Strong Wind Outside | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Het waait buiten.

   It's windy outside.

   waait

   blows; is windy

   buiten

   outside

   More detail

   waait is the present-tense form of waaien (“to blow”) for a third-person singular subject. In this sentence, the weather expression het waait naturally means “it is windy” or “the wind is blowing”; het is a grammatical placeholder, not a specific person or object. The verb waaien can also describe something that blows: De wind waait. — “The wind is blowing.” buiten means “outside” and gives the location of the windy conditions. It can also be used on its own as a location word: De kinderen spelen buiten. — “The children are playing outside.” Together, Het waait buiten. means “It’s windy outside.” The pattern Het waait + location is reusable for saying that it is windy in a particular place.

2. Houd je hoed met één hand vast.

   Hold your hat with one hand.

   Houd … vast

   hold; keep hold of

   je

   your

   hoed

   hat

   met

   with; by means of

   één

   one

   hand

   hand

   More detail

   Houd ... vast is the imperative form of the separable verb vasthouden, “to hold” or “to keep hold of.” In this sentence, houd is the command form, and vast appears later because the verb separates in a main clause. The reusable pattern is Houd [object] vast. Example: Houd de deur vast. — “Hold the door.” je means “your” here. It is the unstressed possessive form used before a noun; the stressed form is jouw, as in jouw hoed when emphasizing possession. Here, je identifies the hat as belonging to the person being addressed. hoed means “hat.” It is a singular noun; its plural is hoeden. Example: Mijn hoed is nieuw. — “My hat is new.” met introduces the means or instrument: “with” or “by means of.” Example: Snijd met een mes. — “Cut with a knife.” één is the numeral “one.” The accent marks the explicitly counted number; it is different in function from the indefinite article een. Here, it states that one hand is used. Example: Ik heb één boek. — “I have one book.” hand means “hand.” Its plural is handen. In met één hand, the phrase means “with one hand.” Example: Schrijf met één hand. — “Write with one hand.” Together, Houd je hoed ... vast gives the command “Hold your hat,” while met één hand specifies the means: “with one hand.” The complete utterance means “Hold your hat with one hand.”

3. De bomen bewegen veel.

   The trees are moving a lot.

   De

   the (definite article)

   bomen

   trees

   bewegen

   move; move around

   veel

   a lot; much

   More detail

   De is the definite article “the.” It marks a specific or identifiable noun phrase here, and it does not itself state how many trees there are. bomen means “trees.” Its singular base form is boom (“tree”); bomen is the plural form. The ending -en is a common Dutch plural pattern, although Dutch plural formation is not identical for every noun. bewegen means “move” or “move around.” This is the infinitive and also the present-tense form used with a plural subject such as de bomen: de bomen bewegen (“the trees move”). Dutch present tense can describe an action happening now, so the fixed translation naturally uses “are moving”; Dutch does not need a separate equivalent of English “are” here. For a singular subject, the present form is beweegt, as in the example De boom beweegt. — “The tree is moving.” veel means “a lot” in this sentence. Here it modifies the action bewegen, expressing a high degree of movement. It can also modify a noun in other contexts, as in veel bomen — “many trees”; that noun-related use is different from its adverbial use here. Together, de bomen is “the trees,” bewegen says that they move, and veel indicates that they move a lot. The complete utterance is: “The trees are moving a lot.”

4. De wind is sterker bij de straat.

   The wind is stronger near the street.

   wind

   wind

   is

   is

   sterker

   stronger

   bij

   near

   straat

   street

   More detail

   wind means “wind” here. The noun is de wind; wind is the base form, and Dutch common nouns are normally written with an initial capital only at the beginning of a sentence. Example: De wind waait. — “The wind is blowing.” is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) used with hij, singular feminine zij, het, and a singular noun subject. Here it links the subject de wind with its description. Plural zij uses zijn, not is. Example: De straat is stil. — “The street is quiet.” sterker means “stronger.” It is the comparative form of sterk (“strong”): sterk → sterker → het sterkst (“strong” → “stronger” → “the strongest”). The comparative presents the wind as having greater strength in one situation or place than in another, even though the comparison point is not stated explicitly here. Example: Deze wind is sterker. — “This wind is stronger.” bij means “near” in this sentence. It is a preposition used to locate something close to a place or person. Example: We wachten bij de deur. — “We are waiting near the door.” straat means “street.” In the full noun phrase, de straat, the article de accompanies this noun; it is not part of the quoted word itself. Example: De straat is breed. — “The street is wide.” Together, De wind is the subject, is sterker says that it has greater strength, and bij de straat specifies the location near which this is true. The complete utterance therefore means: “The wind is stronger near the street.”

5. Zullen we langzamer lopen?

   Should we walk more slowly?

   Zullen we

   Shall we…?

   langzamer

   more slowly

   lopen

   walk

   More detail

   Zullen we combines the finite verb zullen with the subject we. In this question, zullen is used to make a suggestion: “Should/Shall we…?” Dutch questions commonly place the finite verb before the subject. The form zullen is the present-tense form used with we, while the following lexical verb stays in the infinitive. Reusable pattern: Zullen we + infinitive? — “Shall we …?” Example: Zullen we morgen vertrekken? — “Shall we leave tomorrow?” langzamer is the comparative form of langzaam, “slow.” Here it is an adverb, so it describes how the walking happens: “more slowly.” The comparative form is langzaam → langzamer; the same form can also modify a noun in an appropriate adjective construction. Example: Loop langzamer. — “Walk more slowly.” lopen is the infinitive meaning “to walk” in this utterance. After zullen, the infinitive appears at the end of the clause. The form lopen is not marked for a particular subject here; zullen carries the finite verb information. Together, Zullen we introduces a suggestion, langzamer specifies the manner, and lopen supplies the action: “Should we walk more slowly?”

6. Laten we langzamer lopen bij de straat.

   Let's slow down near the street.

   Laten we

   let’s

   langzamer

   more slowly

   lopen

   walk

   bij

   near

   straat

   street

   More detail

   Laten we is a Dutch construction used to suggest an action together: “let’s …”. Laten is the infinitive of laten (“to let/allow”), but in this construction it forms a proposal with we (“we”). For example, Laten we beginnen. means “Let’s begin.” langzamer means “more slowly” here. It is the comparative form related to langzaam (“slow” or “slowly”); the same form can modify an action as an adverb. The basic comparison is langzaam → langzamer (“slowly” → “more slowly”). For example, Rijd langzamer. means “Drive more slowly.” lopen is the infinitive “to walk.” After Laten we, Dutch uses the infinitive: Laten we lopen means “Let’s walk.” The verb lopen can have other context-dependent uses, but here the fixed translation identifies walking as the intended meaning. bij expresses proximity in this sentence: “near” or “by.” It is a preposition and is followed here by de straat, “the street.” For example, Ik wacht bij de deur. means “I’m waiting by the door.” straat is the noun “street.” Its full phrase here is de straat; de is the definite article, while straat is the noun itself. Dutch nouns commonly appear with an article, and straat is a de-word: de straat. Putting the parts together, Laten we introduces a joint suggestion, langzamer describes how the walking should happen, lopen supplies the action, and bij de straat gives the place. The complete utterance means: “Let’s slow down near the street.”

7. Ik houd mijn tas ook dicht bij me.

   I'll hold my bag close too.

   Ik

   I

   houd

   hold; keep

   mijn

   my

   tas

   bag

   ook

   too; also

   dicht

   close

   bij me

   near me

   More detail

   Ik means “I” and identifies the speaker as the subject. The stressed form is ik; me is a different, unstressed form used in other grammatical roles, as in bij me later in the sentence. houd is the present-tense first-person singular form of houden (“to hold” or “to keep”). In this sentence, houden ... dicht bij me means keeping the bag close to the speaker. The present form can express the speaker’s intended action in this context, so “I’ll hold” is a natural translation. mijn means “my” and marks possession. It is used before both singular and plural nouns; its form does not change here to show the noun’s gender or number. For example, mijn boeken means “my books.” tas means “bag.” Its plural is tassen. The phrase mijn tas therefore means “my bag.” ook means “too” or “also.” It adds this action to something else already relevant, without changing who performs the action. dicht means “close” here, describing the position of the bag relative to the speaker. It can also describe something being closed, so context determines whether it means proximity or lack of openness. In dicht bij, it has the proximity meaning. bij me means “near me” or “close to me.” bij is a preposition meaning “near/by,” and me is the unstressed object form of ik after the preposition. The reusable pattern iets dicht bij me houden means “to keep something close to me.” Together, Ik houd mijn tas ook dicht bij me means “I’ll hold my bag close too.” The subject is the speaker (Ik), houd expresses holding or keeping, mijn tas is the thing being held, ook adds “too,” and dicht bij me specifies that the bag remains close to the speaker.

8. Dan waait hij waarschijnlijk niet open.

   That should keep it from blowing open.

   Dan

   then; so

   waait

   blows

   hij

   it

   waarschijnlijk

   probably

   niet

   not

   open

   open

   More detail

   Dan means “then” and can also introduce a consequence, as here: “so” or “in that case.” In a reusable pattern, dan can connect a condition or action with its result. waait is the present-tense form of waaien (“to blow”) for a singular third-person subject. Here it combines with open in the separable verb pattern openwaaien: something is blown open. The form waait itself expresses the blowing; open supplies the resulting state. hij is a singular third-person pronoun. In Dutch, hij can refer to a masculine or common-gender noun and can also refer to a nonhuman object. In this utterance, the fixed translation identifies its referent as “it”; the preceding context makes the held bag the relevant object. The pronoun’s grammatical form does not itself mean “bag.” waarschijnlijk means “probably” and marks the speaker’s uncertainty about the result. It commonly appears with a finite verb phrase, as in Waarschijnlijk komt ze morgen. — “She will probably come tomorrow.” niet negates the verb phrase. In waarschijnlijk niet openwaaien, it means that the blowing-open is not expected to happen. The combination waarschijnlijk niet therefore gives “probably not,” rather than making niet mean “probably.” open means “open” here and functions with waaien to express movement into the open state. This is different from using open simply to describe an already open object; in De deur is open, it is a state description, while in De wind waait de deur open, it marks the result of the blowing. Together, Dan presents a consequence, hij supplies the singular subject (“it”), and waait ... niet open says that the object probably will not be blown open. The complete utterance therefore means: “So it probably will not blow open,” with the fixed translation rendering that consequence as “That should keep it from blowing open.”