Speaking quietly in a library | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kun je hier wat zachter praten?

   Could you speak a little more quietly here?

   Kun je

   could you

   hier

   here

   wat

   a little

   zachter

   more quietly

   praten

   speak

   More detail

   Kun je is a common Dutch way to ask “could/can you?” Here kun is the present form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with je (“you”). In a question, the verb comes before the subject: Kun je ...? Compare the less inverted statement order Je kunt ... (“You can ...”). This short construction expresses a request; it does not include the following action by itself. hier means “here,” referring to the place relevant in the situation. Its form does not change for the speaker or the place. Example: Blijf hier. — “Stay here.” wat means “a little” or “somewhat” in this sentence. It acts as a degree word modifying zachter, rather than meaning “what?” as it does in a question such as Wat doe je? — “What are you doing?” zachter is the comparative form of zacht, whose basic meanings include “soft” and, for speaking or another sound, “quiet.” The ending -er marks comparison: zacht → zachter (“soft/quieter, more softly”). With praten, this form describes the manner of speaking, so wat zachter means “a little more quietly.” praten is the infinitive of the verb “to speak” or “to talk.” After a modal verb such as kunnen, Dutch uses the infinitive: Kun je zachter praten? — “Can you speak more quietly?” Together, Kun je introduces the request, hier specifies the place, wat zachter asks for a small increase in quietness, and praten names the requested action. The complete meaning is: “Could you speak a little more quietly here?”

2. Ik wist niet dat ik zo hard praatte.

   I didn't realize I was speaking so loudly.

   Ik wist niet

   I didn’t realize

   zo hard

   so loudly

   praatte

   was speaking

   More detail

   Ik wist niet means “I didn’t realize” here. wist is the past-tense form of weten (“to know”) for ik; weten is irregular in the past: ik weet → ik wist. With niet, it expresses that the speaker did not know or realize something. Example: Ik wist het niet. — “I didn’t know that.” zo hard expresses degree plus manner: zo means “so” and hard means “loudly” in this context. Dutch hard can also mean “hard” in the physical sense, so the surrounding verb determines the relevant meaning here. The earlier request to speak more quietly supports the “loudly” reading, but this sentence itself says only that the speaking was loud to that degree. praatte is the imperfect form of praten (“to speak” or “to talk”). In this sentence it describes an ongoing speaking situation in the past, naturally translated as “was speaking.” The form praatte is used for both first-person singular and third-person singular: ik praatte — “I spoke / was speaking,” and hij/zij praatte — “he/she spoke / was speaking.” The word dat introduces the content of what the speaker did not know: Ik wist niet dat ... is a reusable pattern meaning “I didn’t know/realize that ...”. In the subordinate clause, ik is the speaker, and praatte agrees with that singular subject. zo hard modifies the manner or degree of praatte. Together, Ik wist niet dat ik zo hard praatte. means “I didn’t realize I was speaking so loudly.” The sentence presents the loud speaking as something the speaker was doing at that time, without adding a separate claim about why it happened or what happened afterward.

3. Mensen studeren aan de tafel hiernaast.

   People are studying at the next table.

   Mensen

   people

   studeren

   study

   aan de

   at the

   tafel

   table

   hiernaast

   next to it

   More detail

   Mensen means “people.” It is the plural of mens (“person/human”). Dutch uses the plural form when referring to more than one person; the sentence does not specify exactly how many. studeren means “to study.” This is also the infinitive/base form. In the present tense, Dutch regular verbs often have a distinct singular form but use the infinitive for plural subjects: ik studeer (“I study”), but mensen studeren (“people study”). Here, studeren describes an activity happening now because the present-tense sentence is translated as “are studying.” aan de is a reusable preposition-and-article combination meaning “at the” in this sentence. The preposition aan can describe a location by or at something; the definite article de belongs with the following noun. In aan de tafel, it introduces the table as the location. tafel means “table.” Its plural is tafels. The phrase de tafel uses the definite article because the sentence refers to a particular table identifiable in the situation, rather than introducing an unspecified table. hiernaast means “next to it” or, for a location, “next door/at the adjacent place.” In this sentence it specifies which table: the one next to the relevant reference point. The word itself does not name that reference point; the fixed translation identifies the resulting location as “the next table.” Together, Mensen studeren gives “People are studying,” aan de tafel adds the location “at the table,” and hiernaast identifies it as the adjacent table. The complete utterance is: “People are studying at the next table.”

4. Ik zal zachter praten.

   I will lower my voice.

   Ik zal

   I will

   zachter

   more softly

   praten

   speak

   More detail

   Ik zal combines ik (“I”) with zal, the singular present form of zullen. With an infinitive, zal helps express a future action here: “I will …”. Dutch also uses zullen for other subjects, for example: Wij zullen wachten. — “We will wait.” The subject and auxiliary are kept together as the sentence’s first meaningful unit. zachter is the comparative form of zacht, meaning “soft” or “quiet” in this context. Here it is used adverbially with praten, so it describes how the speaking will happen: “more softly” or “more quietly.” The comparison implies a change from the current speaking level, without specifying exactly what the earlier level was. A useful contrast is zacht — “softly/quietly” and zachter — “more softly/more quietly.” praten is the infinitive meaning “to speak” or “to talk.” After zal, Dutch places the lexical verb in the infinitive: Ik zal praten. — “I will speak.” The infinitive itself does not mark the speaker as “I”; that information comes from ik zal. Together, Ik zal + zachter + praten means “I will speak more softly,” naturally rendered by the fixed translation as “I will lower my voice.” The sentence presents this as the speaker’s future action, with zachter specifying the change in manner of speaking.

5. Dan kan iedereen zich beter concentreren.

   It will make it easier for everyone to focus.

   Dan

   then

   kan iedereen

   everyone can

   zich

   themselves

   beter

   better

   concentreren

   focus

   More detail

   Dan links the sentence to the preceding situation and means “then” or “in that way.” Here it introduces the result of speaking more softly: that arrangement makes focusing easier. The exact reusable pattern is Dan + finite verb + subject ..., with the finite verb placed before the subject after this sentence-opening element. kan iedereen contains kan, the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”), and iedereen, meaning “everyone.” Kan is used with this third-person singular subject: iedereen refers grammatically to one collective person-like unit, so the verb is singular. In this sentence, kan expresses that focusing is possible or easier, not a command. Example: Iedereen kan meedoen. — “Everyone can join in.” zich is the reflexive pronoun required with the verb zich concentreren in this use. It refers back to the subject iedereen; it is not a separate participant. Dutch uses zich for third-person reflexive subjects, including singular and plural subjects. Example: De kinderen wassen zich. — “The children wash themselves.” beter means “better” here and is the comparative form of goed (“good”). The comparison is carried by beter, not by the noun or by concentreren. Goed → beter → best gives the basic positive, comparative, and superlative forms. In this sentence, beter concentreren means focusing more effectively than under the relevant alternative situation. concentreren is the infinitive “to concentrate” or “to focus.” With the reflexive construction, the reusable pattern is zich concentreren: “to concentrate/focus.” After a conjugated modal such as kan, the following verb remains in the infinitive: kan ... concentreren. Example: Ik kan me beter concentreren. — “I can concentrate better.” In that example, me is the first-person reflexive form; the fixed sentence uses zich because its subject is iedereen. Together, Dan kan iedereen zich beter concentreren means that, as a result of the preceding arrangement, everyone can focus more effectively. This is the intended meaning expressed by the fixed translation: “It will make it easier for everyone to focus.”

6. Ik kan dichterbij zitten, dan hoeven we niet hard te praten.

   I can sit closer so we do not have to talk loudly.

   Ik kan

   I can

   dichterbij

   closer

   zitten

   sit

   dan

   then / so

   hoeven … niet … te

   not have to

   hard

   loudly

   praten

   talk

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can” here. kan is the first-person singular present form of kunnen, “to be able to/can.” A modal verb such as kunnen is followed by an infinitive: Ik kan komen means “I can come.” dichterbij means “closer,” describing the position of the speaker relative to something understood from the situation. It is the comparative form related to dichtbij, “near/close.” The contrast is dichtbij “close” versus dichterbij “closer”; the superlative is commonly het dichtstbij, “the closest.” zitten is the infinitive “to sit.” After the modal kan, it stays in the infinitive: Ik kan zitten means “I can sit.” Thus Ik kan dichterbij zitten means “I can sit closer.” dan connects this proposal with its consequence. In this sentence it is best understood as “so” or “then,” rather than as a question word or a comparison marker. The proposal to sit closer leads to the result in the second part. hoeven ... niet te is a useful Dutch pattern meaning “not have to.” The finite verb is hoeven, the present plural form of hoeven, and we supplies the plural subject. In this construction, niet te precedes the infinitive: We hoeven niet te wachten means “We do not have to wait.” This expresses absence of necessity, not inability. hard means “loudly” in hard praten. Here it describes the manner or volume of the speaking. The same form can also be used as an adjective in other contexts, but in this sentence it functions with the verb praten as an adverbial description. praten is the infinitive “to talk.” It follows te in the pattern niet te praten: “not to talk.” For example, We proberen zacht te praten means “We try to speak softly.” Together, Ik kan dichterbij zitten gives the proposal “I can sit closer.” Dan introduces the result, and hoeven we niet hard te praten says that, as a consequence, “we do not have to talk loudly.” The complete meaning is: “I can sit closer so we do not have to talk loudly.”

7. Dan kunnen we verder werken zonder iemand te storen.

   Then we can keep working without bothering anyone.

   Dan

   then

   kunnen we

   we can

   verder

   further; on

   werken

   work

   zonder

   without

   iemand

   anyone; someone

   te storen

   to bother

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here: it connects this possibility with what has just been established, rather than necessarily naming a time. In Dutch, dan can occupy the first position of a main clause. kunnen we contains the modal verb kunnen (“can, be able to”) and the subject pronoun we (“we”). Because Dan comes first, the finite verb comes before the subject: Dan kunnen we .... Compare the neutral order We kunnen .... The form kunnen is the present-tense form used with we; the modal is followed by an infinitive: We kunnen werken = “We can work.” verder means “further” or, with an activity, “on/continuing.” Together with werken, verder werken means “keep working” or “continue working.” This is why the sentence expresses continuation, not merely work at a greater physical distance. werken is the infinitive “to work.” Dutch uses this form after a modal such as kunnen: We kunnen verder werken = “We can keep working.” zonder means “without.” It introduces what is absent or avoided. Before an infinitive construction, the pattern is zonder te + infinitive. iemand is an indefinite pronoun meaning “someone” or “anyone,” with the intended “anyone” reading in this zonder phrase. It does not identify a particular person. A useful contrast is niemand = “nobody”; zonder iemand ... means “without bothering anyone,” while niemand ... would make “nobody” the subject or object of a different clause. te storen is te plus the infinitive storen, “to bother” or “to disturb.” The infinitive is storen; te marks this infinitive construction after zonder. For example, Zij leest zonder te praten means “She reads without talking.” The sentence assembles as Dan (“then”) + kunnen we (“we can”) + verder werken (“keep working”) + zonder iemand te storen (“without bothering anyone”). Thus the complete meaning is: “Then we can keep working without bothering anyone.”

8. Vanaf nu zal ik zacht praten.

   I will keep it down from now on.

   Vanaf nu

   from now on

   zal ik

   I will

   zacht

   softly; quietly

   praten

   talk; speak

   More detail

   Vanaf nu is a time expression meaning “from now on”: it marks the point from which the stated action applies. It is reusable with many verbs, for example: Vanaf nu werk ik thuis. — “From now on, I work from home.” zal ik combines zal, the first-person singular present form of zullen, with the subject ik. In this sentence, zal expresses a future decision or intention, corresponding to “will.” Because Vanaf nu comes first, the finite verb follows it and the subject comes after the verb: Vanaf nu zal ik .... Without that fronted time expression, the ordinary order is Ik zal .... zacht describes how the speaking happens here: quietly or at a low volume. It is the adjective zacht used adverbially, so it does not receive an adjective ending in this use. As an adjective, zacht can also mean “soft,” as in een zacht kussen — “a soft cushion.” praten is the infinitive “to talk” or “to speak.” After zal, Dutch uses the infinitive for the action that is intended or expected: Ik zal morgen praten. — “I will talk tomorrow.” Together, zal ik zacht praten means “I will speak quietly.” With the time expression at the front, the complete utterance means: “From now on, I will speak quietly,” matching the fixed translation “I will keep it down from now on.”