About This Lesson
Use Taking photos in your free time to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Maak je foto's?
MAHK yuh FOH-tohs? Do you take photos?
B
Ik gebruik meestal mijn kleine camera.
ik khuh-BROY-kuhn MAY-stul mine KLAY-nuh KAH-muh-rah. I use my small camera most days.
A
Wat fotografeer je graag?
vaht foh-toh-khrah-FAIR yuh KHRAHK? What do you like to photograph?
B
Stille straten vind ik het leukst.
STIL-uh STRAHT-un vint ik ut LURKST. Quiet streets are my favorite.
A
Kan ik er één zien?
kahn ik ur AYN ZEEN? Can I see one?
B
Hier is er een die ik vlak bij mijn huis heb gemaakt.
HEER iss ur AYN dee ik vlahk bye mine HOYS hep guh-MAHKT. Here is one I took near my home.
A
Het ziet er simpel en duidelijk uit.
ut ZEET ur SIM-pul un DOY-luhk OYT. It looks simple and clear.
B
Ik oefen wanneer ik tijd heb.
ik OO-fuh-nun vah-NAIR ik TITE hep. I practice whenever I have time.Word by Word
Maak
In “Maak je foto's?” Maak means “take” in the expression for taking photos. It is used before “je” to form this question about the activity.
je
In “Maak je foto's?” je means “you,” the person being asked about taking photos. It appears after the verb in this question.
foto's
In “Maak je foto's?” foto's means “photos,” the things being taken. It is the object of Maak and is also the topic of the later request to see one.
Ik
Ik means “I” in “Ik gebruik meestal mijn kleine camera” and “Ik oefen wanneer ik tijd heb.” It identifies the speaker as the person using the camera and practicing.
gebruik
In “Ik gebruik meestal mijn kleine camera,” gebruik means “use.” It describes what the speaker does with the object “mijn kleine camera,” especially when talking about equipment.
meestal
In “Ik gebruik meestal mijn kleine camera,” meestal means “usually” or “most days.” It shows that using the camera is a regular activity, and it comes before the object phrase.
mijn
In “mijn kleine camera,” mijn means “my” and shows that the camera belongs to or is associated with the speaker. It comes directly before the noun phrase it identifies.
kleine
In “mijn kleine camera,” kleine describes the camera as “small.” It appears before camera as part of the description of the equipment the speaker uses.
camera
In “mijn kleine camera,” camera means “camera,” the device the speaker uses for taking photos. This word can be used after a possessive and a description, as in the dialogue.
Wat
In “Wat fotografeer je graag?” Wat means “what” and asks which things the other person likes to photograph. It comes at the beginning of this question.
fotografeer
In “Wat fotografeer je graag?” fotografeer means “photograph.” It describes the activity being asked about, with Wat referring to what is photographed.
graag
In “Wat fotografeer je graag?” graag shows that photographing is something the speaker likes to do. It follows fotografeer here and is useful with an activity someone enjoys.
Stille
In “Stille straten vind ik het leukst,” Stille describes the streets as “quiet.” It comes before straten as part of the description of the preferred subject for photos.
straten
In “Stille straten vind ik het leukst,” straten means “streets.” Together with Stille, it names the kind of subject the speaker enjoys photographing.
vind
In “Stille straten vind ik het leukst,” vind means “find” in the sense of considering something enjoyable. The thing being evaluated comes first, followed by vind ik het leukst.
het
The lowercase het in “vind ik het leukst” is part of the expression used to say what the speaker likes best. The capitalized form Het in “Het ziet er simpel en duidelijk uit” refers to the picture as “it”; its meaning depends on the surrounding construction.
leukst
In “Stille straten vind ik het leukst,” leukst means “most enjoyable” or “favorite.” The full expression vind ik het leukst gives the speaker’s strongest preference.
Kan
In “Kan ik er één zien?” Kan means “can” and opens a question about whether the speaker may or is able to see one photo. It comes before ik in this question.
er
In “Kan ik er één zien?” er refers back to one photo, together with één. In “Het ziet er simpel en duidelijk uit,” er is part of the expression used to describe how something looks, so it does not mean “there” by itself in that sentence.
één
In “Kan ik er één zien?” één means “one” and specifies a single photo. The accent marks the number clearly, distinguishing it from the article een in the later sentence.
zien
In “Kan ik er één zien?” zien means “see.” Together with Kan, it expresses the request to see one photo.
Hier
In “Hier is er een die ik vlak bij mijn huis heb gemaakt,” Hier means “here” and presents or points to the photo being shown. It comes at the beginning as the speaker introduces what is being offered.
is
In “Hier is er een,” is means “is” and states that the photo is here or available to look at. It links the introductory word Hier with the item being presented.
een
In “Hier is er een die ik vlak bij mijn huis heb gemaakt,” een introduces one photo without the emphasis placed on the number in één. It is followed by die, which identifies the photo more specifically.
die
In “een die ik vlak bij mijn huis heb gemaakt,” die links the photo to the information that the speaker took it near home. A noun or pronoun followed by die can be identified by the clause that follows.
vlak
In “vlak bij mijn huis,” vlak strengthens the location and means “right” or “directly” near the speaker’s home. The complete phrase gives a precise location for where the photo was taken.
bij
In “vlak bij mijn huis,” bij means “near” and places the photo’s location in relation to mijn huis. With vlak, it describes a place very close to the home.
huis
In “vlak bij mijn huis,” huis means “home” or “house.” It is the reference point for the location described by vlak bij.
heb
In “die ik vlak bij mijn huis heb gemaakt,” heb works with gemaakt to say that the speaker took or made the photo. The form is used with the subject ik and the action of making the photo.
gemaakt
In “heb gemaakt,” gemaakt means “made” and, in this photo context, “taken.” Its meaning comes from the combination with heb and the photo being described.
ziet
In “Het ziet er simpel en duidelijk uit,” ziet means “looks.” It is part of the full expression used to describe the picture’s appearance, rather than simply an action of seeing.
simpel
In “Het ziet er simpel en duidelijk uit,” simpel describes the picture as “simple.” It is one of the qualities placed inside the expression ziet er ... uit.
en
In “simpel en duidelijk,” en means “and” and connects the two descriptions of the picture. It joins simpel with duidelijk in the same statement.
duidelijk
In “Het ziet er simpel en duidelijk uit,” duidelijk describes the picture as “clear.” It is the second quality connected to simpel by en.
uit
In “ziet er simpel en duidelijk uit,” uit completes the expression used to say how something looks. It does not mean “out” on its own here; the meaning comes from the whole construction ziet er ... uit.
oefen
In “Ik oefen wanneer ik tijd heb,” oefen means “practice.” The speaker uses it for regularly practicing the photography activity, with Ik as the person doing it.
wanneer
In “wanneer ik tijd heb,” wanneer means “when” or “whenever” and introduces the time condition for practicing. It links the practice statement to the situation in which the speaker has time.
tijd
In “wanneer ik tijd heb,” tijd means “time,” specifically the time available for practicing. It is used in the common expression tijd hebben, meaning to have time for an activity.
Grammar Points
eruitzien → ziet er ... uit
De straat ziet er stil uit.
duh STRAHT ZEET ur STIL OYT.The street looks quiet.
This separable verb splits in a sentence: ziet comes second, while er ... uit surrounds the description.
Dutch Vocabulary
camera
noun
KAH-muh-rah
camera
foto
noun
FOH-toh
photo
foto's
fotograferen
verb
foh-toh-khrah-FAIR-un
to photograph
fotografeer
gebruiken
verb
khuh-BROY-kuhn
to use
gebruik
graag
adv
KHRAHK
with pleasure; gladly
klein
adj
KLINE
small
kleine
leuk
adj
LURK
nice; enjoyable
leukst
maken
verb
MAH-kun
to make; to take (photos)
Maak
meestal
adv
MAY-stul
usually; most of the time
stil
adj
STIL
quiet
stille
straat
noun
STRAHT
street
straten
vinden
verb
VIN-dun
to find; to consider
vind
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Do you take photos?
Show Answer
Maak je foto's?I use my small camera most days.
Show Answer
Ik gebruik meestal mijn kleine camera.What do you like to photograph?
Show Answer
Wat fotografeer je graag?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
small
Show Answer
kleineto use
Show Answer
gebruikto photograph
Show Answer
fotografeercamera