Exchanging a shirt for a larger size | Learn Dutch in English

Dutch lesson set in a contemporary Amsterdam everyday setting: In a clothing shop, a customer asks to exchange an unused shirt for a larger size and asks where to try it on..

EN → NL / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Exchanging a shirt for a larger size to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Ik heb dit shirt gekocht.

ik hep dit shurt guh-KOKHT I bought this shirt.
A

Het past niet.

het pahst neet It does not fit.
B

Heb je de bon en het kaartje nog?

hep yuh duh bawn en ut KAHR-tyuh nawkh Do you still have the receipt and the tag?
A

Ik heb ze allebei in de tas bewaard.

ik hep zuh ah-luh-BYE in duh tahs buh-WAHRt I kept both in the bag.
B

Dan kan ik je helpen met retourneren of ruilen.

dahn kan ik yuh HELP-uhn met reh-tur-NAY-run of ROY-luhn Then I can help with a return or exchange.
A

Ik wil het liever ruilen voor een grotere maat.

ik vil ut LEE-vur ROY-luhn vohr un GROH-tuh-ruh maht I would rather exchange it for a larger size.
B

Dat moet kunnen als het shirt niet gedragen is.

daht moet KUN-uhn als ut shurt neet guh-DRAH-ghun is That should be possible if the shirt is unused.
A

Waar kan ik de grotere maat passen?

vahr kan ik duh GROH-tuh-ruh maht PAH-suhn Where can I try the larger size?
B

De paskamers zijn achter die display.

duh PAS-kah-murs zayn AKH-tur dee dis-PLAY The fitting rooms are behind that display.

Word by Word

Ik Ik means “I” in Ik heb dit shirt gekocht. It is the person who bought and kept the shirt here. A reusable pattern is Ik heb … for describing something you have done or obtained.
heb In Ik heb dit shirt gekocht, heb helps express the completed action “bought.” The same form begins the question Heb je de bon en het kaartje nog? as “have.” Use Ik heb … for a statement and Heb je …? for asking whether someone has something.
dit Dit means “this” in dit shirt and points to the shirt being shown or discussed. It comes directly before the noun shirt in this dialogue. A reusable pattern is dit + noun when identifying one particular nearby thing.
shirt Shirt means “shirt” in dit shirt and het shirt. It is the clothing item that does not fit and may be exchanged. You can reuse it after an article or demonstrative, such as het shirt or dit shirt.
gekocht Gekocht means “bought” in Ik heb dit shirt gekocht. Together with heb, it describes the completed purchase of the shirt. A reusable pattern is Ik heb … gekocht when saying that you bought something; add the object after gekocht when needed.
Het Het means “it” in Het past niet, referring to the shirt. Here it is the thing that does not fit. A reusable pattern is Het past niet when saying that a clothing item or other object does not fit.
past Past means “fits” in Het past niet, describing whether the shirt fits the person. With niet, the sentence says that it does not fit. A useful pattern is [item] past niet when rejecting the fit of an item.
niet Niet means “not” in Het past niet and makes the statement negative. It comes after past in this sentence. A reusable pattern is [verb] niet for saying that an action or condition does not happen or hold.
je Je means “you” in Heb je de bon en het kaartje nog? and refers to the customer. In this question it follows Heb. A reusable pattern is Heb je …? for asking one person whether they have something.
de De means “the” in de bon, referring to the specific receipt needed for the exchange. It appears directly before bon. Reuse de before a noun when referring to a specific item that takes this article.
bon Bon means “receipt” in de bon. It is one of the items the shop asks the customer to provide for the return or exchange. A useful phrase is de bon hebben when talking about having the receipt.
en En means “and” in de bon en het kaartje, joining the receipt and the tag. It connects the two requested items in the question. Reuse en between items that belong together in a list.
kaartje Kaartje means “tag” in het kaartje. In this shop conversation, it is the tag that the customer needs to keep for the exchange. A useful phrase is het kaartje bewaren when talking about keeping the tag.
nog Nog means “still” in Heb je de bon en het kaartje nog? It asks whether the customer continues to have both items. It is placed at the end of this question. A reusable pattern is Heb je … nog? when checking whether something is still available or present.
ze Ze means “them” in Ik heb ze allebei in de tas bewaard and refers to de bon en het kaartje. It replaces the two items after the verb phrase. A reusable pattern is Ik heb ze … when referring back to previously mentioned objects.
allebei Allebei means “both” in Ik heb ze allebei in de tas bewaard. It emphasizes that the two previously mentioned items were kept, not just one. Reuse ze allebei when referring to two known things together.
in In means “in” in in de tas and shows that the receipt and tag are located inside the bag. It comes before de tas. A reusable pattern is in + place, such as in de tas, for describing location.
tas Tas means “bag” in de tas. The bag is the place where the customer kept the receipt and tag. A useful phrase is iets in de tas bewaren for saying that you keep something in the bag.
bewaard Bewaard means “kept” in Ik heb ze allebei in de tas bewaard. With heb, it describes the completed act of keeping the two items in the bag. A reusable pattern is iets in … bewaard when explaining where you kept something.
Dan Dan means “then” in Dan kan ik je helpen met retourneren of ruilen. It connects the customer’s answer about having the receipt and tag with the shop employee’s resulting offer. Reuse Dan at the beginning of a sentence to introduce a consequence or next step.
kan Kan means “can” in Dan kan ik je helpen met retourneren of ruilen. It says that the employee is able to help. A reusable pattern is kan ik je helpen …? for offering or asking about being able to help someone.
helpen Helpen means “help” in je helpen met retourneren of ruilen. It describes assisting the customer with a return or exchange. A useful pattern is iemand helpen met … for saying that you help someone with an activity or matter.
met Met means “with” in helpen met retourneren of ruilen and introduces what the help concerns. It is followed here by the activities retourneren and ruilen. Reuse helpen met + activity when describing assistance with something.
retourneren Retourneren means “returning an item” in met retourneren. It names the option of sending the shirt back rather than exchanging it. A reusable pattern is iets retourneren when returning an item to a shop.
of Of means “or” in retourneren of ruilen and presents two alternatives. It joins the return option with the exchange option. Reuse of between alternatives when choosing one possibility from two or more.
ruilen Ruilen means “exchanging” in retourneren of ruilen and names the option of exchanging the shirt. It also appears in Ik wil het liever ruilen. A reusable pattern is iets ruilen voor iets anders when exchanging one item for another.
wil Wil means “want” in Ik wil het liever ruilen voor een grotere maat. It states the customer’s preference to exchange the shirt. A reusable pattern is Ik wil … for expressing what you want to do or have.
liever Liever means “rather” in Ik wil het liever ruilen voor een grotere maat. It shows that exchanging is preferred over returning the shirt. A reusable pattern is Ik wil liever … when choosing one option as your preference.
voor Voor means “for” in ruilen voor een grotere maat and introduces what the shirt will be exchanged for. It links the original item with the desired replacement. A reusable pattern is iets ruilen voor iets anders.
een Een means “a” in een grotere maat and introduces one larger size. It comes before the adjective grotere and the noun maat. Reuse een + adjective + noun when referring to one non-specific item.
grotere Grotere means “larger” in een grotere maat and describes the requested replacement size. It comes before maat. A reusable pattern is een grotere + noun when asking for a larger version of something.
maat Maat means “size” in een grotere maat and de grotere maat. It refers to the clothing size the customer wants to try. A useful phrase is een grotere maat for asking for a larger size.
Dat Dat means “that” in Dat moet kunnen and refers to the requested exchange being possible. It is the subject of the employee’s response. A reusable pattern is Dat moet kunnen when responding that something should be possible.
moet Moet contributes “should” or “must” in Dat moet kunnen, expressing the employee’s expectation that the exchange is possible. It is used with kunnen here rather than describing a physical obligation. Reuse Dat moet kunnen when saying that a proposed action ought to be possible.
kunnen Kunnen means “be possible” in Dat moet kunnen. Together with moet, it expresses that the exchange should be possible under the stated condition. A reusable pattern is iets moet kunnen when saying that something ought to be possible.
als Als means “if” in als het shirt niet gedragen is and introduces the condition for the exchange. The condition is that the shirt has not been worn. Reuse als + condition when stating what must be true for something to happen.
gedragen Gedragen means “worn” in het shirt niet gedragen is. With niet, it describes a shirt that has not been worn. A reusable pattern is niet gedragen for describing an unused clothing item.
is Is means “is” in het shirt niet gedragen is and completes the condition about the shirt’s state. It appears at the end of the condition after niet gedragen. Reuse [noun] is … when describing a condition or state.
Waar Waar means “where” in Waar kan ik de grotere maat passen? It asks for the location where the customer can try on the larger size. A reusable question pattern is Waar kan ik …? for asking where an action can be done.
passen Passen means “try on” in de grotere maat passen. It describes trying the larger size of the shirt. Here it follows kan in Waar kan ik de grotere maat passen? A reusable pattern is iets passen when trying on a clothing item.
paskamers Paskamers means “fitting rooms” in De paskamers. It identifies the rooms used for trying on clothing. The dialogue uses the plural phrase de paskamers when directing the customer to them.
zijn Zijn means “are” in De paskamers zijn achter die display. It links the fitting rooms with their location behind the display. A reusable pattern is [place] zijn achter … when describing where several things are located.
achter Achter means “behind” in achter die display and gives the location of the fitting rooms. It comes before the reference point die display. Reuse achter + place or object when saying that something is located behind it.
die Die means “that” in die display and points to a particular display. It comes directly before display. A reusable pattern is die + noun when identifying a specific item farther away or already indicated.
display Display means “display” in die display and refers to the shop display behind which the fitting rooms are located. It is the reference point in the location phrase achter die display. A useful phrase from this dialogue is achter die display for giving directions in the shop.

Grammar Points

grotere + zelfstandig naamwoord

grotere maat

GROH-tuh-ruh maht

larger size

Bij een bijvoeglijk naamwoord vóór een zelfstandig naamwoord krijgt de vergrotende trap hier de uitgang -e: grotere maat.

gekocht, bewaard, gedragen

gekocht, bewaard, gedragen

guh-KOKHT, buh-WAHRt, guh-DRAH-ghun

bought, kept, worn

Dit zijn voltooide deelwoorden. Ze hebben niet allemaal dezelfde vorm: gedragen is onregelmatig.

Dutch Vocabulary

allebei pron
ah-luh-BYE both

Ik heb ze allebei in de tas bewaard.

bewaard verb
buh-WAHRt kept

Ik heb ze allebei in de tas bewaard.

bon noun
bawn receipt

Heb je de bon en het kaartje nog?

gekocht verb
guh-KOKHT bought

Ik heb dit shirt gekocht.

helpen verb
HELP-uhn to help

Dan kan ik je helpen met retourneren of ruilen.

kaartje noun
KAHR-tyuh tag

Heb je de bon en het kaartje nog?

nog adv
nawkh still

Heb je de bon en het kaartje nog?

past verb
pahst fits

Het past niet.

retourneren verb
reh-tur-NAY-run to return

Dan kan ik je helpen met retourneren of ruilen.

ruilen verb
ROY-luhn to exchange

Dan kan ik je helpen met retourneren of ruilen.

shirt noun
shurt shirt

Ik heb dit shirt gekocht.

tas noun
tahs bag

Ik heb ze allebei in de tas bewaard.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I bought this shirt.

Show AnswerIk heb dit shirt gekocht.

It does not fit.

Show AnswerHet past niet.

The fitting rooms are behind that display.

Show AnswerDe paskamers zijn achter die display.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

both

Show Answerallebei

fits

Show Answerpast

kept

Show Answerbewaard

shirt

Show Answershirt