten we

   let's

   een

   a

   korte

   short

   pauze

   break

   nemen

   take

   More detail

   Laten we is the Dutch pattern for making a suggestion: “let’s …”. Laten is the infinitive of laten (“to let/allow”), and we is the first-person plural pronoun “we”. In this fixed pattern, the suggested action is expressed by an infinitive later in the sentence. Example: Laten we beginnen. — “Let’s begin.” een is an indefinite article. Here it introduces pauze without asserting a numerical count; the natural English equivalent is “a”. Dutch also has de and het as definite articles. Example: een stoel — “a chair”; de stoel — “the chair”. korte means “short” here, describing the duration of the break. Its base form is kort; the -e form appears because it is placed before the common-gender noun pauze in this noun phrase. Compare the neuter noun phrase een kort verhaal — “a short story”, where the adjective has no -e. The adjective itself, not the noun, carries this inflection. pauze is the noun “break”, here meaning a pause in an activity. It is a common-gender noun, which is relevant to the form korte. Example: We nemen een pauze. — “We are taking a break.” nemen is the infinitive of nemen, “to take”. With Laten we, it names the action being proposed: Laten we … nemen means “let’s take …”. The same verb can be used with other objects, for example We nemen de bus. — “We take the bus.” Together, Laten we introduces the suggestion, een korte pauze names a short break, and nemen supplies the proposed action. The complete utterance means “Let’s take a short break.”

3. Is deze stoel vrij?

   Is this chair free?

   Is

   is

   deze

   this

   stoel

   chair

   vrij

   free; available

   More detail

   Is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular third-person subject. In this yes/no question, the finite verb comes first and the subject follows: Is ...? means “Is ...?” Compare De stoel is vrij. (“The chair is free.”) with the question Is de stoel vrij? deze means “this” and points to one nearby or contextually identified item. It is the singular form used with a de-word such as stoel; with a singular het-word, Dutch uses dit instead. Example: deze stoel (“this chair”), but dit boek (“this book”). stoel means “chair.” Its usual plural is stoelen (“chairs”). The article belonging to this noun is de: de stoel (“the chair”). vrij means “free” here in the sense of “unoccupied” or “available,” not occupied by someone else. As a predicate adjective after zijn, it appears here as vrij: De stoel is vrij. (“The chair is available.”) Before a noun, the related attributive form is commonly vrije: een vrije stoel (“an available chair”). Together, Is + deze stoel + vrij forms a yes/no question: Is deze stoel vrij? The verb-first order marks the question, deze stoel is the subject, and vrij describes its current availability. The complete meaning is “Is this chair free?”

4. Je kunt hier zitten.

   You can sit here.

   Je kunt

   you can

   hier

   here

   zitten

   sit

   More detail

   Je kunt means “you can” here. je is the informal singular “you” subject pronoun. kunnen is the base form of the modal verb meaning “can/be able to”; with je in the present tense, it becomes kunt. A modal verb is followed by an infinitive: Je kunt zitten. — “You can sit.” hier means “here,” referring to the place being indicated in this utterance. It is an adverb, so it does not change for person or number. Example: Ik werk hier. — “I work here.” zitten is the infinitive of the verb meaning “to sit.” After kunt, it remains in the infinitive rather than being conjugated. The same verb can also describe being seated, depending on context: Ik zit hier. — “I am sitting here.” Together, Je kunt + hier + zitten gives Je kunt hier zitten.: “You can sit here.” The modal expresses permission or possibility in this context, while hier specifies the place and zitten names the action. The sentence is a straightforward, reusable way to tell one person that sitting in a particular place is possible or permitted.

5. Ik heb een kleine snack meegenomen voor de pauze.

   I brought a small snack for the break.

   Ik heb

   I have

   kleine

   small

   snack

   snack

   meegenomen

   brought along

   de pauze

   the break

   More detail

   Ik heb begins a first-person singular perfect construction. Ik means “I,” and heb is the present-tense first-person singular form of hebben (“to have”). Here heb works as an auxiliary; the past participle meegenomen later in the sentence expresses the completed action. For example: Ik heb koffie gemaakt. — “I made coffee.” kleine means “small” here. Its base form is klein. Before the indefinite article een and the common-gender noun snack, the adjective takes the -e form: een kleine snack. The adjective describes the snack, not the bringing. For example: een kleine tas — “a small bag.” snack is a noun meaning “snack.” Dutch uses de snack as its definite form; with an indefinite article, it appears here as een snack. The noun is the thing that was brought. meegenomen is the past participle of the separable verb meenemen, “to take or bring along.” In this sentence, the completed action is understood as bringing the snack along to the relevant place. With hebben, the perfect form is heb meegenomen. The participle is placed at the end of this clause. For example: Ik heb een boek meegenomen. — “I brought a book along.” de pauze means “the break.” de is the definite article, and pauze is the noun “break.” The preposition voor before this phrase means “for,” so voor de pauze identifies the intended purpose or occasion: “for the break.” Together, Ik heb + een kleine snack + meegenomen + voor de pauze gives: “I brought a small snack for the break.” The structure is reusable as Ik heb [object] meegenomen voor [occasion], with the object placed before the participle and meegenomen at the end of the clause.

6. Ik haal wat water.

   I'll get some water.

   Ik

   I

   haal

   get

   wat

   some

   water

   water

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular subject pronoun, meaning “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person performing the action. The related plural form is wij or we, meaning “we,” when the subject includes more than one person. haal is the present-tense form of halen (“to get,” “to fetch,” or “to collect”) with the first-person singular subject ik. The form chain is: halen → ik haal (“I get/fetch”) and hij haalt (“he gets/fetches”). The final -t in haalt belongs to the third-person singular form; it is not used in ik haal. Example: Ik haal brood. — “I’ll get some bread.” This uses the same subject–verb pattern; the Dutch present tense can express an intended near-future action when the context supports it. wat means “some” here. With a mass or uncountable noun such as water, it indicates an unspecified amount rather than a precise quantity. It can also have other functions in Dutch, but in this sentence it is the quantity word modifying water. water is the noun “water.” It is normally used as an uncountable substance noun when referring to water in general or to an unspecified amount. A container or measured amount can be specified separately, for example: een glas water — “a glass of water.” Together, Ik haal means “I’ll get” in this context, and wat water means “some water.” The complete utterance Ik haal wat water. therefore means “I’ll get some water.”

7. Het is hier rustig.

   This place feels quiet.

   Het is

   it is

   hier

   here

   rustig

   quiet; calm

   More detail

   Het is is a common Dutch pattern meaning “it is” in a description. is is the third-person singular present form of zijn (“to be”): ik ben, jij bent, hij/zij/het is, wij zijn. Here, het works as an impersonal subject; together with rustig, it describes the situation or surroundings rather than identifying a specific person. hier means “here” and locates the situation at the speaker’s current place. It can be reused in patterns such as Ik ben hier (“I am here”) and Blijf hier (“Stay here”). rustig means “quiet” or “calm” here. It is an adjective; the comparative form is rustiger (“quieter/calmer”), as in Het is hier rustiger (“It is quieter here”). The opposite is often druk (“busy”), as in Het is hier druk (“It is busy here”). Together, Het is hier rustig says that the place or surroundings here are quiet and calm. The fixed translation “This place feels quiet” captures that situational meaning; it does not require het to refer to a separately named object.

8. Dan kunnen we hier even rusten.

   Then we can rest here for a bit.

   Dan

   then

   kunnen we

   we can

   hier

   here

   even

   for a bit

   rusten

   rest

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here: it links the resting to the situation just mentioned. It is a time adverb and can also begin other sentences, for example: Dan gaan we. — “Then we leave.” kunnen we expresses ability or possibility: “we can.” kunnen is the base form of the modal verb; in the present tense it is kan with a singular subject and kunnen with plural we, jullie, or zij. In this sentence, we is the first-person plural subject, and kunnen is the finite verb. Because Dan comes first, Dutch keeps the finite verb in the second position and places the subject after it: Dan kunnen we .... hier means “here,” referring to the place relevant in the conversation. It is a location adverb and does not change for number or gender. A useful contrast is daar — “there.” even means “for a bit” in this sentence. It presents the action as lasting only a short time; in many contexts it also makes an action or suggestion sound less heavy. It does not itself state an exact duration. rusten means “to rest.” This is the infinitive, the base form used after kunnen: kunnen rusten — “can rest.” The finite modal verb carries the tense and agreement, while rusten stays in the infinitive. Example: We kunnen hier wachten. — “We can wait here.” Together, Dan kunnen we hier even rusten means “Then we can rest here for a bit.” The sequence is: a time connection (Dan), the possibility (kunnen), the subject (we), the location (hier), the brief duration (even), and the infinitive action (rusten).