Fixing a stuck door | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use Fixing a stuck door to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

De deur zit vast.

duh DUHR zit vahst. The door is stuck.

Probeer aan de klink te trekken.

proh-BAIR ahn duh klingk tuh TREK-uhn. Try pulling the handle.

Ik trok eraan, maar hij blijft dicht.

ik trawk uh-R AHN, mahr hay blayft dikht. I pulled it, but it stays closed.

Duw langzaam bij de rand.

duut LAHNG-zahm bay duh rahnt. Push near the edge slowly.

Hij ging een beetje open.

hay khing ayn BAY-chuh OH-puhn. It opened a little.

De klink voelt los aan.

duh klingk voelt loss ahn. The handle feels loose.

Zullen we deze deur niet meer gebruiken?

ZUH-luhn vay DAY-zuh duhr NEET mair khuh-BROY-kuhn? Should we stop using this door?

We kunnen de klink repareren voordat iemand weer vast komt te zitten.

vuh KUH-nuhn duh klingk ray-puh-RAY-ruhn vawr-DAHT IM-ahnt vair vahst kawm(t) tuh ZIT-uhn. We can fix the handle before anyone gets stuck again.

Word by Word

De De means “the” here and introduces deur in De deur. The same article appears as de before rand; use it when identifying a specific door or edge in this scene.

deur Deur means “door” in De deur zit vast and refers to the door that cannot open. It is reused in deze deur when the speakers decide whether to keep using it; use it when talking about this physical doorway.

zit Zit helps describe the door as being in a stuck state in De deur zit vast, rather than describing someone sitting. The pattern zit + a state word can describe how something remains; use it when reporting the door problem.

vast Vast means “stuck” in De deur zit vast and describes the door’s state. The same word appears in vast komt te zitten for getting stuck again; use it when something cannot move normally.

Probeer Probeer means “try” and gives a direct instruction in Probeer aan de klink te trekken. It introduces the action the other person should attempt; use it when asking someone to make an effort.

aan In aan de klink te trekken, aan marks the handle as the thing being pulled at. This preposition belongs with trekken in this action pattern; use aan when describing pulling at an object.

klink Klink means “handle” here, specifically the handle of the door in aan de klink te trekken. It is later the object to repair in de klink repareren; use it when discussing this door hardware.

te Te links Probeer with the action trekken in Probeer aan de klink te trekken. In this pattern it marks the action that someone is being asked to try; use it between probeer and the action word.

trekken Trekken means “pull” in aan de klink te trekken. It names the action being attempted on the handle; use it when giving or describing the instruction to pull the handle.

Ik Ik means “I” and identifies the person who pulled the handle in Ik trok eraan. It is the subject of the action; use it when reporting your own action or experience.

trok Trok means “pulled” and reports the completed action in Ik trok eraan. It is related to trekken, which appears in the earlier instruction; use it when saying that you already pulled something.

eraan Eraan means “at it” in Ik trok eraan and refers back to the handle without repeating klink. It combines the reference to the object with the pulling action; use it when the object is already clear from the conversation.

maar Maar means “but” and contrasts Ik trok eraan with hij blijft dicht. It connects an action with an unexpected or different result; use it when the result does not match what was hoped for.

hij Hij means “it” here and refers to the door in hij blijft dicht. It lets the speaker refer back to the door instead of repeating deur; use it when continuing to talk about that door.

blijft Blijft means “stays” or “remains” in hij blijft dicht, showing that the closed state continues after pulling. It is used before dicht to describe the continuing result; use it when something does not change state.

dicht Dicht means “closed” in hij blijft dicht and describes the door after the attempted pull. It contrasts with open later in the dialogue; use it when a door or similar opening is not open.

Duw Duw means “push” and gives a direct instruction in Duw langzaam bij de rand. It tells the other person what action to take next; use it when instructing someone to push something.

langzaam Langzaam means “slowly” and explains how the pushing should be done in Duw langzaam bij de rand. It modifies the action rather than naming an object; use it when asking for a careful, unhurried action.

bij Bij means “near” or “by” in bij de rand and locates where to push. It is followed here by the place or part being used as a reference; use bij when describing an action near something.

rand Rand means “edge” in bij de rand and identifies the part near which the pushing should happen. The phrase bij de rand gives the action a location; use it when referring to the boundary of a door or object.

ging Ging describes the door moving into an open state in Hij ging een beetje open. Together with open, it reports the result of the pushing rather than simply saying that someone opened the door; use it when describing an opening that occurs.

een Een contributes “a” to the expression een beetje open, which means that the opening was small. Here it forms a quantity expression with beetje rather than emphasizing the number one; use een beetje to describe a small degree or amount.

beetje Beetje means “little” or “bit” in een beetje open and limits how far the door opened. The expression een beetje can modify a degree or amount; use it when describing something as only slightly so.

open Open means “open” in Hij ging een beetje open and describes the door’s new state. It contrasts with dicht earlier; use it when reporting that a door or another opening is no longer closed.

voelt Voelt means “feels” in De klink voelt los aan and describes the impression given by the handle. It is used with los aan to report how something seems by touch; use it when assessing the physical feel of an object.

los Los means “loose” in De klink voelt los aan and describes the handle’s condition. The full expression voelt los aan says that the handle feels loose; use it when a part does not feel firmly attached.

Zullen Zullen means “shall” or “should” in Zullen we deze deur niet meer gebruiken? and introduces a joint proposal. The pattern Zullen we ...? asks whether the speakers should do something together; use it when suggesting a shared decision.

we We means “we” and refers to both speakers in Zullen we deze deur niet meer gebruiken? It is the group that will make and carry out the decision; use it when proposing an action for yourself and another person.

deze Deze means “this” and identifies the particular door in deze deur. It points to an item that is clear or nearby in the situation; use it before a noun when referring to this specific item.

niet Niet provides the negation in deze deur niet meer gebruiken. Together with meer, the full expression means “not use any more,” so niet alone does not carry the entire “no longer” meaning; use it to negate the proposed action.

meer Meer contributes the sense of continuation in deze deur niet meer gebruiken, making the meaning “not use any more.” It works with niet to describe stopping a previously possible or current use; use this combination when deciding not to continue an activity.

gebruiken Gebruiken means “use” in deze deur niet meer gebruiken and names the activity the speakers may stop. It takes deze deur as the thing being used; use it when talking about using an object or place.

kunnen Kunnen means “can” in We kunnen de klink repareren and presents repairing the handle as a possible action. It is followed by the action word repareren; use it when saying that someone is able or in a position to do something.

repareren Repareren means “repair” or “fix” in de klink repareren and names the planned solution for the loose handle. It follows kunnen in We kunnen de klink repareren; use it when restoring a damaged or loose object.

voordat Voordat means “before” and connects the repair with the possible future event in voordat iemand weer vast komt te zitten. It places one action earlier than another event; use it when taking preventive action before a problem happens.

iemand Iemand means “anyone” or “someone” in voordat iemand weer vast komt te zitten and refers to an unspecified person. It keeps the warning general rather than naming a particular person; use it when the person affected is not specified.

weer Weer means “again” in weer vast komt te zitten and shows that getting stuck would be a repeated problem. It refers back to the earlier stuck-door situation; use it when an action or state may happen another time.

komt Komt contributes the idea of coming into or ending up in the state in vast komt te zitten. In the clause after voordat, it appears with te zitten to describe the possible result; use this construction when someone may end up in a condition.

zitten Zitten means “be” or “remain” as part of vast komt te zitten, which describes someone getting stuck. It is not a literal instruction to sit here; use the full expression when talking about becoming stuck.

Grammar Points

voordat + bijzin: werkwoord aan het einde

De deur blijft dicht voordat iemand duwt.

duh DUHR blayft dikht vawr-DAHT IM-ahnt duut.

The door stays closed before someone pushes.

Na voordat staat het werkwoord aan het einde van de bijzin: voordat iemand duwt.

eraan trekken

Probeer eraan te trekken.

proh-BAIR uh-RAHN tuh TREK-uhn.

Try pulling it.

Eraan is een vast Nederlands woord voor ‘aan/op het ding’; het verwijst terug naar iets dat al bekend is.

Dutch Vocabulary

blijven verb

BLAY-vuhn to remain; to stay blijft

Hij blijft dicht.

deur noun

DUHR door

De deur zit vast.

dicht adj

dikht closed

Hij blijft dicht.

duwen verb

DUU-vuhn to push Duw

Duw langzaam bij de rand.

eraan adv

ay-RAHN at it; on it

Ik trok eraan.

klink noun

klingk door handle

Probeer aan de klink te trekken.

langzaam adv

LAHNG-zahm slowly

Duw langzaam bij de rand.

open adj

OH-puhn open

Hij ging een beetje open.

proberen verb

proh-BAIR-uhn to try Probeer

Probeer aan de klink te trekken.

rand noun

rahnt edge

Duw langzaam bij de rand.

trekken verb

TREK-uhn to pull te trekken

Probeer aan de klink te trekken.

vast adj

vahst stuck

De deur zit vast.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

The door is stuck.

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De deur zit vast.

Try pulling the handle.

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Probeer aan de klink te trekken.

Push near the edge slowly.

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Duw langzaam bij de rand.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to remain; to stay

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blijft

closed

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dicht

door handle

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klink

to try

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Probeer