Cleaning up spilled water | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use Cleaning up spilled water to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Er ligt water op de vloer.

ur likht WAH-tur op duh VLOOHR. There is water on the floor.

Het verspreidt zich naar de deur.

hut vur-SPRAYT ZIKH NAHR duh DUHR. It is spreading toward the door.

Het kleine flesje is kapotgegaan.

hut KLAY-nuh FLESH-yuh iss kuh-POT-khuh-GHAHN. The small bottle broke.

Ik ga een droge handdoek pakken.

ik gah un DROH-ghuh HAHN-dook PAK-uhn. I will get a dry towel.

Kun je eerst de tas verplaatsen?

kun yuh AYRST duh TAHS vur-PLAHT-suhn? Can you move the bag first?

Ik zet hem op de stoel.

ik ZET um op duh STOOL. I will put it on the chair.

Dan kunnen we de vloer schoonmaken.

dahn KUN-uhn wuh duh VLOOHR SKHOHN-MAHK-uhn. Then we can clean the floor.

De tas blijft daar droog.

duh TAHS BLAYFT DAHR DROHKH. The bag will stay dry there.

Word by Word

Er Er introduces the statement that water is present in Er ligt water op de vloer. It helps present the water as something located in the room. Use it when pointing out that something is present or located somewhere.

ligt ligt means lies or is located; here it describes where the water is. Together with Er, it presents the water as lying on the floor rather than describing movement. Use it to describe something located on a surface.

water water means water, the liquid noticed on the floor in this dialogue. Here it is the thing that ligt op de vloer. Use it when talking about water that needs to be noticed, moved, or cleaned up.

op op means on and shows that the water is located on the floor in op de vloer. It marks the surface where something is located. Use it when locating something on a surface.

de de means the and appears before the specific nouns de vloer and de deur in this dialogue. It marks these known things as specific in the situation. Use it before a specific noun such as a particular floor or door.

vloer vloer means floor; it is the surface with water on it in de vloer. In this dialogue, it is also the thing that will be cleaned in de vloer schoonmaken. Use it when talking about the floor of a room.

Het In Het verspreidt zich naar de deur, Het means it and refers to the water. In Het kleine flesje, Het is the definite article before flesje and means the. Its function depends on whether it is used with the verb verspreidt or before the noun flesje.

verspreidt verspreidt describes the water spreading outward toward the door. In verspreidt zich, it is the form that expresses this spreading movement. Use it when describing something such as water spreading across an area.

zich zich refers back to the thing that is spreading, here the water in Het verspreidt zich. It is used together with verspreidt in this expression. Use it as part of the same pattern when describing something spreading.

naar naar means toward and shows the direction of the spreading water in naar de deur. It introduces the destination or direction of movement. Use it when saying that something moves toward a place or person.

deur deur means door; it is the place toward which the water is spreading in de deur. The noun is made specific by de. Use it when referring to a door in a room or building.

kleine kleine means small and describes the size of the flesje in Het kleine flesje. It gives information about the bottle before the dialogue says that it broke. Use it before a noun when describing that noun as small.

flesje flesje means small bottle; it is the container that broke in Het kleine flesje. Together with kleine, it identifies the damaged object more precisely. Use it when referring to a small bottle or similar container.

is In is kapotgegaan, is helps report what happened to the small bottle. Together with kapotgegaan, it says that the bottle became damaged or broke. Use it with this form when reporting that an object has broken.

kapotgegaan kapotgegaan means broke or became damaged; in is kapotgegaan, it says that the small bottle is no longer intact. The full expression reports the result of the bottle breaking. Use it when explaining that an object has broken or become damaged.

Ik Ik means I and refers to the speaker who will get the towel and move the bag. It is the person responsible for the actions in the next lines. Use it when stating what you will do yourself.

ga In Ik ga een droge handdoek pakken, ga marks the speaker’s plan to get a towel. It presents the action as something the speaker is going to do. Use Ik ga when announcing a planned action.

een een means a or an and introduces one non-specific handdoek in een droge handdoek. It shows that the speaker will get a towel, without identifying a particular one beforehand. Use it before a singular noun when referring to a non-specific item.

droge droge means dry and describes the handdoek as not wet in een droge handdoek. This quality is useful because the towel will be used to clean up water. Use it before a noun when specifying that the item is dry.

handdoek handdoek means towel; here it is the dry item the speaker will get for the spilled water. It appears in een droge handdoek. Use it when referring to something used to dry or wipe a surface.

pakken pakken means get or take; here it describes taking a dry towel for the cleanup. It is the action planned in Ik ga een droge handdoek pakken. Use it with the thing that someone takes or gets.

Kun Kun means can and starts the question Kun je eerst de tas verplaatsen? The question asks whether the other person can perform the requested action. Use Kun je ...? to ask someone whether they can do something.

je je means you and refers to the person being asked to move the bag. Together with Kun, it forms the request Kun je eerst de tas verplaatsen? Use it when addressing someone directly in an informal request.

eerst eerst means first and says that moving the bag should happen before cleaning the floor. It marks the order of the cleanup steps. Use it when specifying which action should happen before another action.

tas tas means bag; it is the object that needs to be moved away from the water. In the next line, it is referred to again by hem. Use it when talking about a bag whose location may need to change.

verplaatsen verplaatsen means move or reposition; here it names the action requested for the bag in Kun je eerst de tas verplaatsen? The goal is to change the bag’s position before cleaning. Use it with an object whose location needs to change.

zet zet means put or place; in zet hem op de stoel, the speaker places the bag on the chair. It describes placing an object at a specific location. Use it with an object and the place where it is put.

hem hem means it here and refers back to de tas. It is the object being placed in Ik zet hem op de stoel. Use it when referring to the already-mentioned bag as the object of the action.

stoel stoel means chair; it is the place where the bag will be put in op de stoel. The noun is made specific by de. Use it when referring to a chair as a possible place for an object.

Dan Dan means then and introduces the next step after the bag has been moved. In Dan kunnen we de vloer schoonmaken, it connects the earlier action with the possible cleanup. Use it to mark what happens next.

kunnen kunnen means can or be able to; here it says that the speakers can clean the floor after moving the bag. It expresses the possibility of carrying out the next action. Use it with we when talking about what the group can do.

we we means we and includes the speaker and at least one other person, here both people cleaning together. It is the group that can clean the floor. Use it when referring to yourself together with other people.

schoonmaken schoonmaken means clean; here it describes cleaning the floor after the bag has been moved. It appears in de vloer schoonmaken, with the floor as the thing being cleaned. Use it with the object or surface that needs cleaning.

blijft blijft means stays or remains; in De tas blijft daar droog, it says that the bag remains dry in that place. It describes a condition that continues. Use it when saying that something remains in the same condition or place.

daar daar means there and refers to the place where the bag has been put, namely the chair. It identifies the location without repeating the full place expression. Use it for a place that has already been mentioned or is clear from the situation.

droog droog means dry and describes the condition of the bag in De tas blijft daar droog. With blijft, it expresses that the bag remains dry at that location. Use it when describing something that has no water on it or does not become wet.

Grammar Points

zich + werkwoord

Water verspreidt zich.

WAH-tur vur-SPRAYT ZIKH.

Water spreads itself.

Zich is a reflexive pronoun: it refers back to the subject, like “itself” in English.

droge + zelfstandig naamwoord

droge handdoek

DROH-ghuh HAHN-dook

dry towel

An adjective usually takes -e before a noun, as in droge handdoek.

Dutch Vocabulary

deur noun

DUHR door

Het verspreidt zich naar de deur.

droog adj

DROHKH dry droge

Ik ga een droge handdoek pakken.

flesje noun

FLESH-yuh small bottle

Het kleine flesje is kapotgegaan.

handdoek noun

HAHN-dook towel

Ik ga een droge handdoek pakken.

kapotgaan verb

kuh-POT-khuh-GHAHN to break; to become broken kapotgegaan

Het kleine flesje is kapotgegaan.

klein adj

KLAYN small kleine

Het kleine flesje is kapotgegaan.

liggen verb

LIKH-uhn to lie; to be located ligt

Er ligt water op de vloer.

naar prep

NAHR toward; to

Het verspreidt zich naar de deur.

verspreiden verb

vur-SPRAY-duhn to spread verspreidt

Het verspreidt zich naar de deur.

vloer noun

VLOOHR floor

Er ligt water op de vloer.

water noun

WAH-tur water

Er ligt water op de vloer.

zich pron

ZIKH itself

Het verspreidt zich naar de deur.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

There is water on the floor.

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Er ligt water op de vloer.

It is spreading toward the door.

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Het verspreidt zich naar de deur.

The small bottle broke.

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Het kleine flesje is kapotgegaan.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

floor

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vloer

door

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deur

to spread

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verspreidt

itself

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zich