Checking a Room | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use Checking a Room to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Is de kamer klaar?

iss duh KAH-mer klahr? Is the room ready?

De stoelen staan op hun plek.

duh STOO-lun stahn op huhn plek. The chairs are in place.

Werkt het scherm?

vehrkt ut skhehrm? Is the screen working?

Het beeld ziet er duidelijk uit.

ut baylt ziet ur DUH-yuh-luk owt. The picture looks clear.

Hebben we stiften?

HEH-bun vuh STIF-tun? Do we have markers?

Ze liggen op de tafel.

zuh LIKH-un op duh TAH-vul. They're on the table.

Is er ruimte om rond te lopen?

iss ur ROYM-tuh om rohnt tuh LOH-pun? Is there space to move around?

Er is genoeg ruimte om rond te lopen.

ur iss guh-NOOKH ROYM-tuh om rohnt tuh LOH-pun. There's enough room to walk around.

Word by Word

Is Is means “is” here and starts a yes-or-no question. In Is de kamer klaar? and Is er ruimte om rond te lopen?, it comes before the rest of the question to ask about the room’s condition or the available space.

de De is the definite article meaning “the” in de kamer, de stoelen, and de tafel. It appears directly before each noun in these phrases. This is useful when referring to specific room items already understood in the situation.

kamer Kamer means “room” here, the room being checked before use. In de kamer, de identifies this particular room. The word is useful when naming a physical room in a practical check.

klaar Klaar means “ready” in Is de kamer klaar? and describes the room’s condition. It comes after the room being checked and completes the question about readiness. This is useful when checking whether something can be used.

stoelen Stoelen means “chairs” and refers to the several chairs in the room. In de stoelen, it follows the definite article and names the furniture being checked. It is useful when discussing whether shared seating is positioned correctly.

staan Staan means “stand” or “are positioned” in De stoelen staan op hun plek. Here it describes where the chairs are located rather than an action of walking. It is useful for describing the position of upright or arranged objects.

op Op expresses the positional relation in op hun plek. Together, op hun plek means that the chairs are in their place; op alone does not carry the whole meaning. This word is useful in phrases that locate something on or at a position.

hun Hun means “their” in hun plek and identifies the place as belonging to the chairs in this context. It comes directly before the noun plek. This is useful when indicating that a place is associated with a plural group.

plek Plek means “place” or “spot” in op hun plek. It refers to the designated position where the chairs should be. This is useful for talking about where an object is supposed to be.

Werkt Werkt means “works” or “functions” in Werkt het scherm? and asks whether the screen is operating properly. It appears at the beginning because the sentence is a yes-or-no question. This is useful when checking equipment.

het Het is the definite article meaning “the” in het scherm. It comes directly before scherm and identifies the specific screen in the room. This is useful when referring to that particular piece of equipment.

scherm Scherm means “screen” in het scherm and names the equipment being checked. The question asks whether this screen is functioning. It is useful when discussing a display used in a shared room.

beeld Beeld means “picture” or “image” in Het beeld ziet er duidelijk uit. Here it refers to what is visible on the screen. This word is useful when describing or checking the visible image.

ziet Ziet contributes the meaning “looks” or “appears” in ziet er duidelijk uit. Together with er and uit, the full expression means that the picture looks clear. This construction is useful for describing how something appears.

er Er is part of the expression ziet er duidelijk uit in this dialogue. It does not independently mean a location here; together with ziet and uit, the expression describes the picture’s appearance. This is useful when saying how something looks.

duidelijk Duidelijk means “clear” in ziet er duidelijk uit and describes the appearance of the picture. The word appears inside the expression that says the image is easy to see clearly. This is useful when checking image quality.

uit Uit completes the expression ziet er duidelijk uit. In this expression, the whole phrase means “looks clear,” so uit should not be interpreted separately as “out.” This is useful in the Dutch construction for describing appearance.

Hebben Hebben means “have” in Hebben we stiften? and asks whether the group has markers available. It comes before we because this is a yes-or-no question. This is useful when checking whether supplies are available.

we We means “we” and is the group being asked about in Hebben we stiften? Here it refers to the people using or preparing the room. It is useful as the subject when asking about something shared by a group.

stiften Stiften means “markers” and identifies the writing supplies being checked. In Hebben we stiften?, it is the item whose availability is being asked about. This is useful when checking whether shared materials are present.

Ze Ze means “they” in Ze liggen op de tafel and refers back to the markers, stiften. It replaces the repeated plural noun while keeping the markers as the subject. This is useful when referring back to several objects already mentioned.

liggen Liggen means “lie” or “are located” in Ze liggen op de tafel. With the markers as the subject, it describes their position on the table. This is useful for stating where objects are located when they are lying or placed there.

tafel Tafel means “table” in op de tafel and names the surface where the markers are located. Together, op de tafel means “on the table.” This is useful when identifying the location of supplies or other objects in the room.

ruimte Ruimte means “space” or “room” in Is er ruimte om rond te lopen? and refers to open area available for moving. It is different from the physical room itself here: the question is about free space within it. This is useful when checking whether people can move around.

om Om introduces the purpose construction om rond te lopen. Together, om rond te lopen explains what the space is needed for: walking around. This is useful for linking available space to a planned activity.

rond Rond means “around” in om rond te lopen and describes the direction or area of the walking. Together with te lopen, it gives the meaning “to walk around.” This is useful when describing movement through an area.

te Te marks the infinitive in te lopen within om rond te lopen. The full construction connects the space with the activity of walking around. This is useful in a purpose phrase with om and an infinitive.

lopen Lopen means “walk” in om rond te lopen. With rond, the phrase refers to walking around the room rather than simply walking. This is useful when describing movement through or around a space.

genoeg Genoeg means “enough” in genoeg ruimte and says that the available space is sufficient for the intended movement. It comes before the noun ruimte and expresses sufficiency. This is useful when confirming that there is an adequate amount of something.

Grammar Points

er ... uitzien

Het beeld ziet er duidelijk uit.

ut baylt ziet ur DUH-yuh-luk owt.

The picture looks clear.

Dutch uses er ... uitzien for “to look”; uitzien is separable, so uit moves to the end.

staan / liggen

De stiften liggen op de tafel.

duh STIF-tun LIKH-un op duh TAH-vul.

The markers are lying on the table.

Dutch uses position verbs: staan for upright objects and liggen for horizontal objects.

Dutch Vocabulary

beeld noun

baylt picture; image

Het beeld ziet er duidelijk uit.

duidelijk adj

DUH-yuh-luk clear

Het beeld ziet er duidelijk uit.

er duidelijk uitzien phrase

ur DUH-yuh-luk owt-zeen to look clear ziet er duidelijk uit

Het beeld ziet er duidelijk uit.

hebben verb

HEH-bun to have

Hebben we stiften?

kamer noun

KAH-mer room

Is de kamer klaar?

klaar adj

klahr ready

Is de kamer klaar?

op hun plek phrase

op huhn plek in place

De stoelen staan op hun plek.

scherm noun

skhehrm screen

Werkt het scherm?

staan verb

stahn to stand; to be standing

De stoelen staan op hun plek.

stift noun

stift marker stiften

Hebben we stiften?

stoel noun

stool chair stoelen

De stoelen staan op hun plek.

werken verb

VEHR-kun to work; to function werkt

Werkt het scherm?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Is the room ready?

Show Answer

Is de kamer klaar?

The chairs are in place.

Show Answer

De stoelen staan op hun plek.

Is the screen working?

Show Answer

Werkt het scherm?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

chair

Show Answer

stoelen

screen

Show Answer

scherm

room

Show Answer

kamer

picture; image

Show Answer

beeld