Fixing a Weak Internet Connection | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. De internetverbinding is zwak in deze kamer.

   The internet connection is weak in this room.

   internetverbinding

   internet connection

   zwak

   weak

   deze

   this

   kamer

   room

   More detail

   internetverbinding means “internet connection” here. It is a Dutch compound noun: internet + verbinding (“connection”). Learn the complete compound as the normal word for the connection to the internet; its article is de: de internetverbinding. zwak means “weak” in this sentence. It is a descriptive adjective used after the linking verb is, so it describes the connection rather than standing before a noun. The adjective does not receive an ending in this use: De verbinding is zwak (“The connection is weak”). Its opposite is sterk (“strong”): Het signaal is sterk (“The signal is strong”). deze means “this” and points to a singular nearby or otherwise contextually identified noun. Dutch uses deze with singular de-nouns and with plural nouns; the singular form used with a singular het-noun is dit. Here, deze agrees with kamer, which is a de-noun: deze kamer (“this room”). kamer means “room”. Its basic form is kamer, and it is a de-noun: de kamer. A useful contrast is kamers (“rooms”), the plural formed with -s. The sentence is assembled as De internetverbinding is zwak in deze kamer: De internetverbinding is the subject, is zwak says that it has the quality of being weak, and in deze kamer specifies the location. Together, the utterance means “The internet connection is weak in this room.”

2. Misschien moet de router even opnieuw worden gestart.

   The router may need a quick restart.

   Misschien

   maybe

   moet

   must; needs to

   router

   router

   even

   briefly; for a moment

   opnieuw

   again

   worden gestart

   be restarted

   More detail

   Misschien means “maybe” here. It presents the whole statement as possible rather than certain. Example: Misschien komt hij morgen. — “Maybe he is coming tomorrow.” moet is the singular present form of moeten, “must” or “need to.” With de router as the subject, it expresses that the router may need the action that follows. The combination misschien moet ... means “may need to ...,” because misschien makes the modal statement uncertain. Example: De computer moet worden bijgewerkt. — “The computer needs to be updated.” de router is the noun phrase “the router.” router is a loanword used as a Dutch noun; its plural is routers. The article de belongs to the noun phrase and does not itself express a numeric count. even literally relates to “briefly” or “for a moment,” but in this sentence it is a common smallening word: it presents the restart as a quick or limited action. It does not by itself assert an exact duration. Example: Wacht even. — “Wait a moment.” opnieuw means “again” or “anew.” It marks that the action is to happen another time, rather than for the first time. weer can also mean “again” in many contexts, but opnieuw often makes repetition especially clear. Example: Start het programma opnieuw. — “Start the program again.” worden gestart is a passive construction meaning “be started.” worden is the infinitive of worden, used here as the passive auxiliary after the modal moet; gestart is the past participle of starten, “to start.” Because the construction is passive, the router is presented as the thing receiving the action, while the person performing it is not stated. The infinitive phrase worden gestart does not change for the singular router in this construction. Example: De telefoon moet worden opgeladen. — “The phone needs to be charged.” Together, Misschien moet de router even opnieuw worden gestart says that the router may need to be quickly restarted. The word order places the modal moet before the subject, while the passive infinitive worden gestart comes at the end: Misschien moet [de router] [even opnieuw worden gestart].

3. Zal ik hem uitzetten en weer aanzetten?

   Should I turn it off and on again?

   Zal ik

   Shall I …?

   hem

   it

   uitzetten

   turn off

   weer

   again

   aanzetten

   turn on

   More detail

   Zal ik is a reusable way to ask whether the speaker should do something: “Shall I …?” Here, zal is the present-tense singular form of zullen used with ik. With an infinitive, this construction commonly expresses a suggestion or offer about a future action. Example: Zal ik bellen? — “Shall I call?” hem is the Dutch object pronoun used here for a singular common-gender referent. The preceding context identifies that referent as de router, so hem means “it” in this utterance; it does not imply a person. The pronoun is the object of both actions. uitzetten means “to switch or turn off.” It is an infinitive of the separable verb uitzetten; in the infinitive, the parts are written together. Example: Zet de computer uit. — “Turn off the computer.” weer means “again” here. It marks the repeated or restored action of turning the device on after turning it off. aanzetten means “to switch or turn on.” Like uitzetten, it is a separable verb whose infinitive is written as one word. Example: Zet het licht aan. — “Turn on the light.” The two infinitives are coordinated after Zal ik: hem uitzetten means “turn it off,” and weer aanzetten means “turn it on again.” The shared subject is ik, and hem is the shared object. Together, the utterance asks whether the speaker should switch the router off and then switch it on again.

4. Doe dat en wacht dan tot het statuslampje weer aangaat.

   Do that, then wait until the status light comes back on.

   Doe

   do

   dat

   that

   wacht

   wait

   dan

   then

   tot

   until

   statuslampje

   status light

   weer

   again

   aangaat

   comes on

   More detail

   Doe is the imperative of doen (“to do”). It gives a direct instruction to the listener. The subject “you” is understood and normally omitted in a Dutch imperative. Compare the useful forms doen (to do), doe (do, singular or general imperative), and doet (does; or a polite/plural imperative in suitable contexts). dat means “that” here and refers to the action or task already understood from the context. As a demonstrative pronoun, it is not itself a marker of a particular quantity. Its form is also used with singular neuter references; the exact referent here is supplied by the situation rather than by the word alone. wacht is the imperative of wachten (“to wait”). Dutch often places two imperative instructions next to each other: Doe ... en wacht ... = “Do ... and wait ...”. The subject remains understood as “you”; it is not repeated before wacht. dan means “then”. It orders the waiting instruction after the first instruction: “Do that, then wait.” tot introduces the point at which the waiting ends, meaning “until”. A reusable pattern is wacht tot ... (“wait until ...”). It is different from omdat (“because”), which gives a reason rather than an endpoint in time. statuslampje is the noun “status light”. It is a compound: status identifies the function, and lampje means “little light” or “indicator light”. The compound is a neuter noun and normally takes the article het, as in het statuslampje. The noun itself does not show whether the light is currently on or off. weer means “again” or “back”. With a device or light, it describes a return to an earlier state, so weer aangaan means “come back on” rather than simply “be on”. aangaat is the form of the separable verb aangaan, “to go on” or “to turn on”. In the subordinate clause introduced by tot, the parts stay together: het lampje gaat aan (“the light comes on”) becomes tot het lampje aangaat (“until the light comes on”). Here aangaat is present tense, third-person singular, agreeing with het statuslampje; the noun’s gender determines its article, not the verb ending. The base form is aangaan, while gaat aan is the corresponding separated form in a main clause. Together, Doe dat gives the first imperative, en wacht dan adds the following instruction, and tot het statuslampje weer aangaat specifies how long to wait. The complete meaning is: “Do that, then wait until the status light comes back on.”

5. De pagina laadt nu beter.

   The page is loading better now.

   pagina

   page

   laadt

   loads; is loading

   nu

   now

   beter

   better

   More detail

   pagina means “page” here. Its base form is pagina; the plural is pagina's, with an apostrophe in the spelling. Example: De pagina is open. — “The page is open.” laadt is the present-tense form of laden (“to load”) for a singular subject such as de pagina. Dutch present tense commonly uses -t with a singular subject: de pagina laadt. The same form can also mean “loads” or, in context, “is loading”; Dutch does not need a separate progressive verb form here. Example: De foto laadt. — “The photo is loading.” nu means “now” and places the situation in the present time. It can be moved for emphasis, but in this sentence it comes after the verb: De pagina laadt nu. — “The page is loading now.” beter is the comparative form of goed (“good”): goed → beter (“better”) → best (“best”). It compares the page’s current loading performance with an earlier or other state; the comparison is understood rather than stated explicitly. Example: De app werkt beter. — “The app works better.” Together, De pagina identifies the singular subject, laadt says that it is loading, nu locates this in the present, and beter describes an improvement in how it loads. The complete meaning is: “The page is loading better now.”

6. Misschien helpt het nog meer om hem op een open plank te zetten.

   Putting it on an open shelf might help even more.

   Misschien

   perhaps

   helpt

   helps

   het

   dummy it

   nog meer

   even more

   hem

   it

   open

   open

   plank

   shelf

   te zetten

   to put

   More detail

   Misschien means “perhaps” and makes the statement tentative. Example: Misschien regent het. — “Perhaps it is raining.” helpt is the present-tense singular form of helpen, “to help.” The subject here is the anticipatory het, so the verb is singular. Useful forms are helpen (infinitive), helpt (singular present), and geholpen (past participle). Example: Dit helpt. — “This helps.” het is a dummy, anticipatory subject: it introduces the idea expressed by the following om ... te clause. Here it is not the item being put on the shelf. Dutch also uses het as a regular pronoun in other contexts, but its role here is grammatical rather than a reference to the moved object. nog meer means “even more.” meer is the comparative form related to veel (“much/many”): veel → meer → het meest (“the most”). nog adds the sense that the degree is greater still. Example: Dit helpt nog meer. — “This helps even more.” hem is the object form of the third-person singular personal pronoun. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies it as the item being put on the shelf. The subject form is hij, while hem is used for the object: Hij helpt hem. — “He helps him.” open means “open.” In een open plank, it describes the shelf as open rather than enclosed. The form stays open here because adjectives ending in -en do not take an additional attributive -e. Example: een open deur — “an open door.” plank means “shelf” in this context. In other contexts it can mean “board” or “plank”; here the surrounding phrase and fixed translation support “shelf.” Example: Het boek ligt op de plank. — “The book is on the shelf.” te zetten is an infinitive construction meaning “to put.” The base verb is zetten; its singular present form is zet, and its past participle is gezet. The pattern om ... te introduces an infinitival clause. Here, hem op een open plank te zetten means “to put it on an open shelf”; op marks the location, and een introduces the shelf without by itself asserting a numerical count. Together, het helpt om ... te zetten expresses that carrying out the following action may be helpful. Misschien makes this a possibility, while nog meer indicates a greater degree of help. The whole utterance therefore means: “Putting it on an open shelf might help even more.”

7. Zullen we hem bij de deuropening zetten?

   Should we move it near the doorway?

   Zullen we

   shall we

   hem

   it

   bij

   near; by

   deuropening

   doorway

   zetten

   put; place

   More detail

   Zullen we is a reusable way to make a suggestion as a question: “shall we …?” Zullen is the present-tense form of zullen used with we, the first-person plural subject. In this use, it proposes an action rather than simply stating a future event. Hem is the object form of the third-person singular pronoun. Here the fixed translation identifies it as “it,” referring to the thing being repositioned. Dutch hem can also mean “him” or refer to a masculine/common-gender noun, depending on the established referent; the form itself marks its object role. Compare subject hij with object hem. Bij places something near or by a location. A useful pattern is iets bij + plaats (“something near + place”). It does not itself express movement; the placement action comes from zetten. Deuropening means “doorway” or, more literally, “door opening.” It is a compound noun. In de deuropening, de is the definite article, so the phrase refers to a particular doorway in the situation. Zetten is the infinitive meaning “to put” or “to place.” Its useful form chain is zetten (infinitive), zet (present singular), zette (past singular), gezet (past participle). After a modal-like verb such as zullen, the lexical verb commonly remains in the infinitive: Zullen we het daar zetten? — “Shall we put it there?” Together, hem ... bij de deuropening zetten means “place it near the doorway.” The question frame Zullen we ...? turns that placement into a proposal: “Should we move it near the doorway?” The wording is a neutral conversational suggestion about relocating the object.

8. Dan kan het signaal misschien deze kamer bereiken.

   That could help the signal reach this room.

   Dan

   then; in that case

   kan

   could

   signaal

   signal

   misschien

   perhaps

   deze

   this

   kamer

   room

   bereiken

   reach

   More detail

   Dan means “then” or “in that case.” Here it links the sentence to the preceding situation: given that situation, the possibility described next follows. It can also refer to a point in time, but that is not the intended use here. kan is the third-person singular present form of kunnen, “can” or “be able to.” With an infinitive, kunnen expresses ability or possibility. In this sentence, kan ... bereiken presents reaching the room as possible; the English fixed translation naturally renders this modal idea as “could.” After a modal such as kan, the following verb is an infinitive without te. het signaal means “the signal.” The noun is signaal; its plural is signalen. The article het belongs to this noun because signaal is a neuter singular noun. In the sentence, signaal is the subject: it is the thing that may reach the room. misschien means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It adds uncertainty to the possibility expressed by kan; it does not change which participant is doing the reaching. For example: Misschien komt hij morgen. — “Maybe he will come tomorrow.” deze means “this” before a singular noun of the de-word class. It agrees with the noun it determines, not with the speaker or listener. Here it occurs in the phrase deze kamer; the supplied translation identifies the intended referent as “this room.” kamer means “room.” Its plural is kamers. In deze kamer, the noun is singular and is modified by the demonstrative deze. bereiken means “reach.” It is the infinitive after kan; its subject is het signaal, not deze kamer. A useful pattern is iets kan een plaats bereiken — “something can reach a place.” Together, Dan kan het signaal misschien deze kamer bereiken means that, in that situation, it is possible that the signal reaches this room. The fixed translation presents this as “That could help the signal reach this room.” The reusable structure is Dan kan [subject] misschien [place] bereiken: “Then/in that case, [subject] may perhaps reach [place].”