About This Lesson
Use Cleaning a small stain to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Er zit een vlek op de tafel.
uhr ZIT uhn VLECK awp duh TAH-fuhl. There is a stain on the table.
B
Ik zie hem bij het kopje.
ick ZEE um BEH-y ut KAWP-yuh. I can see it near the cup.
A
Hebben we een schone spons?
HEH-buhn wuh uhn SKHOH-nuh SPONSS? Do we have a clean sponge?
B
De spons ligt bij de gootsteen.
duh SPONSS LIKHT BEH-y duh KHOHT-stayn. The sponge is by the sink.
A
Zal ik wat zeep gebruiken?
ZAHL ick wuht ZAYP khuh-BROY-kuhn? Should I use some soap?
B
Doe een beetje zeep op de spons.
DOO uhn BAY-chuh ZAYP awp duh SPONSS. Put a little soap on the sponge.
A
De vlek is bijna weg.
duh VLECK iss BEH-y-nah wekh. The stain is almost gone.
B
De tafel ziet er schoon uit.
duh TAH-fuhl zeet uhr SKHOHN owt. The table looks clean.Word by Word
Er
In “Er zit een vlek op de tafel.”, “Er” introduces the fact that something is present or located somewhere. It is used at the start of this existence or location statement, and “Er zit ...” can be reused when introducing something that is there.
zit
In “Er zit een vlek op de tafel.”, “zit” says that the stain is located on the table. Together with “Er” it presents the stain as being there; this form can be reused for something located in or on a place.
een
In “een vlek”, “een” means “a” and introduces one unspecified stain. It comes directly before the noun and can be reused before a singular noun when introducing one item.
vlek
In “een vlek”, “vlek” means “stain”, the mark being cleaned in the dialogue. It can be reused with a describing word such as “schone” only when the meaning calls for a clean stain, or with location phrases such as “op de tafel” from the dialogue.
op
In “op de tafel”, “op” means “on” and shows the surface where the stain is located. It can be reused before a surface or place to express that something is on it.
de
In “de tafel”, “de” means “the” and refers to the specific table in the scene. It is placed before “tafel” and can be reused before a known noun.
tafel
In “de tafel”, “tafel” means “table”, the surface being cleaned. It can be reused with a location phrase such as “op de tafel” when saying that something is on the table.
Ik
In “Ik zie hem bij het kopje.”, “Ik” means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person who sees the stain. It is used as the subject before “zie” and can be reused when the speaker describes their own action.
zie
In “Ik zie hem”, “zie” means “see” and describes the speaker’s visual perception of the stain. It is followed here by the thing seen, “hem”; this same subject–seeing–object order can be reused for another thing the speaker sees.
hem
In “Ik zie hem”, “hem” points back to “een vlek” as the thing being seen. It is placed after “zie” as the object, and this position can be reused for a previously identified person or object when it is the thing seen.
bij
In “bij het kopje”, “bij” means “near” or “by” and locates the stain close to the cup. It can be reused before a place or object to describe nearby location.
het
In “het kopje”, “het” means “the” and identifies the specific cup near the stain. It is placed before “kopje” and can be reused before a known noun that takes “het”.
kopje
In “het kopje”, “kopje” means “cup”, the object near the stain. It can be reused with “bij” in a phrase that locates something near the cup.
Hebben
At the beginning of “Hebben we een schone spons?”, “Hebben” asks whether the group has something available. In this yes-or-no question it comes before “we”; the same question order can be reused when asking whether something is available.
we
In “Hebben we een schone spons?”, “we” means “we” and identifies the group being asked about. It is the subject after “Hebben” in the question and can be reused when referring to the speaker together with others.
schone
In “een schone spons”, “schone” describes the sponge as clean. It comes before “spons” and can be reused before a noun when describing that item as clean.
spons
In “een schone spons”, “spons” means “sponge”, the item used for cleaning. It can be reused with “een” to introduce one sponge or with a location phrase such as “bij de gootsteen” from the dialogue.
ligt
In “De spons ligt bij de gootsteen.”, “ligt” says that the sponge is located by the sink. It can be reused to describe where an object is located, followed by a place such as “bij de gootsteen”.
gootsteen
In “de gootsteen”, “gootsteen” means “sink”, the place beside which the sponge is located. It can be reused after a location word such as “bij” when identifying the sink as the nearby place.
Zal
At the beginning of “Zal ik wat zeep gebruiken?”, “Zal” introduces the speaker’s proposal or question about what they should do. With “ik” and “gebruiken”, it forms a useful way to ask whether the speaker should take an action.
wat
In “wat zeep”, “wat” means “some” and indicates an unspecified amount of soap. It comes before “zeep” and can be reused before a substance when referring to some of it.
zeep
In “wat zeep”, “zeep” means “soap”, the cleaning substance used on the sponge. It can be reused with an amount expression such as “wat” or “een beetje” when specifying how much soap is involved.
gebruiken
In “Zal ik wat zeep gebruiken?”, “gebruiken” means “use” and describes the proposed action with the soap. It follows “Zal ik” in this question and can be reused after that construction when asking about using something.
Doe
In “Doe een beetje zeep op de spons.”, “Doe” tells someone to put or apply something. It introduces a direct instruction, and the same command can be reused with an item followed by its destination or surface.
beetje
In “een beetje zeep”, “beetje” means “a little” and indicates a small amount. It is used after “een” and before “zeep”; this expression can be reused when asking for or describing a small amount of a substance.
is
In “De vlek is bijna weg.”, “is” connects the stain with its current state, “bijna weg”. It can be reused to state the condition or location of something together with a following description.
bijna
In “bijna weg”, “bijna” means “almost” and shows that the stain is not completely gone yet. It comes before the description “weg” and can be reused before a state that is nearly reached.
weg
In “bijna weg”, “weg” means “gone” or “away”, describing the stain as nearly no longer present. Together with “bijna” it expresses an almost-completed result and can be reused to describe something that has disappeared or been removed.
ziet
In “De tafel ziet er schoon uit.”, “ziet” contributes the idea of looking or appearing. Together with “er ... uit”, the whole expression says that the table looks clean; this construction can be reused when describing how something appears.
schoon
In “ziet er schoon uit”, “schoon” describes the table’s apparent state as clean. It is placed between “er” and “uit” in this construction and can be reused there when giving an appearance-based description.
uit
In “ziet er schoon uit”, “uit” completes the expression meaning “looks” or “appears”. It occurs at the end of the construction with “ziet er ...”; keeping it with that construction lets the speaker describe how something looks.
Grammar Points
schone + zelfstandig naamwoord
schone tafel
SKHOH-nuh TAH-fuhlclean table
Before a noun like tafel, the adjective schoon takes the -e ending: schone.
Dutch Vocabulary
bijna
adv
BEH-y-nah
almost
doen
verb
DOON
to put; to do
Doe
gebruiken
verb
khuh-BROY-kuhn
to use
gootsteen
noun
KHOHT-stayn
sink
kopje
noun
KAWP-yuh
cup
liggen
verb
LIKH-uhn
to lie; to be located
ligt
schoon
adj
SKHOHN
clean
schone
spons
noun
SPONSS
sponge
tafel
noun
TAH-fuhl
table
vlek
noun
VLECK
stain
weg
adj
wekh
gone
zeep
noun
ZAYP
soap
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
I can see it near the cup.
Show Answer
Ik zie hem bij het kopje.Do we have a clean sponge?
Show Answer
Hebben we een schone spons?The sponge is by the sink.
Show Answer
De spons ligt bij de gootsteen.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
sponge
Show Answer
sponssoap
Show Answer
zeepclean
Show Answer
schonestain