Keeping a Shared Bathroom Clean | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kan ik deze gedeelde badkamer gebruiken?

   Can I use this shared bathroom?

   Kan ik

   Can I…?

   deze

   this

   gedeelde

   shared

   badkamer

   bathroom

   gebruiken

   use

   More detail

   Kan ik is a reusable Dutch way to ask permission: “Can I …?” kan is a present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with ik; the same form is also used with hij, zij, and het. After this modal verb, the other verb stays in the infinitive: Kan ik deze badkamer gebruiken? — “Can I use this bathroom?” Example: Kan ik hier zitten? — “Can I sit here?” deze means “this” and points to one nearby or currently relevant thing. It is used with a singular noun that takes de, and also with plural nouns; the form for a singular het-word is dit. Here, deze agrees with the grammatical type of badkamer, not with the adjective. gedeelde means “shared” in this sentence: the bathroom is used by more than one person. Its base form is gedeeld. Before a noun, the adjective has the ending -e here: de gedeelde badkamer. This ending is not part of the noun badkamer. badkamer means “bathroom.” It is a common-gender Dutch noun and therefore takes de: de badkamer. A useful related compound is slaapkamer, “bedroom,” but this is a new vocabulary example, not a second meaning of the source word. gebruiken means “to use.” This is the infinitive form, and it follows the modal verb kan in this question. In a finite clause without that modal, the verb has a subject-dependent present form; with a modal, gebruiken remains infinitive. Example: Zij kan de badkamer gebruiken. — “She can use the bathroom.” Together, Kan ik asks for permission, deze gedeelde badkamer identifies the particular shared bathroom, and gebruiken names the intended action. The complete utterance means: “Can I use this shared bathroom?”

2. Dat kan, en houd de ruimte bij de wastafel schoon, alsjeblieft.

   You can, and please keep the sink area clean.

   Dat kan

   you can

   houd

   keep

   ruimte

   space; area

   wastafel

   sink

   schoon

   clean

   alsjeblieft

   please

   More detail

   Dat kan means “you can” here because it answers the preceding request. Literally, dat is the neuter singular demonstrative “that,” and kan is the third-person singular present form of kunnen (“can; be able to”). In this context, the combination confirms that the requested use is permitted or possible. houd is the imperative form of houden (“to keep; hold”). Dutch imperatives commonly use the verb stem, and houd can be used in a direct command without marking the addressee’s person or number. Example: Houd de deur open. — “Keep the door open.” ruimte means “space” or “area.” Its definite form is de ruimte; the noun itself does not express a particular size. In de ruimte bij de wastafel, it refers to the area located by the sink. wastafel means “washbasin” or “sink.” The phrase bij de wastafel means “by/at the sink”: bij marks the location, and de is the definite article used with this noun. schoon means “clean.” After houd, it describes the state that should be maintained: Houd de tafel schoon. — “Keep the table clean.” Here schoon is not inflected for the noun; it follows the verb as a description of the area’s desired state. alsjeblieft is a polite “please,” commonly used in direct, informal or neutral requests. Placed at the end, it softens the imperative without changing its instruction. Together, Dat kan grants the requested permission, and houd de ruimte bij de wastafel schoon gives the instruction to keep the area by the sink clean. Alsjeblieft makes that instruction polite. The whole utterance therefore means: “You can, and please keep the sink area clean.”

3. Ik heb een papieren handdoek nodig.

   I need a paper towel.

   Ik

   I

   heb … nodig

   need

   een

   a

   papieren

   paper

   handdoek

   towel

   More detail

   Ik means “I” here: the first-person singular subject, the person who has the need. Dutch subject pronouns include ik (“I”), jij/je (“you,” singular), and wij/we (“we”). heb ... nodig is the reusable Dutch construction for “need”: it uses heb (“have”) together with nodig (“necessary/needed”). The verb heb is the first-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”): ik heb. The construction is discontinuous here because een papieren handdoek comes between its two parts. For example: Ik heb hulp nodig. — “I need help.” een is an indefinite article used before a singular countable noun. In this sentence it introduces handdoek; it does not by itself assert a numerical count as a separate emphasis. Dutch uses een with both common-gender and neuter singular nouns in indefinite contexts; de or het is used instead in definite contexts according to the noun’s gender. The article choice is not determined by the speaker’s identity. papieren is the adjective meaning “paper” or “made of paper” here. It describes the material or type of handdoek, giving “paper towel.” The related noun is papier (“paper”), but papier is not an inflected base form of the adjective: papieren is the adjective form used in this construction. For example: een houten tafel — “a wooden table.” handdoek means “towel,” specifically the noun used here for the requested object. It is a compound of hand (“hand”) and doek (“cloth”) and functions as one noun in modern Dutch. Its plural is handdoeken: twee handdoeken — “two towels.” Together, Ik heb ... nodig expresses that the speaker needs something. The object of that need is een papieren handdoek, so the complete utterance means “I need a paper towel.”

4. Er liggen er een paar bij de wastafel.

   There are some near the sink.

   Er

   there

   liggen

   lie; be lying

   er

   of them

   een paar

   some; a few

   bij

   near; by

   wastafel

   sink

   More detail

   Er at the beginning introduces an existence/location statement: “there” in the sense of “there are.” In this use, it is a grammatical subject-like element, not a word naming a place. Dutch also has a different er later in the sentence; the two uses should not be treated as one repeated English word. liggen means “are lying” here. Its base form is liggen, and the present-tense plural form is also liggen: ze liggen = “they are lying.” The verb describes the items as being in a lying or resting position. Do not confuse it with leggen, “to lay” or “to put something down,” which describes placing something. Example: De handdoeken liggen op tafel. — “The towels are lying on the table.” The second er refers to some items understood from the quantity expression een paar; in this sentence, it avoids repeating the items themselves. Its exact referent is not named in the supplied sentence, but the translation establishes that some items are located near the sink. This use of er commonly appears with a quantity or number: Er liggen er twee op tafel. — “There are two of them on the table.” een paar expresses an unspecified small number, translated here as “some” or “a few.” It does not identify the items and does not necessarily assert one exact count in this sentence. The same construction can be used with a noun, as in een paar handdoeken — “a few towels,” or with er when the noun is understood, as here. bij marks the location as near or by something. It is a preposition, and the following noun phrase is de wastafel. Example: De zeep ligt bij de wastafel. — “The soap is by the sink.” wastafel means “sink,” specifically the sink referred to in the fixed translation. Its plural is wastafels, “sinks.” The article de belongs to the noun phrase but is not included in the selected quote; Dutch uses de wastafel for this noun. Together, Er liggen er een paar says that a few understood items are lying or located somewhere, and bij de wastafel supplies their location. The complete meaning is: “There are some near the sink.”

5. Moet dit in de vuilnisbak?

   Does this go in the trash?

   Moet

   must; need to

   dit

   this

   in

   in; into

   vuilnisbak

   trash bin

   More detail

   Moet is the present form of the Dutch modal verb moeten (“must; need to”). In this question, it is placed before the subject because Dutch questions commonly use verb–subject order: Moet dit ...? The form moet is used with a singular third-person subject such as dit; the plural form is moeten. With a following infinitive, moeten normally expresses necessity, as in Moet ik gaan? — “Do I have to go?” Here no infinitive is stated: the context supplies the practical action, so the question asks whether this item needs to go in the trash. Dit is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “this.” It refers to the item being considered, but the fixed sentence does not identify that item more specifically. Dutch also uses dit as the neuter singular form of the demonstrative; the corresponding common-gender singular form is deze, as in deze doos (“this box”). In expresses location inside something and, with a movement or placement context, the destination “into.” The exact English choice depends on the situation: Het ligt in de bak means “It is in the bin,” while Doe het in de bak means “Put it into the bin.” In this question, the intended meaning is the destination “in/into the trash bin.” Vuilnisbak is a noun meaning “trash bin” or “garbage bin.” Its plural is vuilnisbakken. The noun phrase here is de vuilnisbak: de is the definite article, and the noun is singular. The article is part of the noun phrase but is not itself a numerical claim. Together, Moet dit asks whether this item is required or supposed to be dealt with in a certain way, and in de vuilnisbak supplies the destination. The complete utterance therefore means, “Does this go in the trash?”

6. Doe het in de kleine afvalbak.

   Put it in the small bin.

   Doe

   put

   het

   it

   in

   in

   kleine

   small

   afvalbak

   bin

   More detail

   Doe is the imperative of doen (“to do”). In this sentence, the imperative is used with the intended action “put”; Dutch can use doen in this way in an instruction about placing something. The imperative form is doe, not the infinitive doen. Example: Doe de deur dicht. — “Close the door.” het is the neuter singular object pronoun meaning “it” here. Its specific referent is supplied by the situation rather than named in this sentence. As a useful contrast, hem is used for a masculine-person or masculine/common-gender object in contexts where that form is appropriate; het itself does not identify what the object is. in is the preposition “in” and introduces the destination or container in this instruction. The pattern iets in ... doen is reusable for putting something into something: Doe het boek in de tas. — “Put the book in the bag.” kleine means “small” here. Its base form is klein; the -e form appears before the noun in de kleine afvalbak, a definite noun phrase. The adjective is not derived from afvalbak: klein describes the bin. A useful comparison is kleiner (“smaller”), as in een kleinere bak — “a smaller bin.” afvalbak is a compound noun meaning “bin” or “waste bin.” It is a de-word, as shown by de afvalbak; the compound combines afval (“waste”) and bak (“container/bin”), but afvalbak functions as one noun. Example: De afvalbak is vol. — “The bin is full.” Together, Doe het gives the instruction “put it,” and in de kleine afvalbak specifies the destination: “in the small bin.” The complete utterance is therefore “Put it in the small bin.”

7. Ik veeg de wastafel ook snel schoon.

   I will wipe the sink quickly too.

   veeg

   wipe

   wastafel

   sink

   ook

   too; also

   snel

   quickly

   schoon

   clean

   More detail

   veeg is the first-person singular present form of vegen, “to wipe” or “to sweep.” The subject is Ik, so the verb has the form veeg; with jij it is veegt, while the infinitive is vegen. Dutch present tense can also describe a planned action, which fits the fixed translation “I will wipe.” Example: Ik veeg de tafel. — “I wipe the table.” wastafel means “sink,” specifically the washbasin type usually found in a bathroom. It is a noun; its common article is de: de wastafel. Example: De wastafel is nat. — “The sink is wet.” ook adds something to an already relevant action or set: “too” or “also.” Here it adds wiping the sink to the other action(s) in the surrounding situation. Example: Ik maak de spiegel ook schoon. — “I clean the mirror too.” snel means “quickly” here and describes how the wiping is done. The adjective is also used as an adverb without a separate ending: een snelle beweging means “a quick movement,” but Ik werk snel means “I work quickly.” schoon means “clean.” After veeg ... schoon, it expresses the result of the wiping: the sink is wiped clean. Dutch can place the object between the action verb and schoon; the reusable pattern is iemand veegt iets schoon — “someone wipes something clean.” Example: Zij veegt het raam schoon. — “She wipes the window clean.” Together, Ik veeg de wastafel ook snel schoon means that the speaker will wipe the sink clean quickly as an additional action. The fixed translation uses “will wipe”; the Dutch wording itself uses the present form veeg, understood here as a planned action.

8. Dat helpt de volgende persoon.

   That helps the next person.

   Dat

   That

   helpt

   helps

   volgende

   next

   persoon

   person

   More detail

   Dat is the Dutch demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It refers back to the preceding situation or action; in the supplied context, that is the quick cleaning of the sink. Dutch uses dat for a singular neuter reference and also for a previously mentioned fact or situation. Compare dit (“this”) for a nearer reference. helpt comes from helpen, “to help”. It is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject: ik help, jij/u helpt, hij/zij/het helpt. Here the subject is Dat, so helpt means “helps”. Example: Dat helpt mij. — “That helps me.” volgende comes from volgend, “next” or “following”. In de volgende persoon, it is the attributive adjective placed before the noun and has the -e form. The phrase identifies the person who comes next in the relevant sequence. Example: de volgende dag — “the next day.” persoon means “person”. It is a singular noun; its plural is personen. In this sentence, persoon is the noun modified by volgende, forming de volgende persoon, “the next person”. Together, Dat helpt de volgende persoon. means “That helps the next person.” The structure is Dat (subject) + helpt (present-tense verb) + de volgende persoon (the person receiving the help).