Choosing a Salad or a Sandwich | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Zal ik een broodje of een salade kiezen?

   Should I choose a sandwich or a salad?

   Zal ik

   Shall I …?

   broodje

   sandwich

   salade

   salad

   kiezen

   choose

   More detail

   Zal ik is a reusable Dutch question pattern meaning “Should I …?” Here zal is the first-person singular form of zullen, used with ik to ask about a proposed action. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Zal ik gaan? — “Should I go?” This pattern does not itself assert that the action will happen. broodje means “sandwich” in this sentence. The form is the diminutive of brood (“bread”), but in context broodje can refer to a bread roll or a filled roll; the fixed translation selects “sandwich” here. The diminutive ending can also express smallness in other nouns, but its exact meaning depends on usage. salade means “salad.” It is a noun and keeps this form in the singular here. For example: Ik eet een salade. — “I am eating a salad.” kiezen means “to choose.” This is the infinitive, used after the finite verb zal: Zal ik wachten? — “Should I wait?” The related past form is koos (“chose”), while the past participle is gekozen (“chosen”); these are forms of kiezen, not separate base verbs. The connector of means “or” and presents alternatives. The structure is Zal ik [option A] of [option B] kiezen? — “Should I choose [option A] or [option B]?” Thus the speaker asks whether to choose a sandwich or a salad. The whole utterance is a question about the speaker’s own possible choice, with zal ik framing the proposal and kiezen naming the action.

2. De salade is een lichtere keuze.

   The salad is a lighter option.

   salade

   salad

   lichtere

   lighter

   keuze

   choice; option

   More detail

   salade means “salad” here. It is a noun: de salade; its plural is salades. The article de is part of the noun phrase, while salade names the food itself. lichtere means “lighter” in this sentence. Its base form is licht (“light”); the comparative is lichter (“lighter”), and before this noun it appears as lichtere. The ending belongs to the adjective licht, not to keuze. In een lichtere keuze, the comparison presents this choice as lighter than a relevant alternative or standard; the sentence does not state exactly what that comparison is. keuze means “choice” or, in this sentence, “option.” It is a noun: de keuze. The combination een keuze means “an option/a choice”; een marks an indefinite noun phrase here, not necessarily a numerical count of one. The reusable frame is De [noun] is een [comparative adjective] [noun]. De salade is the subject, is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”), and een lichtere keuze is the description assigned to it. Dutch places the attributive adjective before the noun, so the adjective comes before keuze. Together, De salade is een lichtere keuze. means “The salad is a lighter option.”

3. Ik heb niet veel honger.

   I am not very hungry.

   Ik heb

   I have

   niet veel

   not much

   honger

   hunger

   More detail

   Ik heb means “I have.” heb is the present-tense first-person singular form of hebben (“to have”): ik heb, jij hebt, hij/zij heeft. In this sentence, heb is part of the Dutch expression honger hebben, which corresponds to “to be hungry.” Example: Ik heb tijd. — “I have time.” niet veel combines niet (“not”) with veel (“much; a lot”). Together here, it means “not much,” modifying the amount of hunger. Veel can also be used with plural countable nouns, as in veel boeken (“many books”); with honger, it refers to a degree or amount rather than a count. honger is the noun “hunger.” Dutch commonly expresses the state of being hungry with honger hebben, literally “to have hunger.” Example: Zij heeft honger. — “She is hungry.” The verb form changes for the subject, while the noun honger stays the same. Assembled from left to right, Ik heb honger is the Dutch way to say “I am hungry.” Inserting niet veel before honger reduces the amount: Ik heb niet veel honger. means “I am not very hungry.”

4. Dan past die misschien beter bij jou.

   Then it may suit you better.

   Dan

   then

   past

   suits; fits

   die

   that one; it

   misschien

   perhaps; maybe

   beter

   better

   bij jou

   for you

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here, linking this suggestion to the situation already being discussed. It can also introduce a result or conclusion in other sentences. Example: Dan ga ik naar huis. — “Then I’m going home.” past is the present-tense third-person singular form of passen, “to fit” or “to suit.” In bij iemand passen, the construction means that something suits someone: Deze jas past bij mij. — “This coat suits me.” The form past agrees with the singular subject die; it is not an inflection of the following phrase. die is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that one” or, in this translation, “it.” Its specific referent is the thing being discussed, but the supplied sentence does not name that thing. Die can also be used before a noun, as in die jas — “that coat.” misschien means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It marks the suggestion as uncertain rather than stating that the item definitely suits the listener. beter is the comparative form of goed, “good”: goed → beter — “good” → “better.” Here it says that the item may suit the listener better than another relevant option or arrangement; the comparison is understood from context. Example: Deze kleur staat je beter. — “This colour suits you better.” bij jou is the combination used with passen for the person something suits: literally, “with you,” but in this construction, “you” or “for you.” jou is the stressed form of the second-person singular pronoun; the unstressed form je is also common in suitable contexts. Example: Dat past bij jou. — “That suits you.” The opening Dan occupies the first position, so Dutch main-clause word order puts the finite verb past before the subject die: Dan past die ... The pattern is therefore Dan + verb + subject + misschien + comparative + bij + person. Together, die misschien beter bij jou past means “that one may suit you better,” and the complete utterance means: “Then it may suit you better.”

5. Wat neem jij?

   What are you getting?

   Wat

   what

   neem

   get

   jij

   you

   More detail

   Wat asks for an unspecified thing: “what”. It is a question word and can be used in reusable patterns such as Wat koop je? (“What are you buying?”). Here it asks which thing the other person is getting. neem is the present-tense form of nemen (“to take”). With the subject jij placed after the verb in this question, the form is neem, as in Neem jij de rode? (“Are you taking the red one?”). With ordinary subject-before-verb order, the same subject gives jij neemt (“you take/are taking”); the -t is absent in this inverted order. In this utterance, nemen is understood as “get” in the fixed translation, rather than simply physical taking. jij means “you” for one person. It is the explicit subject of neem and can give the subject some emphasis or contrast, although the exact conversational emphasis is not fixed by this sentence alone. The familiar unstressed subject form is je; for example, Neem je de blauwe? means “Are you getting the blue one?” Together, Wat asks which item, and neem jij asks whether the addressee is getting it. The complete utterance therefore means “What are you getting?”

6. Ik wil iets groters.

   I want something bigger.

   Ik

   I

   wil

   want

   iets

   something

   groters

   bigger

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun, meaning the speaker. It is used for the subject who has the desire. For example, Ik lees. means “I read.” wil is the first-person singular present form of willen, “to want.” The form changes with the subject: ik wil, but wij willen (“we want”). In this sentence, wil expresses the speaker’s desire for the thing described next. iets is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something.” It refers to an unspecified thing, without identifying exactly what that thing is. A useful contrast is iets “something” versus niets “nothing.” For example, Ik hoor iets. means “I hear something.” groters comes from the adjective groot, “big.” Groter is its comparative form, “bigger.” In iets groters, the adjective is used substantively after iets, so it takes the ending -s: iets groters means “something bigger.” The -s belongs to groters; it is not an ending on iets, and it does not indicate a plural noun or a specific gender. The comparison chain is groot (“big”), groter (“bigger”), het grootst (“the biggest”). For example, Zij zoekt iets kleiners. means “She is looking for something smaller.” Together, Ik wil iets groters. means “I want something bigger.” The subject is Ik (“I”), wil states the desire, and iets groters identifies the desired item only by saying that it is bigger than a relevant comparison item or size. The sentence does not specify what that comparison item is.

7. Ik kies het broodje.

   I will choose the sandwich.

   Ik

   I

   kies

   choose

   broodje

   sandwich

   More detail

   Ik is the Dutch first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” It does not change for the speaker’s gender. A useful contrast is wij (“we”), used when the subject includes more than one person. kies is the present-tense first-person singular form of kiezen, “to choose.” The present form can also refer to a future decision when the context supports that reading, as in the fixed translation “I will choose.” The subject Ik is what selects this form: ik kies. For comparison, wij kiezen means “we choose,” with the plural form kiezen. broodje means “sandwich” here. It can also refer more literally to a bread roll or small bread item, but the fixed translation establishes the intended sense in this utterance. The ending -je is a Dutch diminutive ending; in this word it forms broodje from brood (“bread”), while the whole word commonly denotes a small bread item or sandwich. Its definite singular article is het, so het broodje means “the sandwich.” The plural is broodjes. Together, Ik kies gives “I choose / I will choose,” and het broodje identifies the thing being chosen: “the sandwich.” The complete utterance therefore means “I will choose the sandwich.”

8. De salade is prima voor mij.

   The salad works for me.

   salade

   salad

   prima

   fine; good

   voor mij

   for me

   More detail

   salade means “salad” here. It is a singular noun; with the definite article, Dutch uses de salade. The article belongs to the noun phrase, while salade itself names the food. prima describes the salad as acceptable, satisfactory, or good enough in this context. It is used here as a predicate adjective after is; Dutch predicate prima does not change form for this noun. Compare the useful pattern X is prima — “X is fine.” Example: Het plan is prima. — “The plan is fine.” voor mij means “for me.” voor is the preposition “for,” and mij is the stressed form of the first-person pronoun after a preposition. Compare subject ik (“I”) with prepositional mij in voor mij; the choice is determined by the pronoun’s role, not by the salad’s grammatical properties. Example: Dit is voor mij. — “This is for me.” is links the subject to its description: it is the present-tense third-person singular form of zijn (“to be”). The pattern is De salade is ..., with de salade as the subject and prima as its description. Together, De salade + is prima + voor mij means “The salad works for me”: the speaker considers the salad a satisfactory choice for them. The sentence does not need to mean that the salad physically functions; here, “works for me” expresses suitability or acceptance.

9. Laten we bestellen als de medewerker terugkomt.

   Let's order when the server comes back.

   Laten we

   let’s

   bestellen

   order

   als

   when

   medewerker

   server

   terugkomt

   comes back

   More detail

   Laten we is the Dutch construction for making a suggestion to do something together: “let’s …”. It consists of laten (“let/allow”) in this fixed suggestion pattern plus we (“we”). The following verb stays in the infinitive. Example: Laten we gaan. — “Let’s go.” bestellen means “to order,” here referring to ordering food or drinks. It is the infinitive used after Laten we. Its present-tense forms include ik bestel (“I order”) and we bestellen (“we order”). Example: We bestellen koffie. — “We order coffee.” als introduces the time condition “when” in this sentence. It can introduce a subordinate time clause, and the finite verb is placed at the end of that clause. This differs from the main-clause order in De medewerker komt terug. — “The server comes back.” medewerker means “employee” or “staff member”; the translation identifies this staff member as the server in this context. It is a common-gender Dutch noun, normally used with de: de medewerker. Example: De medewerker helpt ons. — “The staff member helps us.” terugkomt means “comes back.” Its base form is the separable verb terugkomen (“to come back”). Here it is the present-tense third-person singular form, agreeing with singular de medewerker: in a main clause, De medewerker komt terug; in the subordinate clause after als, the parts appear together at the end as als de medewerker terugkomt. The form komt comes from komen; terug supplies the meaning of returning. Together, Laten we bestellen means “Let’s order,” and als de medewerker terugkomt means “when the server comes back.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Let’s order when the server comes back.”