Fixing a loose chair | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Deze stoel voelt los aan.

   This chair feels loose.

   Deze

   this

   stoel

   chair

   voelt … aan

   feels

   los

   loose

   More detail

   Deze means “this” and points to a nearby or contextually identified singular common-gender noun. With stoel (“chair”), the form is deze; for a singular neuter noun, Dutch uses dit instead. The form also appears with plural nouns, but that is not the use here. stoel is the noun “chair.” Its plural is stoelen: een stoel “a chair,” twee stoelen “two chairs.” voelt ... aan comes from aanvoelen, “to feel” or “to feel like” when describing how something seems through touch. In this sentence, voelt is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject, with base form aanvoelen. The particle aan is separated and appears later in the sentence. Compare: De tafel voelt glad aan. — “The table feels smooth.” los means “loose,” describing something that is not firmly fixed. It is an adjective here, used after voelt ... aan to describe the chair’s condition. Its opposite is vast (“firm” or “secure”): De schroef voelt los aan. — “The screw feels loose.” Together, Deze stoel identifies the chair, voelt ... aan says how it seems by touch, and los gives the perceived condition. The complete meaning is: “This chair feels loose.”

2. Welk deel beweegt?

   Which part is moving?

   Welk

   which

   deel

   part

   beweegt

   is moving

   More detail

   Welk means “which” here and is the form used with the neuter singular noun deel (het deel). Compare welke with common-gender singular nouns and with plural nouns: welke stoel (“which chair”), welke delen (“which parts”). The choice is determined by the noun’s grammatical gender and number, not by the physical meaning of “part.” deel is a noun meaning “part” or “section.” Its useful basic form is het deel (“the part”); the plural is delen (“parts”). In this utterance it is the thing whose movement is being asked about, but the sentence itself does not identify which particular part. beweegt comes from bewegen, “to move.” It is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject: het deel beweegt (“the part moves/is moving”). Dutch present tense can describe an action happening now as well as a general movement, so the fixed translation naturally uses “is moving.” Compare ik beweeg (“I move”) and de delen bewegen (“the parts move”): the form changes with the subject. The structure is welk + noun + finite verb: Welk deel beweegt? The question word and noun form the subject phrase, and beweegt says what that subject is doing. Together, the utterance means “Which part is moving?”

3. De achterste poot wiebelt een beetje.

   The back leg wobbles a little.

   achterste

   back; rear

   poot

   leg

   wiebelt

   wobbles

   een beetje

   a little

   More detail

   achterste means “back” or “rear” here, specifically the rearmost position. It is related to achter (“behind/back”) and is the superlative form used attributively: de achterste poot = “the back leg.” Dutch commonly uses the definite article with this superlative form in such a noun phrase. poot means “leg” here. It is a noun for an animal’s leg or a supporting leg of an object; the fixed translation identifies the intended sense as “leg.” The plural is poten: twee poten = “two legs.” wiebelt means “wobbles” in this sentence. Its base form is wiebelen (“to wobble”); wiebelt is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject, here de achterste poot. Compare De poot wiebelt (“The leg wobbles”) with De poten wiebelen (“The legs wobble”): the plural form is wiebelen, without the singular ending -t. een beetje means “a little” or “slightly.” It softens the degree of the wobbling. In this expression, een is part of the fixed quantity expression; the sentence does not assert that there is one separately counted object. For example, Het beweegt een beetje means “It moves a little.” Together, de achterste poot identifies the back leg, wiebelt says that this leg wobbles, and een beetje limits the degree. The complete utterance therefore means: “The back leg wobbles a little.”

4. We moeten hem repareren voordat iemand hem gebruikt.

   We should fix it before anyone uses it.

   We moeten

   we should / must

   hem

   it

   repareren

   repair, fix

   voordat

   before

   iemand

   anyone

   gebruikt

   uses

   More detail

   We moeten means “we should/must.” moeten is the present-tense form used with we (first-person plural). It is a modal verb, so the other verb remains in the infinitive: We moeten repareren = “We should/must repair.” The exact force can range from advice to necessity; here the fixed translation presents it as “should.” hem is the object pronoun meaning “it” here. The fixed translation identifies the referent only as “it”; the preceding context supports an object being discussed, but does not state that it is damaged. Dutch hem can also mean “him,” and it can refer to a singular masculine or common-gender de-word when used as an object; it is not simply the general form for every English “it.” repareren is the infinitive “to repair/to fix.” After a modal such as moeten, Dutch uses this infinitive without te. Example: We moeten wachten. — “We must wait.” voordat is the conjunction “before.” It introduces the later event, so the action in the main clause happens first: the repair comes before the use. In the clause after it, Dutch places the finite verb at the end: voordat iemand hem gebruikt. iemand means “someone” or, in this context, “anyone.” It is an indefinite pronoun and behaves grammatically as singular. Thus the verb is gebruikt, not a plural form. gebruikt means “uses” here. It is the third-person singular present form of gebruiken (“to use”): iemand gebruikt. In this subordinate clause, the verb comes after its object: iemand hem gebruikt. Together, We moeten hem repareren says “We should fix it,” and voordat iemand hem gebruikt says “before anyone uses it.” The full utterance is therefore “We should fix it before anyone uses it.” We moeten ... voordat ... is a reusable pattern for expressing a necessary or advisable action before another event.

5. Zal ik ergens anders gaan zitten?

   Should I sit somewhere else?

   Zal ik

   Should I…?

   ergens anders

   somewhere else

   gaan zitten

   sit down / sit

   More detail

   Zal ik combines the first-person subject ik (“I”) with zal, the first-person singular present form of zullen. At the beginning of a question, Zal ik ...? is a reusable way to ask whether the speaker should do something, or to offer to do it. The verb comes before the subject because this is a yes/no question. Example: Zal ik helpen? — “Shall I help?” ergens anders means “somewhere else”: ergens refers to an unspecified place, and anders adds the idea that it is different from the relevant place. Anders is an adverb here; it is not an inflected form of a noun. Example: We kunnen ergens anders eten. — “We can eat somewhere else.” gaan zitten is a verb combination meaning “to sit down” or, in this context, simply “to sit.” Gaan is followed by the infinitive zitten; together they describe moving into a sitting position. The infinitive zitten can also occur without gaan, as in Ik zit hier — “I am sitting here.” Example: Ga maar zitten. — “Go ahead and sit down.” Together, Zal ik asks for guidance about the speaker’s action, ergens anders specifies a different unspecified place, and gaan zitten names the action. The complete utterance therefore means: “Should I sit somewhere else?”

6. Gebruik nu even een andere stoel.

   Use another chair for now.

   Gebruik

   use

   nu even

   for now

   andere

   another

   stoel

   chair

   More detail

   Gebruik is the imperative of gebruiken (“to use”). It gives a direct instruction, with the subject normally omitted. The same imperative form can address one person, several people, or a formal addressee; the form itself does not show which applies. Example: Gebruik deze pen. — “Use this pen.” nu even combines nu (“now”) with even, which here limits the instruction to the current situation. Together they naturally mean “for now” or “just for the moment.” Even can also mean “briefly” in other contexts. Example: Wacht nu even. — “Wait for a moment now.” andere means “another” here: it identifies a chair different from the one intended in the situation. The form is the inflected form of ander. In een andere stoel, andere has -e because stoel is a singular de-word; with a singular het-word after een, the corresponding form is ander, as in the example een ander huis — “another house.” Example: Ik neem een andere tas. — “I’ll take another bag.” stoel means “chair.” Its usual definite article is de: de stoel; its plural is stoelen. In the utterance, een is an indefinite article, while andere marks the chair as a different one. Example: Deze stoel is vrij. — “This chair is available.” Assembled in order, the imperative Gebruik gives the instruction, nu even limits it to the present situation, and een andere stoel identifies a different chair as the object. The complete meaning is: “Use another chair for now.”

7. Ik zet deze stoel aan de kant.

   I will move this one away.

   Ik

   I

   zet

   move / put

   deze

   this

   stoel

   chair

   aan de kant

   aside

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun: “I.” It identifies the speaker as the actor. The matching plural form is wij or we (“we”), but Ik refers to one speaker here. zet is the present-tense form of zetten with ik: ik zet. Zetten commonly means “to put” or “to set”; with aan de kant, it describes moving something aside. Dutch present tense can also express a planned or immediate action, which fits the translation “I will move.” Compare ik zet (“I put / I am going to put”) with ik zette (“I put / was putting” in the past). deze means “this” and points to a nearby or currently selected item. It is the form used with a singular de-word or with plural nouns. In this utterance it agrees with singular stoel, a de-word. The contrasting singular form for a het-word is dit, as in the example dit boek (“this book”). stoel means “chair.” Its plural is stoelen (“chairs”): de stoel becomes de stoelen. The noun is the object being moved in this sentence; the translation’s “this one” refers to this chair. aan de kant is a reusable expression meaning “aside” or “out of the way.” In the pattern iets aan de kant zetten, iets is the thing that someone moves aside. For example: Zet de tas aan de kant. — “Move the bag aside.” Together, Ik zet deze stoel aan de kant has the pattern Ik + zet + object + aan de kant: “I move this chair aside.” In the supplied context, the intended natural meaning is “I will move this one away,” with deze stoel identifying the chair and aan de kant indicating that it is moved out of the way.

8. Zet hem tegen de muur, zodat het looppad vrij blijft.

   Put it against the wall so the walkway stays clear.

   Zet

   put/place

   hem

   it

   tegen

   against

   muur

   wall

   zodat

   so that

   looppad

   walkway

   vrij

   clear/free

   blijft

   stays/remains

   More detail

   Zet is the imperative of zetten, “to put” or “to place.” In this sentence it gives a direct instruction. The imperative form is zet; the subject is normally understood from the situation rather than stated. Compare the reusable pattern Zet X ... = “Put X ...”. hem is the Dutch object pronoun for a singular masculine referent, and in this fixed translation it means “it.” It is the object being placed. Dutch object pronouns differ by grammatical form: hem is used here, while haar can refer to a singular feminine referent and het to a neuter singular referent. The translation identifies the intended object as “it,” but does not identify what that object is. tegen means “against” and marks contact or placement next to a surface. The pattern iets tegen de muur zetten means “to put something against the wall.” muur means “wall.” In the source it appears in the noun phrase de muur, where de is the definite article meaning “the”; the noun itself is muur. A reusable example is De fiets staat tegen de muur. — “The bicycle is against the wall.” zodat introduces the intended result or purpose: “so that.” It links the placement instruction to the state that should result from it. It introduces a subordinate clause, as in Ik zet de doos weg, zodat de tafel vrij blijft. — “I put the box away so that the table stays clear.” looppad means “walkway” or “walking path.” It is a compound noun formed from loop and pad, but it functions here as one noun. In het looppad, het is the definite article used with this noun. The noun is the subject of the following clause. vrij means “clear” here: unobstructed and available for passage. It can also mean “free” in other contexts, but “clear” is the relevant sense in this sentence. An example is De ingang blijft vrij. — “The entrance remains clear.” blijft is the third-person singular present form of blijven, “to stay” or “to remain.” The base form is blijven; blijft agrees here with singular het looppad. The pattern X blijft Y means “X stays/remains Y.” Together, Zet hem tegen de muur means “Put it against the wall.” The subordinate clause zodat het looppad vrij blijft states the intended result: “so that the walkway stays clear.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Put it against the wall so the walkway stays clear.”