Choosing a lunch set | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik wil een lunchmenu voor ons bestellen.

   I want to order a lunch set for us.

   Ik wil

   I want to

   lunchmenu

   lunch set

   voor ons

   for us

   bestellen

   to order

   More detail

   Ik wil means “I want” here. wil is the present-tense form of willen for ik; the same verb also expresses “want” with other subjects, for example Wij willen vertrekken. — “We want to leave.” The following infinitive states what the speaker wants to do. lunchmenu is a Dutch compound noun: lunch + menu, meaning a lunch menu or lunch set in this sentence. Dutch commonly writes such compounds as one word. The indefinite article een introduces the noun phrase without by itself asserting a numerical count. voor ons means “for us.” ons is the first-person plural form used after the preposition voor; it refers to the speaker together with at least one other person. Compare voor mij — “for me” — where mij refers to the speaker alone. bestellen means “to order.” It is the infinitive form of the verb. In this sentence it follows wil: willen + infinitive expresses what someone wants to do. For example, Ik wil koffie bestellen. — “I want to order coffee.” Together, Ik wil ... bestellen gives the reusable pattern “I want to order ...”; een lunchmenu is the thing being ordered, and voor ons specifies that it is intended for the speaker and the others included with the speaker. The complete utterance therefore means: “I want to order a lunch set for us.”

2. Heb je liever kip of vis?

   Would you prefer chicken or fish?

   Heb je liever

   would you prefer

   kip

   chicken

   of

   or

   vis

   fish

   More detail

   Heb je liever is a reusable Dutch question pattern meaning “would you prefer…?” It consists of heb (the second-person singular form of hebben, “to have”) before the subject je, as is normal in a yes/no question. Here, liever expresses preference: it is the comparative form related to graag (“gladly” or “with pleasure”). A useful pattern is Heb je liever X of Y? — “Would you prefer X or Y?” kip means “chicken”. It is a noun; in this sentence it names one of the two food options. Example: Ik eet graag kip. — “I like eating chicken.” of joins alternatives and means “or”. It introduces the second option in a choice. Example: Koffie of thee? — “Coffee or tea?” vis means “fish”. It is the second food option here. Example: Ik bestel vis. — “I am ordering fish.” Together, Heb je liever kip of vis? asks the listener to choose between chicken and fish: “Would you prefer chicken or fish?”

3. Vis lijkt me vandaag beter.

   Fish sounds better to me today.

   Vis

   fish

   lijkt

   seems

   me

   to me

   vandaag

   today

   beter

   better

   More detail

   Vis means “fish” here. In Dutch, vis can refer to fish as food or to a fish, depending on context; the surrounding choice between chicken and fish supports the food meaning here. The capital letter is required because it begins the sentence. Example: Ik eet graag vis. — “I like eating fish.” lijkt is the present-tense form of lijken used with the singular subject vis. In this construction, lijken means “to seem” or “to appear,” rather than physically looking like something. Example: Dat lijkt goed. — “That seems good.” me expresses the person whose impression is being given: “to me” or “in my view.” It is the unstressed object form of the first-person pronoun; the subject is still vis, not the speaker. Example: Het lijkt me duidelijk. — “It seems clear to me.” vandaag means “today” and places the comparison in the current day or present situation. It does not itself mean “now” in every context: nu is the more general word for “now.” Example: Vandaag werk ik thuis. — “Today I am working at home.” beter is the comparative form of goed: goed — “good,” beter — “better,” best — “best.” It presents one option as better than another, even when the comparison is understood rather than stated explicitly. In this context, the earlier choice between chicken and fish supplies a natural comparison. Example: Deze lijkt beter. — “This one seems better.” Together, the sentence follows the pattern [subject] + lijkt + me + [time] + [comparative]: Vis is the option being assessed, lijkt me gives the speaker’s impression, vandaag limits that assessment to today, and beter ranks the fish option more favorably than the understood alternative. The whole utterance therefore means “Fish seems better to me today.”

4. Er zit rijst en één klein bijgerecht bij.

   It comes with rice and one small side.

   Er zit … bij

   comes with

   rijst

   rice

   één

   one

   klein

   small

   bijgerecht

   side dish

   More detail

   Er zit … bij forms a separated Dutch construction: er ... bij zitten means that something is included or comes with something else. Here zit is the present-tense form of zitten; in this construction, the natural English meaning is “comes with,” not simply “sits.” Er introduces what is included, and bij completes the construction at the end. rijst means rice. It is a mass noun here, so the sentence does not state a number of grains or portions. A useful reusable pattern is Er zit rijst bij. — “It comes with rice.” één means one and explicitly marks the count as exactly one in this sentence. The accent distinguishes this numeral from the unstressed article een, which does not by itself assert a numeric count. klein means small. It describes bijgerecht, not één. In één klein bijgerecht, the adjective has the form klein; with a singular neuter noun after the indefinite article or numeral een/één, Dutch commonly uses this uninflected adjective form. Compare een klein bijgerecht with het kleine bijgerecht. bijgerecht means side dish. It is a compound noun: bij indicates something accompanying the main item, and gerecht means dish, but the whole word should be learned as the noun “side dish.” Its plural is bijgerechten. Putting the parts together, Er zit rijst en één klein bijgerecht bij. says that the item under discussion comes with rice and exactly one small side dish. The coordinated included items are introduced after er zit, while the final bij completes the “included/comes with” construction.

5. Welk bijgerecht ziet er het beste uit?

   Which side looks best?

   Welk

   which

   bijgerecht

   side dish

   ziet er … uit

   looks ...

   beste

   best

   More detail

   Welk means “which” when it accompanies a singular het-word. Here it matches bijgerecht, which is a singular neuter noun: het bijgerecht. Compare welke with a singular de-word or with a plural noun. Example: Welke saus wil je? — “Which sauce do you want?” bijgerecht means “side dish,” the food served alongside the main dish. Its usual article is het: een bijgerecht — “a side dish”; de bijgerechten — “the side dishes.” ziet er ... uit is the Dutch pattern for “looks ...” or “appears ...”. The verb is zien (“to see”), and ziet is its present-tense form for jij, u, or a singular third-person subject. In this construction, er and uit belong with the verb, while descriptive words can occur between them: Het gerecht ziet er vers uit. — “The dish looks fresh.” Do not translate this pattern as ordinary “see.” beste is the superlative of goed: goed — “good,” beter — “better,” het beste — “the best.” In this sentence, het beste means “best” in comparison with the other side dishes. Example: Deze optie ziet er het beste uit. — “This option looks best.” Together, Welk bijgerecht asks which side dish is being selected, and ziet er het beste uit asks which one has the most favorable appearance. The complete utterance is: “Which side dish looks best?”

6. De groenten zien er vers en simpel uit.

   The vegetables look fresh and simple.

   groenten

   vegetables

   zien er … uit

   look

   vers

   fresh

   simpel

   simple

   More detail

   groenten means “vegetables” here. It is the plural of groente (“vegetable”). Dutch commonly uses the plural form when referring to vegetables as a group. Example: Ik koop groenten. — “I buy vegetables.” zien er ... uit is the split form of eruitzien, “to look” or “to appear.” In this construction, zien is the present-tense form used with a plural subject such as de groenten; er ... uit completes the verb. The adjective describing the subject goes between er and uit. Example: De bloemen zien er mooi uit. — “The flowers look beautiful.” vers means “fresh.” It is a descriptive adjective placed after the linking-looking construction. In De groenten zien er vers uit, it describes the vegetables’ apparent state. Example: Het brood ziet er vers uit. — “The bread looks fresh.” simpel means “simple” here. It is another descriptive adjective coordinated with vers by en (“and”). Both adjectives describe how the vegetables look. Dutch predicative adjectives such as vers and simpel do not take an ending merely because the subject is plural in this construction. Together, De groenten identifies the subject, zien er ... uit says how that subject appears, and vers en simpel gives the two descriptions. The whole utterance means: “The vegetables look fresh and simple.”

7. Laten we de groenten kiezen.

   Let's choose the vegetables.

   Laten we

   let’s

   groenten

   vegetables

   kiezen

   choose

   More detail

   Laten we is a reusable Dutch construction for making a suggestion together: “let’s …”. It is followed by an infinitive, so the proposed action is expressed with its basic verb form. Example: Laten we beginnen. — “Let’s begin.” groenten means “vegetables” here. Its singular form is groente; groenten is the plural. In the full phrase, de groenten is “the vegetables”: de marks the definite noun phrase, while the plural meaning is carried by groenten. kiezen means “to choose”. It is the infinitive, the form used after Laten we. The same infinitive can be used in other constructions, for example: Ik wil kiezen. — “I want to choose.” Together, Laten we + de groenten + kiezen forms the suggestion “Let’s choose the vegetables.” The participants and action remain collective: the speaker proposes that the speaker and the listener or listeners choose them together.`

8. Ik kan de bestelling nu plaatsen.

   I can place the order now.

   Ik kan

   I can

   bestelling

   order

   nu

   now

   plaatsen

   place

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can” here. kan is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb kunnen (“can, be able to”). A modal is followed by an infinitive; the modal carries the person and tense, while the other verb stays in the infinitive. Example: Ik kan komen. — “I can come.” bestelling means “order” here, specifically an order for goods or items. It is a noun; its plural is bestellingen. In the full noun phrase de bestelling, de is the definite article, so the phrase refers to a particular order. Example: De bestelling is klaar. — “The order is ready.” nu means “now” and places the action at the present time. Example: Ik kom nu. — “I am coming now.” plaatsen means “to place” here. It is the infinitive of plaatsen; after the modal kan, this infinitive appears at the end of the clause. Example: Zij kan de bestelling plaatsen. — “She can place the order.” Together, Ik kan expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility, de bestelling is the definite object, nu specifies the time, and plaatsen names the action. Dutch therefore forms the sentence as Ik kan de bestelling nu plaatsen. — “I can place the order now.”