Fixing a Loose Bathroom Door Handle | Learn Dutch in English

Dutch lesson set in a contemporary Amsterdam everyday setting: At home, two adults tighten a loose bathroom door handle and agree to check it again later..

EN → NL / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Fixing a Loose Bathroom Door Handle to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

De deurklink van de badkamer zit weer los.

duh DURR-klink uv duh BAHT-kah-mur zit vair loss. The bathroom door handle feels loose again.
B

Ik merkte het gisteren, maar ik vergat hem vast te draaien.

ik MAIRK-tuh ut YIS-tuh-run, muh uh vur-KHAHT hem vahst tuh DRAH-yun. I noticed it yesterday but forgot to tighten it.
A

Hebben we een schroevendraaier in de la?

HEH-bun wuh ayn SKHROO-vun-DRAH-yur in duh LAH? Do we have a screwdriver in the drawer?
B

De kleine zou voor deze schroeven moeten werken.

duh KLY-nuh zow fohr DAY-zuh SKHROO-vun MOO-tun WER-kun. The small one should work for these screws.
A

Kun je de deurklink vasthouden terwijl ik hem vastdraai?

kuhn yuh duh DURR-klink VAHST-how-dun tur-WYLE ik hem vahs-DRAHY? Could you hold the handle while I tighten it?
B

Ik houd hem stil terwijl jij eraan draait.

ik HOWT hem stil tur-WYLE yay uh-RAHN DRAHYT. I'll keep it steady while you turn it.
A

Hij voelt nu veel steviger aan.

hay fult noo fayl STAY-vuh-ghur AHN. It feels much firmer now.
B

Laten we hem later nog een keer controleren, voor de zekerheid.

LAH-tun wuh hem LAH-tur nokh un KAYR kun-troh-LAY-run, fohr duh ZEK-ur-HAYT. Let's check it once more later, just in case.

Word by Word

De De is the definite article meaning “the” before a specific noun, as in De deurklink van de badkamer. It identifies the particular door handle being discussed.
deurklink Deurklink means “door handle,” the object that feels loose and is tightened in this dialogue. It is the main noun in De deurklink van de badkamer.
van Van links deurklink to badkamer and gives the relationship “of the bathroom.” It is useful for identifying where something belongs or is located.
badkamer Badkamer means “bathroom” in van de badkamer. It names the room associated with the door handle.
zit Zit helps say that the door handle is in a loose condition in De deurklink van de badkamer zit weer los. The citation form is zitten; zit is the form used with the handle here.
weer Weer means “again” and shows that the handle has become loose another time. It is useful when a situation repeats after having happened before.
los Los means “loose” in zit weer los and describes the handle’s condition. It can be used to describe something that is not firmly attached.
Ik Ik means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person who noticed the problem and forgot to tighten it. It is the subject in Ik merkte het gisteren.
merkte Merkte means “noticed” in Ik merkte het gisteren. The citation form is merken; merkte is the past form used for the earlier observation.
het Het means “it” and refers to the loose handle in Ik merkte het gisteren. It is used here as the object of the noticing.
gisteren Gisteren means “yesterday” and places the noticing on the previous day. It can be used to say when an earlier event happened.
maar Maar means “but” and connects noticing the problem with forgetting to tighten it. It introduces a contrast between the two parts of the sentence.
vergat Vergat means “forgot” in maar ik vergat hem vast te draaien. The citation form is vergeten; vergat is the past form used for the forgotten action.
hem Hem means “him” or “it” and refers here to the door handle in hem vast te draaien. It is the object that the speaker forgot to tighten.
vast Vast contributes the meaning “firmly” or “tight” in hem vast te draaien. Together with draaien, it describes making the handle firm by turning it.
te Te introduces the infinitive phrase te draaien after vergat in hem vast te draaien. It connects the act that was forgotten to the verb before it.
draaien Draaien means “turn” and, with vast in vast te draaien, refers to tightening by turning. It is the infinitive used for the action of turning the handle or a tool.
Hebben Hebben means “have” in the question Hebben we een schroevendraaier in de la? At the start of this question, it asks whether the needed item is available.
we We means “we” and refers to the two people sharing the tools at home. It is the subject in Hebben we een schroevendraaier in de la?
een Een means “a” before the singular noun schroevendraaier in een schroevendraaier. It introduces one unspecified screwdriver.
schroevendraaier Schroevendraaier means “screwdriver,” the tool they look for in the drawer. It is the object being asked about in Hebben we een schroevendraaier in de la?
in In means “in” and places the screwdriver inside the drawer in in de la. It is used to describe an object’s location within a place.
la La means “drawer” in in de la. It names the place where the screwdriver may be stored.
kleine Kleine means “the small one” in De kleine and stands for the small screwdriver, with the noun omitted. The citation form is klein; kleine is the form used here with De.
zou Zou expresses a tentative expectation in De kleine zou voor deze schroeven moeten werken. It makes the prediction less definite than a firm statement.
voor Voor means “for” and links the screwdriver’s expected use to deze schroeven in voor deze schroeven. It identifies what the tool is intended to work with.
deze Deze means “these” and points to the particular screws being discussed in deze schroeven. It is useful when selecting specific nearby items.
schroeven Schroeven means “screws” in voor deze schroeven. The citation form is schroef; schroeven is the plural form because more than one screw is meant.
moeten Moeten contributes the idea of expected suitability in zou voor deze schroeven moeten werken. It combines with werken to say that the screwdriver should work for these screws.
werken Werken means “work” or “function” here, describing whether the small screwdriver is suitable for the screws. It is the infinitive after moeten in moeten werken.
Kun Kun means “can” in Kun je de deurklink vasthouden? At the beginning of the question, it asks whether the other person is able or willing to do something.
je Je means “you” and directly addresses the other person in Kun je de deurklink vasthouden? It identifies who is being asked to hold the handle.
vasthouden Vasthouden means “hold” in Kun je de deurklink vasthouden? It is the action requested, with de deurklink as the object.
terwijl Terwijl means “while” and introduces an action happening at the same time as holding the handle. It connects the two actions in terwijl ik hem vastdraai.
vastdraai Vastdraai means “tighten by turning” in terwijl ik hem vastdraai. The citation form is vastdraaien; vastdraai is the form used with ik in this clause.
houd Houd means “keep” or “hold” in Ik houd hem stil. The citation form is houden; houd is the form used with ik to describe keeping the handle steady.
stil Stil means “still” or “steady” in Ik houd hem stil. It describes the condition in which the handle is kept while the other person turns it.
jij Jij means “you” and identifies the person who turns the handle in terwijl jij eraan draait. It is the subject of that action.
eraan Eraan means “to it” in terwijl jij eraan draait and points back to the handle. Together with draaien, it indicates turning the handle.
draait Draait means “turns” in eraan draait. The citation form is draaien; draait is the form used with jij for the person turning the handle.
Hij Hij means “it” here and refers back to the door handle in Hij voelt nu veel steviger aan. It is the subject whose firmness is being assessed.
voelt Voelt means “feels” in Hij voelt nu veel steviger aan. The citation form is voelen; voelt is the form used with hij in this sentence.
nu Nu means “now” and marks the handle’s condition after the tightening. It contrasts the current feeling with how loose it felt earlier.
veel Veel means “much” in veel steviger and strengthens the comparison. It shows that the handle feels considerably firmer now.
steviger Steviger means “firmer” in Hij voelt nu veel steviger aan. The citation form is stevig; steviger compares the new firmness with the earlier condition.
aan Aan is part of the expression voelen ... aan in Hij voelt nu veel steviger aan, which describes how something feels when assessed. Here it completes the expression with voelt rather than adding a separate object.
Laten Laten introduces a suggestion in Laten we hem later nog een keer controleren. With we, it proposes that the speakers perform the check together.
later Later means “later” and places the planned check at a time after the current repair. It can be used to refer to a subsequent time without specifying exactly when.
nog Nog means “again” or “one more” in nog een keer. It signals that the checking should be repeated.
keer Keer means “time” or “occasion” in nog een keer. Together, nog een keer means “once more” or “again.”
controleren Controleren means “check” or “inspect” in hem later nog een keer controleren. It is the infinitive naming the planned action after Laten we.
zekerheid Zekerheid means “certainty” in voor de zekerheid. The full expression voor de zekerheid means “just in case” and describes taking an extra precaution.

Grammar Points

terwijl + bijzin: het werkwoord staat aan het einde

terwijl je de deurklink vasthoudt

tur-WYLE yuh duh DURR-klink VAHST-howt

while you hold the door handle

Na terwijl staat het vervoegde werkwoord aan het einde van de bijzin.

om ... te + infinitief

om de schroef vast te draaien

um duh SKHROOF vahst tuh DRAH-yun

to tighten the screw

Gebruik om ... te met een infinitief om een doel of bedoeling uit te drukken.

Dutch Vocabulary

badkamer noun
BAHT-kah-mur bathroom
deurklink noun
DURR-klink door handle

De deurklink van de badkamer zit weer los.

gisteren adv
KHIS-tuh-run yesterday
klein adj
KLYNE small kleine
la noun
LAH drawer
los adj
LOSS loose
merken verb
MAIR-kun to notice merkte
schroef noun
SKHROOF screw schroeven
schroevendraaier noun
SKHROO-vun-DRAH-yur screwdriver
vastdraaien verb
VAHST-drah-yun to tighten vast te draaien
vergeten verb
vur-KHAY-tun to forget vergat
weer adv
VAIR again

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

It feels much firmer now.

Show AnswerHij voelt nu veel steviger aan.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

bathroom

Show Answerbadkamer

to forget

Show Answervergat

door handle

Show Answerdeurklink

to notice

Show Answermerkte