Staying inside during a storm | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Het weer ziet er slecht uit.

   The weather looks bad.

   weer

   weather

   ziet … er … uit

   looks

   slecht

   bad

   More detail

   weer means “weather” here. The fixed expression het weer is “the weather”; het is the definite article used with this noun. Example: Het weer is warm. — “The weather is warm.” ziet er ... uit is the Dutch separable verb construction eruitzien, meaning “to look” or “to appear” in the sense of having a certain appearance. In this sentence, ziet is the present-tense third-person singular form of zien (“to see”), while uit is the separated particle; er belongs to the construction and is not a separate referent here. With a singular subject, the present form is ziet; with ik, it is zie. Example: De film ziet er goed uit. — “The film looks good.” slecht means “bad” here and describes the weather’s appearance. It is the same adjective used predicatively after er ... uitzien; it does not take an ending in this position. Its comparison is slecht — “bad,” slechter — “worse,” het slechtst — “the worst.” Example: De situatie ziet er slechter uit. — “The situation looks worse.” Together, Het weer supplies the subject, ziet er ... uit says how that subject appears, and slecht gives the appearance: “The weather looks bad.”

2. Er komt misschien een storm aan.

   A storm may be coming.

   komt … aan

   is approaching

   misschien

   perhaps

   storm

   storm

   More detail

   komt ... aan is the separable verb aankomen, meaning “to arrive” or “to approach.” In this sentence, een storm is the singular subject, so the present-tense form is komt; the particle aan appears at the end of the clause. The reusable pattern is Er komt ... aan (“... is approaching/coming”). misschien expresses uncertainty: “perhaps” or “possibly.” It does not itself assert that the storm will arrive; it presents that as a possibility. Example: Misschien regent het. — “Perhaps it is raining.” storm is the noun “storm.” With the indefinite article een, een storm presents an indefinite storm; the article does not by itself state a numerical count. In Er komt misschien een storm aan., er introduces what is coming, komt ... aan says that it is approaching, and misschien makes this uncertain. Together, the sentence means “A storm may be coming.”

3. Zullen we binnen blijven?

   Should we stay inside?

   Zullen we

   Shall we …?

   binnen

   inside

   blijven

   stay

   More detail

   Zullen we is a reusable Dutch way to propose or ask about a shared action: “Shall we …?” or, as here, “Should we …?” zullen is the modal auxiliary and we is the first-person plural subject. In a question, the auxiliary comes before the subject. The following verb stays in the infinitive: Zullen we wachten? — “Shall we wait?” binnen means “inside” or “indoors” and describes the location of the proposed action. Its useful opposite is buiten, “outside”: We blijven binnen. — “We are staying inside.” blijven means “to stay” or “to remain.” It is the infinitive form; after the modal zullen, Dutch uses this infinitive rather than a conjugated form. Compare Ik blijf binnen. — “I am staying inside,” where blijf is the first-person singular form of blijven. Together, Zullen we + binnen + blijven forms the question “Should we stay inside?” The proposal concerns the speaker and at least one other person, and binnen specifies where they would remain.

4. Laten we hier wachten tot het voorbij is.

   Let's wait here until it passes.

   Laten we

   let's

   hier

   here

   wachten

   wait

   tot

   until

   het

   it

   voorbij is

   is over

   More detail

   Laten we is a reusable Dutch construction for making a suggestion: “let’s …”. Here it introduces the action wachten; it is not the lexical verb “wait” itself. Compare Laten we gaan — “Let’s go.” hier means “here”, referring to the place where the speakers are situated. It can be moved for emphasis, but in this sentence it comes before the waiting verb: We wachten hier — “We are waiting here.” wachten is the infinitive “to wait”. After Laten we, Dutch uses the infinitive for the proposed action: Laten we wachten — “Let’s wait.” The present-tense form for “we wait” is also wachten, as in We wachten hier. tot introduces the endpoint in time, “until”. A clause after tot states what must happen before the waiting ends: Wacht tot hij komt — “Wait until he comes.” het is the singular neuter Dutch form corresponding here to “it”. In this utterance, the translation identifies it as the thing or situation that will pass, but the supplied sentence does not specify its independent name. Dutch het can also be the definite article “the” before a neuter singular noun; here it functions as the subject of the following clause. voorbij is expresses “is over” or “has passed” through the reusable expression voorbij zijn, literally “to be past/over”. voorbij describes the state of being finished or past, while is is the present-tense singular form of zijn (“to be”). In the tot clause, the finite verb comes at the end: tot het voorbij is — “until it is over.” Together, Laten we hier wachten means “Let’s wait here”. The time clause tot het voorbij is adds the endpoint: the proposed waiting continues until the unspecified thing or situation has passed. Thus the whole utterance means “Let’s wait here until it passes.”

5. Kunnen we naar buiten gaan als het stopt?

   Can we go out after it stops?

   Kunnen we

   Can we

   naar buiten

   outside

   gaan

   go

   als

   when

   het

   it

   stopt

   stops

   More detail

   Kunnen we places the present-tense form kunnen before the subject we, which is the normal order for a yes/no question. Here kunnen expresses possibility or permission: “can we …?” Its infinitive is also kunnen; compare we kunnen (“we can”) in a statement. Example: Kunnen we wachten? — “Can we wait?” naar buiten is a directional expression meaning going to an outside place or area. naar marks direction, while buiten means “outside.” It is useful with movement verbs such as gaan: De kinderen gaan naar buiten. — “The children go outside.” gaan is the infinitive “to go.” After a modal such as kunnen, Dutch keeps the other verb in the infinitive: We kunnen naar buiten gaan — “We can go outside.” als introduces the time or condition for the following clause. In this sentence, the fixed translation gives it the temporal sense “when/after,” rather than presenting a separate hypothetical possibility. A reusable pattern is als + clause: We gaan naar buiten als het regent — “We go outside when it rains.” het is the subject pronoun translated here as “it.” Its grammatical form is a neuter singular third-person pronoun, but the supplied sentence does not identify a more specific referent for it. The following verb agrees with this singular subject. stopt means “stops” here. It is the present-tense third-person singular form of stoppen (“to stop”): ik stop, we stoppen, het stopt. The ending in stopt matches the singular subject het. Example: De regen stopt. — “The rain stops.” Together, Kunnen we naar buiten gaan asks whether going outside is possible or permitted. als het stopt supplies the time condition: this can happen when or after “it” stops. The complete utterance therefore means, as fixed by the translation, “Can we go out after it stops?”

6. We kunnen het weer nog eens bekijken en dan beslissen.

   We can check the weather again and decide then.

   We kunnen

   we can

   het weer

   the weather

   nog eens

   again

   bekijken

   check; look at

   dan

   then

   beslissen

   decide

   More detail

   We kunnen combines the pronoun we (“we”) with the present-tense form kunnen of kunnen (“can; be able to”). With a modal verb such as kunnen, the other verb normally stays in the infinitive and comes later in the clause. Example: We kunnen wachten. — “We can wait.” The phrase identifies the speakers as the people who can perform the actions; it does not by itself say whether they will do them. het weer means “the weather.” Here weer is the noun “weather,” and het is its definite article. This is different from another use of weer meaning “again”; the article and the fixed translation make the weather meaning clear here. Example: Het weer is goed. — “The weather is good.” nog eens is a common way to say “again” or “once more.” It marks a repeated action. Example: Lees het nog eens. — “Read it again.” bekijken means “to look at” or, in this context, “to check.” It is the infinitive used after kunnen. Its related finite forms include ik bekijk (“I look at/check”) and hij bekijkt (“he looks at/checks”); the form bekijken itself does not show the subject because it is an infinitive. Example: We bekijken de kaart. — “We are checking the map.” dan means “then.” It places the next action after an earlier action or event in the sequence. Here it connects checking the weather with deciding afterward. Example: Eerst lezen we, dan beslissen we. — “First we read, then we decide.” beslissen means “to decide.” It is another infinitive coordinated with bekijken, so it also depends on kunnen: we kunnen ... beslissen means “we can ... decide.” Useful finite forms include ik beslis (“I decide”) and hij beslist (“he decides”). Example: We beslissen morgen. — “We will decide tomorrow.” Together, the structure is We kunnen + het weer + nog eens bekijken + en dan + beslissen: “We can check the weather again and then decide.” The same plural subject we applies to both actions. The sentence presents checking first and deciding afterward, without stating what the decision will be.

7. We kunnen thee maken terwijl we wachten.

   We can make some tea while we wait.

   We kunnen

   we can

   thee

   tea

   maken

   make

   terwijl

   while

   wachten

   wait

   More detail

   We kunnen means “we can” here. kunnen is the present-tense form used with we (and other plural subjects); compare ik kan = “I can” and we kunnen = “we can.” As a modal verb, it is followed by another verb in the infinitive: We kunnen ... maken = “We can make ...”. thee is the noun “tea.” Dutch can use this noun without an article when referring to tea as a drink or an uncounted substance. The word itself does not state a specific quantity; the translation’s “some” presents the natural intended meaning in this context. maken is the infinitive “to make.” After a modal such as kunnen, Dutch keeps the lexical verb in the infinitive, rather than changing it for the subject: Ik kan thee maken = “I can make tea.” terwijl introduces a clause meaning “while.” It connects an action with another action happening during the same period. wachten means “to wait.” In terwijl we wachten, we is the subject and wachten is the present-tense form used with this plural subject; it has the same spelling as the infinitive. In a main clause, the same form appears in We wachten = “We are waiting” or “We wait,” with the exact time sense supplied by context. Together, We kunnen thee maken expresses the ability or possibility “we can make tea.” terwijl we wachten adds the time relationship “while we wait,” producing the complete meaning: “We can make some tea while we wait.”

8. Dan gaat de tijd sneller voorbij.

   That will help pass the time.

   Dan

   then / in that case

   gaat … voorbij

   passes

   de tijd

   time

   sneller

   faster

   More detail

   Dan means “then” or “in that case.” Here it connects the sentence to the situation in the preceding context and is compatible with the fixed translation “That will help pass the time.” gaat ... voorbij comes from the separable verb voorbijgaan, “to pass” or “to go by.” In a main clause, its particle can appear later: De tijd gaat voorbij means “Time passes.” The form gaat is the present-tense form of gaan; here it is the third-person singular form agreeing with de tijd. This is more precise than saying that singularity alone determines gaat, since the form also occurs with a second-person singular subject in other sentences. de tijd means “time.” tijd is the noun, and de is its definite article. Example: De tijd vliegt. — “Time flies.” This is a practice example, not a statement from the supplied conversation. sneller is the comparative form of snel, “fast” or “quick.” It describes a higher rate here: the time goes by faster. The useful comparison chain is snel → sneller (“fast” → “faster”). Together, Dan and de tijd gaat sneller voorbij mean literally “Then time passes faster.” In the supplied context and with the fixed translation, the utterance means that making tea while waiting will help the waiting time go by more quickly.