Checking a Room | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Is de kamer klaar?

   Is the room ready?

   Is

   is

   kamer

   room

   klaar

   ready

   More detail

   Is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for the third-person singular. In a yes/no question, Dutch places this verb before the subject: Is de kamer ...? Compare the statement De kamer is klaar. (“The room is ready.”). kamer means “room.” Its plural is kamers. The phrase de kamer uses the definite article de, referring to a specific room in this utterance; een kamer means “a room.” klaar is an adjective meaning “ready” here. It can also mean “finished” in suitable contexts, but that is not the intended meaning in this sentence. Dutch adjectives after zijn normally keep the basic form: De kamer is klaar. (“The room is ready.”) Together, Is + de kamer + klaar forms a yes/no question: “Is the room ready?” The following context says that the chairs are in place, but it does not change the grammatical structure or add a different meaning to this question.

2. De stoelen staan op hun plek.

   The chairs are in place.

   stoelen

   chairs

   staan

   are standing; are positioned

   op hun plek

   in place

   More detail

   stoelen means “chairs” here. Its singular base form is stoel; the plural adds -en: stoel → stoelen. The definite article de before it makes the phrase “the chairs.” Dutch uses de with plural nouns; the article does not itself show how many chairs there are. staan is the present-tense plural form of staan, “to stand” or “to be positioned.” With objects such as chairs, it commonly describes their position rather than an action of standing. Compare De stoel staat op zijn plek (“The chair is in its place”) with plural De stoelen staan op hun plek (“The chairs are in their place”). The singular/plural difference is carried by the verb: staat with a singular subject, staan with a plural subject. op hun plek is a reusable location pattern: op + a possessive determiner + plek (“place” or “spot”). hun means “their” and is the possessive form used for a plural possessor; it does not change to agree with the singular noun plek. For example, De boeken liggen op hun plek means “The books are in their place.” Here, hun plek refers to the place belonging to the chairs as a group. Together, De + stoelen gives “the chairs,” staan says that they are positioned, and op hun plek specifies the location. The complete meaning is “The chairs are in place.”

3. Werkt het scherm?

   Is the screen working?

   Werkt

   works; is working

   scherm

   screen

   More detail

   Werkt is the present-tense form of werken, “to work.” With a third-person singular subject, werken becomes werkt: het scherm werkt means “the screen works/is working.” In a yes/no question, Dutch places the finite verb before the subject: Werkt het scherm? Compare the statement Het scherm werkt. (“The screen is working.”). The form werkt is not a special question form; the word order signals the question. scherm means “screen.” It is a singular noun; its usual definite article is het, giving het scherm (“the screen”). Its plural is schermen (“screens”): De schermen werken. means “The screens are working.” Together, Werkt + het scherm forms a yes/no question: “Is the screen working?” The question asks whether the screen is functioning, without asserting the answer.

4. Het beeld ziet er duidelijk uit.

   The picture looks clear.

   beeld

   picture

   ziet … er … uit

   looks / seems

   duidelijk

   clear

   More detail

   beeld means “picture” here. It is a neuter Dutch noun: het beeld. The plural is beelden, as in De beelden zijn duidelijk. — “The pictures are clear.” ziet er ... uit is the separable expression er ... uitzien, “to look / appear.” In the sentence, ziet is the present-tense form of zien for het (third-person singular). The parts are separated because Dutch separable verbs place uit at the end of a main clause. The fixed expression er ... uitzien is different from simply zien (“to see”): Ik zie een beeld. means “I see a picture,” while Het beeld ziet er goed uit. means “The picture looks good.” duidelijk means “clear” in this sentence. It is an adjective, and Dutch generally leaves it unchanged after er ... uitzien: De foto ziet er duidelijk uit. — “The photo looks clear.” Its opposite is onduidelijk, “unclear.” Together, Het beeld is “the picture,” ziet er ... uit says how it appears, and duidelijk describes that appearance. The complete utterance therefore means “The picture looks clear.”

5. Hebben we stiften?

   Do we have markers?

   Hebben

   have

   we

   we

   stiften

   markers

   More detail

   Hebben is the present-tense form of hebben (“to have”) used with we (“we”). In a yes/no question, Dutch places the finite verb before the subject: Hebben we ...? Compare the statement We hebben ... (“We have ...”). Dutch does not add a separate word equivalent to English “do” here. we is the subject pronoun “we,” referring to the speaker together with at least one other person. It is the ordinary unstressed form; wij can be used for emphasis or contrast. stiften is the plural of stift, meaning “marker” or “marker pen.” The plural is appropriate because the question asks about markers in general or more than one marker; the form itself does not state an exact number. Example: Ik heb een stift. — “I have a marker.” Together, Hebben we stiften? uses the question pattern [finite verb] + [subject] + [thing] to ask whether the speaker’s group has markers available: “Do we have markers?”

6. Ze liggen op de tafel.

   They're on the table.

   Ze

   they

   liggen

   lie; are lying

   op

   on

   tafel

   table

   More detail

   Ze is the subject pronoun meaning “they” here. The fixed translation identifies a plural group; Dutch ze can also have other uses in different contexts, but this sentence uses it as the plural subject. liggen is the present-tense plural form of liggen, “to lie” or “to be lying.” Its singular counterpart is ligt: ze liggen = “they are lying,” while het ligt = “it is lying.” Dutch uses this verb for things positioned horizontally or located in a lying position. op means “on” and introduces the surface supporting something. A reusable pattern is op de ... (“on the ...”). tafel means “table.” The observed noun normally appears with the definite article as de tafel; its plural is tafels. Here, de is part of the noun phrase de tafel, meaning “the table.” Together, Ze liggen says “they are lying,” and op de tafel specifies the location: “on the table.” The complete utterance therefore means “They’re on the table.”

7. Is er ruimte om rond te lopen?

   Is there space to move around?

   Is er

   is there

   ruimte

   space; room

   om rond te lopen

   to walk around

   More detail

   Is er is the Dutch question pattern for asking whether something exists or is available: literally, “is there?”. er is an existential/dummy subject here, so it does not identify a particular person or object. In a statement, the order is Er is ...; in this question, Is er ...? places the finite verb before er. Example: Is er water? — “Is there water?” ruimte means “space” or “room” in the sense of available physical area. It is a noun; its definite form is de ruimte. The same word can also mean room or capacity in other contexts, but here the intended meaning is physical space for movement. Example: Er is weinig ruimte. — “There is little space.” om rond te lopen expresses the activity that the space is suitable for: “to walk around” or “to move around”. lopen is the base verb “to walk”; te lopen is its infinitive with te. rond adds the idea of moving around rather than walking in one specific direction. The pattern ruimte om ... te ... is reusable for “space to ...”. Example: Er is ruimte om te zitten. — “There is space to sit.” Together, Is er ruimte om rond te lopen? asks whether there is enough or suitable physical space for moving around: “Is there space to move around?” The question itself does not state how much space there is; it asks about its availability.

8. Er is genoeg ruimte om rond te lopen.

   There's enough room to walk around.

   Er is

   there is

   genoeg

   enough

   ruimte

   room; space

   om rond te lopen

   to walk around

   More detail

   Er is is the Dutch existential construction meaning “there is” or “there are.” Here, er is an existential placeholder, not a specific person or thing, and is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) used with a singular noun phrase. Dutch uses er is with a singular expression and er zijn with a plural expression. Example: Er zijn twee stoelen. — “There are two chairs.” genoeg means “enough” and indicates that the amount meets the relevant need or condition. It can come before a noun: genoeg tijd — “enough time.” It is not itself an indefinite article or a statement of an exact quantity. ruimte means “room” or “space.” In this sentence it refers to available physical space. The same noun can also refer to a room or a more abstract space depending on context. Example: Er is weinig ruimte. — “There is little space.” om rond te lopen is an infinitive construction meaning “to walk around.” lopen is the base form meaning “to walk”; te lopen is the infinitive with te. rond adds the idea of moving around rather than simply walking in one direction. Dutch commonly uses om ... te before an infinitive clause: ruimte om te zitten — “space to sit.” Together, Er is genoeg ruimte says “There is enough room,” and om rond te lopen specifies what the room is sufficient for: walking around. The complete utterance therefore means “There’s enough room to walk around.”