Getting Ready for a Cloudy Walk | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Het ziet er buiten bewolkt uit.

   It looks cloudy outside.

   Het ziet … er … uit

   it looks ...

   buiten

   outside

   bewolkt

   cloudy

   More detail

   Het ziet … er … uit is a Dutch appearance pattern meaning “it looks …” or “it seems …”. Here, ziet is the present-tense form of zien for third-person singular: zien → ziet. In this pattern, het is an impersonal “it”; the sentence does not identify a particular thing that is looking. er and the particle uit belong to the pattern, with the description placed between them. Reusable pattern: Het ziet er + adjective + uit. Example: Het ziet er goed uit. — “It looks good.” buiten is an adverb meaning “outside”. It indicates the location relevant to the appearance here. Its useful opposite is binnen, “inside”. Example: Buiten is het koud. — “It is cold outside.” bewolkt means “cloudy” or “overcast”. In this sentence it is a predicative adjective: it describes how things look rather than directly modifying a noun. Before a noun, the form can be bewolkte, as in een bewolkte lucht — “a cloudy sky.” Together, Het ziet er ... uit supplies the “it looks ...” frame, bewolkt supplies the appearance, and buiten specifies the relevant location. The complete meaning is: “It looks cloudy outside.”

2. Neem een warme jas mee.

   Take a warm coat with you.

   Neem … mee

   take ... with you

   warme

   warm

   jas

   coat

   More detail

   Neem ... mee is a separable construction built from the imperative neem of nemen (“to take”) and the particle mee (“along/with”). In this sentence, the imperative addresses the listener and tells them to take the coat along. In a finite main clause, the particle appears separately: Neem je paraplu mee. — “Take your umbrella with you.” warme describes jas as warm. Its base form is warm; the -e ending is the adjective form used here before the singular noun jas in the phrase een warme jas. This ending is not carried by the noun: jas remains the noun’s form. For comparison, warmer means “warmer” and het warmst means “the warmest.” jas means “coat.” Its usual definite article is de: de jas; with the indefinite article, the phrase here is een jas. The article een introduces an unspecified coat; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Together, Neem een warme jas mee. means “Take a warm coat with you.” The imperative supplies the instruction, een warme jas identifies what should be taken, and the separated particle mee adds the idea of taking it along.

3. Voelt de wind koud aan?

   Does the wind feel cold?

   Voelt … aan

   feel

   wind

   wind

   koud

   cold

   More detail

   Voelt ... aan is the separated form of aanvoelen, “to feel” in the sense of having a certain sensation. Here, voelt is the present-tense form agreeing with the singular subject de wind; the matching particle aan appears later in the sentence. In a main-clause question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Voelt de wind ... aan? (“Does the wind ... feel?”). Example: Voelt het water warm aan? — “Does the water feel warm?” wind means “wind.” It is a noun; its definite form is de wind, as used here. Example: De wind is sterk. — “The wind is strong.” koud means “cold.” It is an adjective describing the sensation produced by de wind; after aanvoelen, Dutch commonly uses the adjective directly: iets voelt koud aan. Its comparative is kouder (“colder”), and its superlative is het koudst (“the coldest”). Example: De jas voelt warm aan. — “The coat feels warm.” Together, Voelt de wind koud aan? asks whether the wind gives a cold sensation: “Does the wind feel cold?”

4. Het is vandaag koud en winderig.

   It is cold and windy today.

   Het is

   it is

   vandaag

   today

   koud

   cold

   winderig

   windy

   More detail

   Het is is the Dutch pattern for “it is” here. Het is a singular neuter third-person pronoun, but in this weather statement it is an impersonal subject: it does not refer to a particular object. is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for hij, zij, and het. The same verb has forms such as ik ben (“I am”) and wij zijn (“we are”). vandaag means “today” and places the statement in the current day. It is an adverb, so it does not change for person or number. For example: Vandaag is het warm. — “Today it is warm.” koud means “cold” in this sentence. It is a descriptive adjective used after zijn to describe the weather. Dutch adjectives can have different forms in other positions, but after zijn in this pattern the adjective appears as koud, without an ending. For example: Het water is koud. — “The water is cold.” winderig means “windy.” It is another descriptive adjective, formed from wind (“wind”) with the adjective-forming ending -erig. In the sentence it also follows zijn without an adjective ending. For example: Het is daar winderig. — “It is windy there.” Together, Het is vandaag koud en winderig means “It is cold and windy today.” The impersonal weather subject het and the present form is introduce the description; vandaag sets the time; and koud en winderig gives two coordinated descriptions of the weather.

5. Ik heb ook mijn hoed nodig.

   I need my hat too.

   Ik

   I

   heb … nodig

   need

   ook

   too; also

   mijn

   my

   hoed

   hat

   More detail

   Ik means “I.” It is the first-person singular subject pronoun. A useful contrast is ik “I” versus jij or je “you”; the verb form can change with the subject. heb is the present-tense form of hebben used with ik: ik heb = “I have.” In nodig hebben, however, heb ... nodig is the normal Dutch construction for “need.” The verb and nodig can be separated by another element, as they are here. ook means “too” or “also.” Here it adds the hat to something else that the speaker needs. Its exact position can vary for emphasis, but it commonly appears near the element being added. mijn means “my.” It is a possessive determiner. In this use, mijn does not change for the gender of the singular noun, and the same form is also used with plural nouns: mijn hoed = “my hat,” mijn schoenen = “my shoes.” hoed means “hat.” The noun is commonly used with the article de: de hoed; its plural is hoeden. Together, heb ... nodig expresses “need,” mijn hoed identifies the thing needed as the speaker’s hat, and ook adds it as another needed item. The complete utterance therefore means “I need my hat too.”

6. Hij ligt bij de deur.

   It is by the door.

   Hij

   it

   ligt

   is lying; is located

   bij

   by; near

   deur

   door

   More detail

   Hij is the singular subject pronoun used here for the translated “it.” In Dutch, hij can refer to a masculine noun as well as to a male person; in the supplied context, the earlier hoed (“hat”) is a compatible referent. The pronoun itself does not mean “hat,” however: its grammatical form marks a singular masculine subject. ligt comes from liggen, “to lie” or “to be situated.” Here it is the present-tense form for a singular subject: hij ligt. With an object or location, liggen commonly describes something’s position rather than an action of lying down. Compare ik lig (“I am lying”) and hij ligt (“he/it is lying” or “is situated”). bij is a preposition meaning “by” or “near.” The pattern bij + place or object gives the location of something: De tas ligt bij de stoel. — “The bag is by the chair.” deur means “door.” The full noun phrase in the sentence is de deur; de is the definite article, while deur is the noun itself. Dutch nouns with de or het must be learned with their article; the article is not part of the noun’s lexical form. Together, Hij is the subject, ligt states its position, and bij de deur gives the location. Thus Hij ligt bij de deur. means “It is by the door.”

7. Ik zet hem op voordat ik wegga.

   I will put it on before I leave.

   zet … op

   put on

   hem

   it

   voordat ik wegga

   before I leave

   More detail

   zet … op is the separated form of opzetten, meaning “to put on” here. The verb is split because Dutch separable verbs place op at the end of a main clause: Ik zet mijn jas op is not correct for clothing, while Ik zet mijn jas aan is used for many garments. In this sentence, the fixed translation establishes that opzetten has the intended “put it on” meaning. zet is the first-person singular present form of zetten; the subject Ik supplies the person and number. Dutch present tense can also describe a planned near-future action, so the English “will put” does not require a separate future form here. Example: Ik vertrek morgen. — “I leave tomorrow.” hem is the singular masculine object pronoun, used here for “it.” Its grammatical form marks the object of zet; the translation identifies the intended referent as an item to be put on, without naming that item. Compare the subject form hij (“he/it” as subject) with the object form hem (“him/it” as object). The earlier sentence’s Hij is a subject form, whereas hem is required after the verb here. voordat ik wegga means “before I leave.” Voordat introduces a time clause. Wegga is the first-person singular present form of the separable verb weggaan (“to leave/go away”); in this subordinate clause, its parts appear together at the end: ik wegga. Example: Bel me voordat je weggaat. — “Call me before you leave.” Together, Ik zet hem op says “I put it on,” and voordat ik wegga places that action before the speaker’s leaving. The complete meaning is: “I will put it on before I leave.”

8. Dan ben je klaar voor de wandeling.

   Then you will be ready for the walk.

   Dan

   then

   ben je

   you are

   klaar

   ready

   voor

   for

   wandeling

   walk

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here: it places the situation after an earlier point or event. At the start of a Dutch main clause, this kind of adverbial element is followed by the finite verb, and the subject comes after it: Dan ben je .... ben je: ben is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) used with je (“you”). The order ben je is inversion, triggered here because Dan occupies the first position. Dutch present tense can refer to a future state when the context makes that timing clear; the fixed translation therefore uses “will be.” Compare Je bent klaar (“You are ready”) with Dan ben je klaar (“Then you will be ready”). klaar is an adjective meaning “ready” in this sentence. It follows zijn to describe the subject’s state: je bent klaar (“you are ready”). It does not take a separate plural form here because it is used as a predicate adjective after zijn. voor means “for” in the phrase voor de wandeling. It introduces what the readiness is directed toward. The same preposition can have other uses, so its exact meaning comes from the following phrase. wandeling is a noun meaning “walk” here, specifically the activity or outing. Its definite form is de wandeling; the article de marks this as a definite noun phrase, while wandeling is the noun itself. A useful related form is the plural wandelingen (“walks”). Together, Dan places the state later, ben je klaar says that you are ready, and voor de wandeling identifies the walk as what you are ready for. The complete meaning is: “Then you will be ready for the walk.”