About This Lesson
Use Getting Ready for a Cloudy Walk to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Het ziet er buiten bewolkt uit.
hut ZEET er BOWY-tun buh-VOLKT OWT It looks cloudy outside.
B
Neem een warme jas mee.
NAYM un VAR-muh YASS MAY Take a warm coat with you.
A
Voelt de wind koud aan?
VOOLT duh VINT KOWT AHN? Does the wind feel cold?
B
Het is vandaag koud en winderig.
hut iss vun-DAAKH KOWT un WIN-duh-rikh It is cold and windy today.
A
Ik heb ook mijn hoed nodig.
ik hehp OHK mine HOOT NOH-dukh I need my hat too.
B
Hij ligt bij de deur.
hay LIKHT bye duh DUR It is by the door.
A
Ik zet hem op voordat ik wegga.
ik ZET hem op vohr-DAHT ik VEKH-khah I will put it on before I leave.
B
Dan ben je klaar voor de wandeling.
dahn ben yuh KLAHR vohr duh VUN-duh-ling Then you will be ready for the walk.Word by Word
Het
In Het ziet er buiten bewolkt uit., Het is the impersonal subject referring to the weather, so the sentence means that it looks cloudy outside. Dutch uses it at the start of this weather description. Use it when commenting on the weather or another general situation.
ziet
In Het ziet er buiten bewolkt uit., ziet contributes the meaning “looks.” It is a form of zien used in the appearance expression with er and uit. Use this structure to describe how something appears.
er
In Het ziet er buiten bewolkt uit., er is part of the expression that describes how something looks; it does not mean a separate physical place here. Together with ziet and uit, it helps form the meaning “looks.” In a new sentence, place the description between er and uit.
buiten
In Het ziet er buiten bewolkt uit., buiten means “outside” and gives the location of the weather being described. It is used here to distinguish outside conditions from inside conditions. Use it when talking about something happening outdoors.
bewolkt
In Het ziet er buiten bewolkt uit., bewolkt means “cloudy” and describes the sky or weather. It is the description placed in the appearance expression. Use it when reporting cloudy weather.
uit
In Het ziet er buiten bewolkt uit., uit completes the appearance expression with ziet and er; together, the expression means “looks cloudy.” It does not mean that something is moving out in this sentence. Use it at the end of this kind of appearance expression.
Neem
In Neem een warme jas mee., Neem means “take” and gives a direct instruction. It is the command form related to nemen. Use it at the beginning of an instruction when telling someone to take an item.
een
In Neem een warme jas mee., een means “a” and introduces one non-specific coat. It comes directly before the noun phrase jas. Use een before a singular item when it is not being identified as a specific one.
warme
In Neem een warme jas mee., warme means “warm” and describes jas. This is the form used before jas in this noun phrase. Use it before a clothing word when describing something that keeps someone warm.
jas
In Neem een warme jas mee., jas means “coat.” It is the item that the other person is told to take along. Use jas when talking about a coat needed for going outside.
mee
In Neem een warme jas mee., mee adds the meaning that the coat should be taken along with the person. The complete instruction Neem een warme jas mee means “Take a warm coat with you.” In a new instruction, keep the item between Neem and mee.
Voelt
In Voelt de wind koud aan?, Voelt means “feels” and starts a question about a sensation. It is a form of voelen used with the rest of the expression ending in aan. Use it to ask how something feels.
de
In Voelt de wind koud aan?, de means “the” and identifies wind as the specific thing being discussed. It comes before the noun wind. Use de before a noun when referring to a specific item or thing.
wind
In Voelt de wind koud aan?, wind means “wind.” It is the thing whose temperature or sensation is being discussed. Use it when asking or talking about outdoor weather conditions.
koud
In Voelt de wind koud aan?, koud means “cold” and describes how the wind feels. The same word also describes the weather in Het is vandaag koud en winderig. Use it for cold sensations or cold weather.
aan
In Voelt de wind koud aan?, aan completes the expression with voelt; together, the sentence asks whether the wind feels cold. It does not mean a separate “on” location here. Use it at the end when asking how something feels.
is
In Het is vandaag koud en winderig., is means “is” and links the weather subject Het with the descriptions koud and winderig. It is a form of zijn. Use it in a weather statement with a description after it.
vandaag
In Het is vandaag koud en winderig., vandaag means “today” and says that the weather description applies to the current day. It is placed between the subject and the weather descriptions here. Use it when reporting today’s conditions.
en
In Het is vandaag koud en winderig., en means “and” and joins the two weather descriptions koud and winderig. It connects items or descriptions in one statement. Use it to combine two conditions or pieces of information.
winderig
In Het is vandaag koud en winderig., winderig means “windy” and describes the weather as having a lot of wind. It is joined to koud by en. Use it when reporting windy weather, especially in an outdoor-weather conversation.
Ik
In Ik heb ook mijn hoed nodig., Ik means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person who needs the hat. It appears at the beginning of the statement before heb. Use it when describing your own needs or actions.
heb
In Ik heb ook mijn hoed nodig., heb means “have,” but together with nodig the sentence expresses “need.” It is a form of hebben. In a new sentence, place the needed object between heb and nodig.
ook
In Ik heb ook mijn hoed nodig., ook means “also” or “too” and adds the hat to something already needed or considered. It appears before the relevant noun phrase here. Use it when adding another item or fact.
mijn
In Ik heb ook mijn hoed nodig., mijn means “my” and shows that the hat belongs to or is associated with the speaker. It comes directly before hoed. Use mijn before an item you identify as yours.
hoed
In Ik heb ook mijn hoed nodig., hoed means “hat.” It is the clothing item the speaker says is needed. Use it when talking about a hat, especially in a situation involving outdoor clothing.
nodig
In Ik heb ook mijn hoed nodig., nodig contributes the meaning “needed.” Together with heb, it forms the expression for saying that someone needs something. In a new sentence, place the needed item before nodig.
Hij
In Hij ligt bij de deur., Hij refers back to hoed and means “it” in this context. It is the subject of the sentence that tells where the hat is located. Use it to refer back to an already mentioned item when giving its location.
ligt
In Hij ligt bij de deur., ligt means “lies” or “is located” and describes the hat’s position. It is a form of liggen used here for an item resting or located somewhere. Use it to say where an item is, followed by a location.
bij
In Hij ligt bij de deur., bij means “by” or “near” and introduces the nearby location. It connects the item’s position with de deur. Use bij before a person, place, or object that serves as a nearby reference point.
deur
In Hij ligt bij de deur., deur means “door.” Together with bij and de, it identifies the place where the hat is located. Use it when giving directions or describing an item’s position near a door.
zet
In Ik zet hem op voordat ik wegga., zet contributes the meaning “put” in the action of putting the hat on. It is a form of zetten, and op completes the putting-on expression. Use it when describing putting an item on, keeping the item after zet and before op.
hem
In Ik zet hem op voordat ik wegga., hem means “it” and refers back to the hat. It is the item being put on, so it comes after zet. Use it to avoid repeating an already mentioned item.
op
In Ik zet hem op voordat ik wegga., op contributes the meaning “on” and completes the expression for putting the hat on. Its meaning here depends on the whole action with zet and hem. Use it after the item in this putting-on construction.
voordat
In Ik zet hem op voordat ik wegga., voordat means “before” and introduces the action that happens later in the sequence. It connects putting on the hat with leaving. Use voordat before a clause when explaining that one action happens earlier than another.
wegga
In Ik zet hem op voordat ik wegga., wegga means “leave” or “go away” and refers to the speaker’s departure. It is the form of weggaan used after ik in this clause. Use it when saying that you are leaving, especially after voordat.
Dan
In Dan ben je klaar voor de wandeling., Dan means “then” and introduces the result of putting on the hat and preparing. It links the earlier action with being ready. Use it when stating what happens next or what follows from an action.
ben
In Dan ben je klaar voor de wandeling., ben means “are” and links je with klaar. It is the form of zijn used before je here because Dan comes first and the verb precedes the subject. Use Dan ben je to state a result or condition after an earlier action.
je
In Dan ben je klaar voor de wandeling., je means “you” and identifies the person who will be ready. It comes after ben because Dan is placed first. Use it when speaking directly to the other person.
klaar
In Dan ben je klaar voor de wandeling., klaar means “ready” and describes the person’s prepared state. It is followed by voor and the activity or event. Use klaar voor when saying that someone is prepared for something.
voor
In Dan ben je klaar voor de wandeling., voor means “for” and connects klaar with the activity that the person is prepared to do. It comes before de wandeling. Use klaar voor before an activity, event, or task someone is ready for.
wandeling
In Dan ben je klaar voor de wandeling., wandeling means “walk.” It is the activity for which the person is now ready. Use it when referring to a planned walk, as in voor de wandeling.
Grammar Points
warme + zelfstandig naamwoord
een warme jas
un VAR-muh YASSa warm coat
Voor een zelfstandig naamwoord krijgt een bijvoeglijk naamwoord meestal -e: warm wordt warme.
Dutch Vocabulary
bewolkt
adj
buh-VOLKT
cloudy
buiten
adv
BOWY-tun
outside
jas
noun
YASS
coat
koud
adj
KOWT
cold
nemen
verb
NAY-mun
to take
neem
nodig
adj
NOH-dukh
needed
vandaag
adv
vun-DAAKH
today
voelen
verb
VOO-lun
to feel
voelt
warm
adj
VARM
warm
warme
wind
noun
VINT
wind
winderig
adj
WIN-duh-rikh
windy
zien
verb
ZEEN
to see; to look
ziet
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
It looks cloudy outside.
Show Answer
Het ziet er buiten bewolkt uit.Take a warm coat with you.
Show Answer
Neem een warme jas mee.Does the wind feel cold?
Show Answer
Voelt de wind koud aan?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
cold
Show Answer
koudto feel
Show Answer
voeltwarm
Show Answer
warmewind