Preparing the room for a quiet evening | Learn Dutch in English

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Use Preparing the room for a quiet evening to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Het wordt tegenwoordig eerder donker.

hut vort tay-khuhn-VOR-dikh AYR-dur DONG-kur. It is getting dark earlier these days.

Ik doe de gordijnen dicht voor het avondeten.

ik doo duh khor-DINE-un dikht vohr ut AH-vont-AY-tun. I will close the curtains before dinner.

Kun je de kleine kachel ook aanzetten?

kuhn yuh duh KLY-nuh KHA-khul ohk AHN-zet-un? Could you switch on the small heater too?

Ik kan hem op een lage stand zetten.

ik kahn um op un LAH-khuh stahnt ZET-un. I can set it to low.

Maar de kamer voelt al comfortabel aan.

mahr duh KAH-mur foolt al kom-for-TAH-bul ahn. But the room already feels comfortable.

Ik wil dat de kamer vanavond gezellig aanvoelt.

ik vil daht duh KAH-mur vah-NOH-vunt khuh-ZEL-ukh AHN-voolt. I want the room to feel cozy this evening.

Misschien kan een zachtere lamp dat doen zonder de kamer te warm te maken.

mis-KHEEN kahn un ZAHKH-tuh-ruh lahmp daht doon ZON-dur duh KAH-mur tuh VAHRM tuh MAH-kun. A softer lamp might do that without making it too warm.

Door het zachtere licht voelt de kamer veel rustiger aan.

dohr ut ZAHKH-tuh-ruh likht foolt duh KAH-mur vayl RUS-tuh-khur ahn. The softer light makes the room feel much calmer.

Dan kunnen we ontspannen nadat we hebben gegeten.

DAHN KUN-un vuh ont-SPAH-nun nah-DAHT vuh HEH-bun khuh-AY-tun. Then we can relax after we eat.

Word by Word

Het Het is the impersonal subject in Het wordt tegenwoordig eerder donker: it refers to the situation becoming dark, not to a specific object. This pattern is used to describe weather or changes in the surroundings.

wordt Wordt means is becoming in Het wordt tegenwoordig eerder donker, describing a change into a new state. It is a present form of worden and commonly appears with an adjective such as donker to describe how something changes.

tegenwoordig Tegenwoordig means these days or nowadays in Het wordt tegenwoordig eerder donker. It places the statement in the present period and can be used to compare current circumstances with an earlier period.

eerder Eerder means earlier or sooner here: darkness begins earlier these days. It compares the time with a previous or expected time; the base form is vroeg, with eerder expressing the comparison.

donker Donker means dark in Het wordt tegenwoordig eerder donker. It describes the state that the surroundings are becoming, and it can be used after wordt to describe a change in conditions.

Ik Ik means I and identifies the speaker as the person who will close the curtains. It is the subject in Ik doe de gordijnen dicht and is used before the verb in this statement.

doe Doe contributes the action of closing in Ik doe de gordijnen dicht. It is a form of doen, and with gordijnen and dicht it forms the reusable expression de gordijnen dichtdoen, to close the curtains.

de De means the in de gordijnen, referring to the particular curtains in the room. It is used before this plural noun and is part of the noun phrase de gordijnen.

gordijnen Gordijnen means curtains in de gordijnen. The form is plural because the speaker is referring to the curtains as a group, and it can be used with a closing action such as de gordijnen dichtdoen.

dicht Dicht means closed or shut in Ik doe de gordijnen dicht. Together with doe and de gordijnen, it describes the result intended for the curtains; the full expression is used when closing curtains or another opening.

voor Voor means before in voor het avondeten and places the closing action earlier than dinner. It commonly introduces a time or event that something happens before.

avondeten Avondeten means dinner or the evening meal in voor het avondeten. It is the event used as the time reference, and voor can be placed before it to mean before dinner.

Kun Kun means can or could in Kun je de kleine kachel ook aanzetten? It begins a polite request about ability or willingness and is a form of kunnen used with je.

je Je means you in Kun je de kleine kachel ook aanzetten? It identifies the person being asked and follows Kun in this question pattern.

kleine Kleine means small in de kleine kachel and describes the heater. It is the form of klein used before this noun, and the pattern adjective plus noun can identify a particular object.

kachel Kachel means heater in de kleine kachel. It is the object that the speaker asks the other person to switch on, and it can be used with the action aanzetten.

ook Ook means also or too in de kleine kachel ook aanzetten. It adds this request to another action already being considered, and it is commonly placed near the action or item it adds.

aanzetten Aanzetten means switch on or turn on in de kleine kachel ook aanzetten. It is the infinitive used after Kun and refers here to starting the heater; the same verb can be used for switching on a device or light.

kan Kan means can in Ik kan hem op een lage stand zetten and expresses ability or possibility. It is a form of kunnen followed by the infinitive zetten, with the object and setting placed before that infinitive.

hem Hem means it here and refers back to the heater in Ik kan hem op een lage stand zetten. It is the object of zetten, and this pattern keeps the object before the setting and the infinitive.

op Op means at or on in op een lage stand, indicating the setting selected for the heater. The reusable pattern is something op een bepaalde stand zetten, to set something to a particular level.

een Een means a in een lage stand and introduces one setting without identifying it as a specific previously mentioned setting. It comes before the adjective and noun in this noun phrase.

lage Lage means low in een lage stand and describes the selected level. It is the form of laag used before stand, and it can identify a low setting for an appliance.

stand Stand means setting or level in op een lage stand. It names the level chosen for the heater, and the expression een lage stand is useful when describing an appliance operating at a low setting.

zetten Zetten means set or put in Ik kan hem op een lage stand zetten. It is the infinitive after kan and describes adjusting the heater to a chosen setting, following the pattern iets op een stand zetten.

Maar Maar means but and introduces a qualification in Maar de kamer voelt al comfortabel aan. It contrasts the suggestion of using the heater with the speaker's view that the room already feels comfortable.

kamer Kamer means room in de kamer. Here it is the thing whose comfort is being described, and it appears with de in the phrase de kamer voelt comfortabel aan.

voelt Voelt means feels in de kamer voelt al comfortabel aan. It is a form of voelen and describes the room's experienced condition rather than a deliberate action; voelt ... aan is the relevant expression here.

al Al means already in de kamer voelt al comfortabel aan. It shows that the room is comfortable at this point, before any further heating or lighting change.

comfortabel Comfortabel means comfortable in de kamer voelt al comfortabel aan. It describes the condition the room is perceived to have, and it follows voelt in this expression.

aan Aan completes voelt ... aan in de kamer voelt al comfortabel aan, giving the expression the meaning feels or comes across as. It should be understood together with voelt rather than as a separate meaning of on in this sentence.

wil Wil means want in Ik wil dat de kamer vanavond gezellig aanvoelt. It expresses the speaker's desired result and is a form of willen followed by the clause dat de kamer vanavond gezellig aanvoelt.

dat Dat introduces the clause describing what the speaker wants in Ik wil dat de kamer vanavond gezellig aanvoelt. The clause after dat states the desired situation, rather than identifying a physical object.

vanavond Vanavond means this evening in dat de kamer vanavond gezellig aanvoelt. It specifies when the desired comfortable atmosphere should apply and can be used as a time expression in a sentence.

gezellig Gezellig means cozy or pleasantly comfortable in dat de kamer vanavond gezellig aanvoelt. It describes the atmosphere the room should have, and it commonly describes a pleasant social or home setting.

aanvoelt Aanvoelt means feels or comes across as in dat de kamer vanavond gezellig aanvoelt. It is the form of aanvoelen written together at the end of this clause after dat; the pattern describes how a place or situation feels.

Misschien Misschien means maybe or perhaps in Misschien kan een zachtere lamp dat doen. It presents the lamp as a possible solution rather than a certain one and commonly introduces a suggestion.

zachtere Zachtere means softer in een zachtere lamp and compares the lamp's light with a harder or brighter option. It is the form of zacht used before lamp, and the adjective-plus-noun pattern identifies the suggested lamp.

lamp Lamp means lamp in een zachtere lamp. It is the proposed source of softer light, and it is the subject of kan ... dat doen in this suggestion.

doen Doen means do in Misschien kan een zachtere lamp dat doen, where it means achieve the effect just mentioned. It is the infinitive after kan and keeps the object dat before it.

zonder Zonder means without in zonder de kamer te warm te maken. It introduces an action or result that should not happen, namely making the room too warm, and it is followed here by a te-infinitive construction.

te Te marks the infinitive in te maken within zonder de kamer te warm te maken. In the same phrase, the first te combines with warm to mean too warm, while the te directly before maken introduces the infinitive; the form is used in the without-doing construction.

warm Warm means warm in de kamer te warm te maken. With the preceding te it means too warm, describing an unwanted result, and it is part of the pattern iets te warm maken, to make something too warm.

maken Maken means make in de kamer te warm te maken. It describes causing the room to become too warm and is the infinitive at the end of the zonder construction.

Door Door means through or by means of in Door het zachtere licht. It introduces the cause or means by which the room feels calmer, and it commonly comes before the thing producing an effect.

licht Licht means light in het zachtere licht. It is the means that produces the calmer feeling in the room, and it appears here with the adjective zachtere to specify the quality of the light.

veel Veel means much or a lot in veel rustiger. It strengthens the comparison and means that the room feels considerably calmer, and it can be placed before a comparative adjective.

rustiger Rustiger means calmer in veel rustiger. It is the comparative form of rustig and compares the room's feeling with a less calm state; the pattern veel rustiger makes the comparison stronger.

Dan Dan means then in Dan kunnen we ontspannen nadat we hebben gegeten. It marks the consequence that follows the earlier changes to the room and introduces the next step in the evening.

kunnen Kunnen means can or be able to in Dan kunnen we ontspannen. It expresses the possibility of relaxing and is followed by the infinitive ontspannen; this is the plural form used with we.

we We means we in Dan kunnen we ontspannen. It identifies the speaker and the other person together as the people who can relax, and it follows kunnen in this sentence.

ontspannen Ontspannen means relax in kunnen we ontspannen. It is the infinitive after kunnen and names the activity that becomes possible after eating; it can be used for taking it easy after an activity.

nadat Nadat means after in nadat we hebben gegeten. It introduces the event that must happen first, and it is followed by a subordinate clause describing that earlier event.

hebben Hebben is the auxiliary have in we hebben gegeten. Together with gegeten it forms the expression meaning we have eaten, and the auxiliary appears before the participle in this subordinate clause.

gegeten Gegeten means eaten in we hebben gegeten. It is the participle of eten used with hebben to describe the completed meal, and the full phrase is used after nadat to say after we have eaten.

Grammar Points

zachtere + zelfstandig naamwoord

zachtere lamp

ZAHKH-tuh-ruh lahmp

softer lamp

Before a noun, the comparative adjective takes -e: zacht becomes zachtere.

lage + zelfstandig naamwoord

lage stand

LAH-khuh stahnt

low setting

An adjective before a noun usually takes -e: laag becomes lage.

Dutch Vocabulary

aanvoelen verb

AHN-voo-lun to feel aanvoelt

aanzetten verb

AHN-zet-un to switch on

avondeten noun

AH-vont-AY-tun dinner

comfortabel adj

kom-for-TAH-bul comfortable

donker adj

DONG-kur dark

eerder adv

AYR-dur earlier

gezellig adj

khuh-ZEL-ukh cozy; pleasant

gordijn noun

khor-DINE curtain gordijnen

kachel noun

KHA-khul heater; stove

laag adj

LAHKH low lage

stand noun

stahnt setting; position

tegenwoordig adv

tay-khuhn-VOR-dikh nowadays

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

It is getting dark earlier these days.

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Het wordt tegenwoordig eerder donker.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

heater; stove

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kachel

earlier

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eerder

low

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lage

dinner

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avondeten