Asking about a delayed bus | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Neem me niet kwalijk, heeft de bus vertraging?

   Excuse me, is the bus delayed?

   Neem me niet kwalijk

   Excuse me

   heeft

   has

   bus

   bus

   vertraging

   delay

   More detail

   Neem me niet kwalijk is a fixed Dutch expression meaning “Excuse me.” neem is the imperative of nemen (“to take”), but the expression has a natural meaning that cannot be derived by translating each part literally. me is the object pronoun “me,” and niet provides the negation. Example: Neem me niet kwalijk. — “Excuse me.” heeft is the third-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”). In this question, it belongs to the expression vertraging hebben, literally “to have a delay,” which is a usual way to say that something is delayed. Example: De trein heeft vertraging. — “The train is delayed.” bus means “bus.” Example: De bus komt. — “The bus is coming.” vertraging is the noun “delay.” In vertraging hebben, it names the delay that something has. Example: De vlucht heeft vertraging. — “The flight is delayed.” In a Dutch yes-or-no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Heeft de bus vertraging? — “Is the bus delayed?” The subject de bus is singular, so the present form heeft is used. Together, heeft de bus vertraging? asks whether the bus has a delay, naturally translated as “Is the bus delayed?” The complete utterance first says “Excuse me” and then asks that question: “Excuse me, is the bus delayed?”

2. Er is hier in de buurt veel verkeer.

   There's heavy traffic nearby.

   Er is

   there is

   hier

   here

   in de buurt

   nearby

   veel

   a lot of; much

   verkeer

   traffic

   More detail

   Er is is the Dutch existential pattern meaning “there is” or “there are.” Here, is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) used with the singular or mass noun verkeer. In this pattern, er introduces what exists; it is not necessarily a concrete place word. Example: Er is een probleem. — “There is a problem.” hier means “here” and places the situation at the speaker’s current location. It can combine with a location phrase: hier in de buurt — “here nearby.” in de buurt is a reusable location phrase meaning “nearby” or “in the vicinity.” buurt is a noun meaning “neighborhood” or “vicinity”; with in de buurt, the whole phrase normally describes a nearby area rather than identifying a specific neighborhood. Example: Er is een winkel in de buurt. — “There is a shop nearby.” veel means “much” with an uncountable or mass noun and “many” with a plural count noun. In this sentence it modifies verkeer, which is treated as a mass noun, so veel verkeer means “heavy traffic” or literally “a lot of traffic.” Compare: veel verkeer — “a lot of traffic”; veel auto’s — “many cars.” verkeer means “traffic.” It is a mass noun here, so the sentence describes traffic as a quantity or flow rather than counting individual vehicles. The word can refer to road traffic in this context. Together, Er is introduces the existence of something, hier in de buurt locates it nearby, and veel verkeer identifies what exists and describes its amount. The complete utterance means: “There’s heavy traffic nearby.”

3. Weet je wanneer hij aankomt?

   Do you know when it will arrive?

   Weet

   know

   je

   you

   wanneer

   when

   hij

   it

   aankomt

   arrives

   More detail

   Weet means “know” here. It is the present-tense singular form of weten (“to know”): ik weet, jij/je weet, but wij weten. In Weet je ...?, the verb comes before the subject because this is a yes/no question. Example: Weet je het antwoord? — “Do you know the answer?” je means “you” and is the subject of weet. It is the unstressed form of jij; both refer to one person in this sentence. In a question, Weet je ...? is a reusable pattern meaning “Do you know ...?” wanneer means “when” and introduces the information being asked about. It can introduce a time question inside a larger sentence: Ik weet wanneer hij komt. — “I know when he is coming.” hij is a singular third-person subject pronoun. Dutch hij can refer to a male person or to a noun treated as masculine/common gender. In this sentence, the fixed English translation establishes the intended meaning “it”; it does not identify more specifically what “it” refers to. Dutch and English pronoun choices do not always correspond directly. aankomt means “arrives” here. Its base form is the separable verb aankomen (“to arrive”); in the present tense, the third-person singular form is komt aan in a main clause, but aankomt appears together at the end of this subordinate clause. Example: Hij komt morgen aan. — “He arrives tomorrow.” In wanneer hij aankomt, the clause introduced by wanneer has the conjugated verb at the end: literally, “when he arrives.” Together, Weet je asks whether the listener has the information, and wanneer hij aankomt specifies that the information concerns arrival time. The whole utterance means: “Do you know when it will arrive?”

4. Hij is nog onderweg.

   It's still on the way.

   Hij is

   he/it is

   nog

   still

   onderweg

   on the way

   More detail

   Hij is combines the subject pronoun hij with the present-tense form is of zijn (“to be”). Here, the fixed translation uses “it,” so the subject is understood as the thing being discussed, rather than necessarily a male person. Hij is a third-person singular subject form; is is the corresponding singular present form of zijn. For a first-person subject, Dutch uses ik ben: Ik ben onderweg. — “I am on the way.” nog means “still” here. It marks a situation that continues at the reference time. It is different from al (“already”): Hij is al onderweg. — “It is already on the way.” onderweg means “on the way” or “en route.” It is commonly used in the construction onderweg zijn, “to be on the way.” The word describes being in transit, not simply being located somewhere. Example: We zijn onderweg naar huis. — “We are on the way home.” Together, Hij is + nog + onderweg says that the subject is continuing to travel or is still in transit: “It’s still on the way.”

5. Dus het wachten kan langer duren.

   So the wait may be longer.

   Dus

   so

   wachten

   wait

   kan

   may

   langer

   longer

   duren

   last; take time

   More detail

   Dus means “so” and links this statement to what was just established. It can introduce a conclusion or consequence. het wachten means “the wait.” wachten is the verb “to wait”; with het, the infinitive is used as a noun: het wachten = “waiting” or “the wait.” The article het marks this nominalized expression as a neuter noun phrase; it does not state a numerical count. kan is a form of kunnen (“can; may”). Here it expresses possibility: the wait may take longer. The form kan is used with a singular subject in the present tense; compare kunnen with plural subjects, as in De wachttijden kunnen langer duren (“The waiting times may take longer”). langer means “longer.” It is the comparative form of lang (“long”): lang → langer → het langst (“long” → “longer” → “the longest”). In this sentence it compares the possible duration with an understood reference duration; the sentence does not specify that reference. duren means “to last” or “to take time.” It is the infinitive after the modal verb kan: kan duren = “may last” or “may take time.” For example, De reis duurt twee uur means “The journey takes two hours.” Together, het wachten kan langer duren means “the wait may last longer” or “the wait may take longer.” With Dus at the beginning, the complete utterance is: “So the wait may be longer.”

6. Is er een andere bus voor dezelfde route?

   Is there another bus for the same route?

   Is er

   is there

   andere

   another; different

   bus

   bus

   dezelfde

   the same

   route

   route

   More detail

   Is er is the Dutch construction used to ask whether something exists or is available: Is er ...? means “Is there ...?” In this sentence, er is the existential element, while is is the third-person singular present form of zijn (“to be”). The question uses inversion: the finite verb comes before the existential element. andere means “another” here. Its base form is ander; andere is the form used before this noun phrase. It presents the bus as different from one already relevant, without by itself stating how many buses there are. A useful contrast is dezelfde (“the same”) versus een andere (“another/different”). bus is the noun “bus.” Its plural is bussen. In een andere bus, the noun phrase means “another bus”; the indefinite article een marks the noun phrase as indefinite, but does not itself assert a numerical count in the explanation of this sentence. dezelfde means “the same.” It identifies something as identical in the relevant respect to something already established. Dutch commonly uses dezelfde before a noun: dezelfde bus means “the same bus.” Here it modifies route, so the comparison concerns the route, not the bus. route is the noun “route.” Its plural is routes. The phrase dezelfde route means “the same route,” with dezelfde specifying that the route is the one already relevant. Together, een andere bus means “another bus,” and voor dezelfde route means “for the same route.” The complete question asks whether there is another bus serving that same route: “Is there another bus for the same route?”

7. Ja, maar met die bus duurt het langer.

   There is, but that option takes longer.

   Ja

   yes

   maar

   but

   met

   with; by

   die

   that

   bus

   bus

   duurt

   takes (time); lasts

   langer

   longer

   More detail

   Ja confirms the preceding question. In this context, it functions as “yes,” while the fixed translation renders the confirmation as “There is.” maar means “but” and introduces a contrast: the bus is an option, but its travel time is less favorable. It is a conjunction connecting the two parts. met normally means “with.” With a vehicle, met can express the means of travel, so met die bus means “with/by that bus.” Example: Ik ga met de trein. — “I’m going by train.” die means “that” here. It is the singular demonstrative used with a common-gender de noun such as bus: die bus. The form also serves with plural nouns, but that is not the use shown here. Its specific referent is the bus being discussed. bus is the noun “bus.” Its plural is bussen. Example: De bus komt. — “The bus is coming.” duurt is the third-person singular present form of duren, “to last” or “to take a period of time.” In the pattern het duurt ..., het is the grammatical subject used when stating how long something takes; it need not refer to a previously named object. Example: Het duurt tien minuten. — “It takes ten minutes.” langer is the comparative form of lang, “long.” The useful comparison chain is lang — langer — langst: “long” — “longer” — “longest.” Here, langer compares the travel time of this bus with the relevant alternative, without stating an exact duration. Together, Ja, maar gives a confirmation followed by a qualification. Met die bus identifies the means of travel, and duurt het langer says that the journey takes more time. The whole utterance therefore means: “Yes, but that option takes longer.”

8. Ik blijf hier op deze bus wachten.

   I'll stay here for this bus.

   blijf

   stay; remain

   hier

   here

   deze

   this

   bus

   bus

   op … wachten

   wait for

   More detail

   blijf is the first-person singular present form of blijven, “to stay” or “to remain.” In this sentence, ik blijf means “I stay” and, with the future-oriented context, is naturally translated as “I’ll stay.” The present form can describe a decision or arrangement about the near future. hier means “here,” the place where the speaker will remain. A useful contrast is daar, “there.” deze means “this” and refers here to the bus identified as the object of waiting. Dutch uses deze with singular de-words and with plural nouns; bus is a singular de-word (de bus). The contrasting singular form for a het-word is dit. bus is the noun “bus.” Its ordinary singular form is de bus; the plural is bussen, “buses.” op ... wachten is the Dutch construction for “to wait for ...”: wachten op followed by the thing awaited. In the fixed sentence, op is separated from wachten by deze bus, so the pattern is op + noun + wachten. Example: Ik wacht op de trein. — “I’m waiting for the train.” Together, Ik blijf hier means “I’ll stay here,” and op deze bus wachten means “wait for this bus.” The complete utterance is: “I’ll stay here for this bus.”

9. Dat is waarschijnlijk het beste als je kunt wachten.

   That's probably best if you can wait.

   Dat

   That

   is

   is

   waarschijnlijk

   probably

   beste

   best

   als

   if

   je

   you

   kunt

   can

   wachten

   wait

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here and functions as the subject. Dutch distinguishes the demonstratives dit (“this,” for a neuter singular noun or idea nearby) and dat (“that,” for a neuter singular noun or idea farther away); dat can also point to a whole situation, as it does here. Its exact referent is not specified. is is the present-tense third-person singular form of zijn, “to be.” The useful pattern is X is Y: “X is Y.” waarschijnlijk means “probably” and marks the statement as likely rather than certain. It is an adverb, so it does not change for person or number. For example, Hij komt waarschijnlijk morgen. means “He will probably come tomorrow.” beste is the superlative form of goed (“good”): goed → beter (“better”) → het beste (“the best”). In het beste, the adjective is used substantively: it means “the best [option/choice]” without naming that noun. The form beste is the adjective form carrying this comparison; it is not derived from a neighboring noun. als introduces the condition “if” here. A reusable pattern is als + clause: Als je tijd hebt, kom dan binnen. means “If you have time, come in.” In some contexts als can also mean “when,” but the fixed translation supports the conditional reading here. je is the informal subject pronoun “you.” It can refer to one person or, depending on context, more than one person; the fixed sentence does not specify the number. The corresponding object form is also je, while the formal subject pronoun is u. kunt is the present-tense form of the modal verb kunnen, “can” or “be able to,” used with je. The pattern je kunt means “you can.” After a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive, as wachten does here. In a question or inversion, Dutch also has kun je ...?, for example Kun je wachten? — “Can you wait?” wachten is the infinitive “to wait.” It follows kunt and therefore stays in the infinitive rather than carrying the subject’s person marking. The previous context also uses wachten in wachten op deze bus, “wait for this bus”; Dutch commonly uses wachten op when naming what someone is waiting for. Together, Dat is waarschijnlijk het beste says “That is probably the best,” and als je kunt wachten adds the condition “if you can wait.” The complete utterance is therefore: “That’s probably best if you can wait.”