Finding the right platform after a change | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Heb je de aankondiging net gehoord?

   Did you hear the announcement just now?

   Heb je

   have you

   de

   the

   aankondiging

   announcement

   net

   just now

   gehoord

   heard

   More detail

   Heb je is the question form of je hebt (“you have”). Dutch main-clause questions commonly put the finite verb before the subject: Heb je ...? This is the auxiliary hebben, used here with the past participle gehoord to form the present perfect. A reusable pattern is Heb je + ... + gehoord? (“Have you heard ...?”). de is the definite article “the.” Dutch uses de with common-gender singular nouns and with all plural nouns; this article does not itself express a numerical count. aankondiging means “announcement.” Its plural is aankondigingen. In this sentence, de aankondiging refers to a specific announcement known in the situation, rather than introducing an unspecified one. net means “just now” here, placing the hearing very recently in the past. Its exact meaning depends on context; in this utterance, the fixed translation supports the recent-time meaning. gehoord is the past participle of horen (“to hear”). The form horen → gehoord is used with hebben in the present perfect: je hebt gehoord (“you have heard”). In the question, inversion gives Heb je gehoord? The participle stays gehoord; the change in question order affects the finite auxiliary heb, not the participle. Together, Heb je + de aankondiging + net + gehoord? means “Did you hear the announcement just now?” More literally in Dutch tense structure, it asks whether you have just heard that specific announcement. The question uses a present-perfect construction to connect a recent past event with the current conversational moment.

2. De trein vertrekt van een ander perron.

   The train is leaving from a different platform.

   trein

   train

   vertrekt

   leaves; departs

   van

   from

   ander

   different; other

   perron

   platform

   More detail

   trein means “train” here. Its base form is trein; the plural is treinen. In Dutch, a noun’s article and adjective can help show its grammatical gender, but the noun itself remains the subject here: the train is the one leaving. vertrekt is the present-tense form of vertrekken for a singular third-person subject such as de trein. The verb means “leaves” or “departs”; the present tense can describe a departure happening now or scheduled in the immediate situation. Compare de trein vertrekt (“the train leaves/is leaving”) with de treinen vertrekken (“the trains leave/are leaving”). van introduces the starting point or source: vertrekken van een station means “leave from a station.” It is different from naar, which introduces a destination, as in naar Amsterdam vertrekken (“leave for Amsterdam”). ander means “different” or “other” in this sentence. Its base form is ander. In een ander perron, it appears without -e because it is an attributive adjective before an indefinite singular neuter noun: het perron. With a definite noun, the form is normally het andere perron (“the other platform”). perron means “platform,” especially a railway platform. Its plural is perrons. The phrase een ander perron therefore means “a different platform” or “another platform”; the fixed translation selects “a different platform” here. Together, De trein is “the train,” vertrekt says that it is leaving, van marks the point it leaves from, and een ander perron identifies that point as a different platform. The whole utterance means: “The train is leaving from a different platform.”

3. Op het bord staat dat we het andere perron moeten nemen.

   The board says we should use the other platform instead.

   bord

   board

   staat

   says; is stated

   andere

   other

   perron

   platform

   moeten

   must; have to

   nemen

   take; use

   More detail

   bord means “board” here, specifically a board displaying travel information. It is a neuter noun: het bord; its plural is de borden. Example: Ik kijk op het bord. — “I look at the board.” staat is the present-tense form of staan, “to stand.” With written information, Dutch commonly uses op het bord staat dat ... literally “on the board stands that ...,” meaning that the board says or displays that something is the case. This is a special use of staan for text or information, not a claim that the board is physically standing in the intended English sense. andere means “other” here. The base form is ander; the -e form appears in het andere perron, where the adjective comes before a singular neuter noun with the definite article het. Compare een ander perron — “a different/another platform,” with ander after the indefinite article. Example: We nemen de andere uitgang. — “We take the other exit.” perron means “platform” in a railway context. It is a neuter noun: het perron; its plural is de perrons. In this sentence, het andere perron is the object selected by nemen. moeten is the infinitive and plural present form of moeten, “must” or “have to.” With the subject we, the form is moeten: we moeten ... — “we must/have to ...”. Dutch modal verbs such as moeten are commonly followed by an infinitive, which appears later in the clause. nemen is the infinitive “take.” With a route, vehicle, exit, or platform, Dutch can use nemen where English naturally uses “take” or “use”: We nemen het andere perron. — “We take/use the other platform.” In we moeten ... nemen, moeten carries the obligation and nemen names the required action. Together, Op het bord staat dat introduces information displayed on the board: “The board says that ...”. Inside the dat-clause, we ... moeten nemen means “we should/must take,” and het andere perron identifies the alternative platform. The complete meaning is: “The board says we should use the other platform instead.”

4. Dan moeten we nu de borden volgen.

   Then we should follow the signs now.

   Dan

   then

   moeten we

   we should

   nu

   now

   de borden

   the signs

   volgen

   follow

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here and connects this action with what has just been established. Example: Dan gaan we. — “Then we’ll go.” moeten we combines the modal verb moeten with the subject we. Moeten usually expresses “must” or “have to”; in this utterance, the fixed translation gives the intended meaning “should.” Moeten is the present-tense form used with plural subjects such as we; it is not a form exclusive to we. After a modal verb, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive. The order moeten we also reflects Dutch main-clause word order. Dan occupies the first position, so the finite verb moeten comes next and the subject we follows it. This is verb–subject inversion after a fronted element, not simply a special order caused by the sentence being a statement. In a direct question, the same inversion can appear without Dan: Moeten we gaan? — “Do we have to go?” nu means “now” and places the action in the current situation. Its position can vary for emphasis: Nu moeten we gaan. — “Now we have to go.” de borden means “the signs.” Bord is the singular noun; borden is its plural form. The article de is used here with this plural noun. Example: Ik zie de borden. — “I see the signs.” volgen is the infinitive “to follow.” After moeten, Dutch uses the infinitive: We moeten de borden volgen. — “We must follow the signs.” Volgen focuses on following something, unlike gaan, which means “to go” without that meaning of following. Together, Dan moeten we nu de borden volgen. means “Then we should follow the signs now.” Its reusable pattern is fronted element + finite modal + subject + time expression + object + infinitive.

5. Hebben we genoeg tijd om daar te komen?

   Do we have enough time to get there?

   Hebben

   have

   genoeg

   enough

   tijd

   time

   om … te

   to …

   daar

   there

   komen

   come; get

   More detail

   Hebben means “have” here. Its base form is hebben; in a present-tense yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Hebben we ...? = “Do we have ...?” The subject is we, and hebben is the plural form used with it. Compare the statement order We hebben ... with the question order Hebben we ...?. Genoeg means “enough” and expresses a sufficient amount or degree. It comes before a noun, as in genoeg tijd (“enough time”). With an adjective, Dutch normally places it after the adjective: groot genoeg (“big enough”). Tijd means “time.” It is a noun; in this sentence it refers to the available time for reaching the destination. A useful reusable combination is genoeg tijd hebben (“to have enough time”). Om ... te introduces an infinitive purpose or goal construction. Here, om daar te komen means “to get there.” The reusable pattern is om + the rest of the phrase + te + infinitive, as in om daar te komen. Do not treat om and te as one indivisible word; they frame the infinitive construction here. Daar means “there,” referring to a destination understood from the situation. It is a place adverb and does not change for number or gender. For a location nearer to the speaker, Dutch commonly uses hier (“here”): om hier te komen = “to get here.” Komen means “come” or, with a destination such as daar, “get/come there.” Its base form is the infinitive komen; after te, the same infinitive form appears: te komen. The related verb gaan means “go,” but komen presents movement toward a relevant destination or point of reference, while gaan presents going to or away from a place depending on the context. Together, genoeg tijd hebben asks whether sufficient time is available, and om daar te komen specifies what that time is needed for. The inversion Hebben we ...? turns the whole clause into a yes/no question: “Do we have enough time to get there?”

6. We hebben genoeg tijd als we nu vertrekken.

   We do if we leave now.

   hebben

   have

   genoeg

   enough

   tijd

   time

   als we

   if we

   nu

   now

   vertrekken

   leave; depart

   More detail

   hebben means “have” here. Its base form is hebben; in the present tense, we hebben is the first-person plural form. Compare ik heb (“I have”) with we hebben (“we have”). genoeg means “enough” and indicates a sufficient amount. It comes before the noun in genoeg tijd. Example: We hebben genoeg water. — “We have enough water.” tijd means “time”. The fixed expression genoeg tijd means “enough time”; it describes having a sufficient amount of time for something. als we introduces the condition “if we”. als can introduce a conditional clause, while we is the first-person plural subject (“we”). In this clause, the subject and verb are separated by nu, and the finite verb comes at the end: als we nu vertrekken. nu means “now” and places the action at the present moment. Example: We vertrekken nu. — “We are leaving now.” vertrekken means “leave” or “depart”. Its base form is vertrekken. With we in the present tense, the form is also vertrekken, so it is identical in spelling to the infinitive. In the subordinate clause als we nu vertrekken, this finite verb appears at the end. Together, we hebben genoeg tijd means “we have enough time”. The conditional clause als we nu vertrekken means “if we leave now”. The complete utterance therefore means: “We have enough time if we leave now.”

7. Ik houd mijn kaartje klaar.

   I'll keep my ticket ready.

   houd

   keep

   mijn

   my

   kaartje

   ticket

   klaar

   ready

   More detail

   houd is the first-person singular present form of houden here: ik houd means “I keep” or “I hold.” In this sentence, it describes maintaining the ticket in a ready state, not physically gripping it. The verb has an irregular-looking present-tense pattern: ik houd, jij houdt, hij/zij houdt; the t in houdt belongs to the third-person or informal second-person form, not to the form used with ik. Example: Ik houd de deur open. — “I keep the door open.” mijn means “my” and marks possession by the speaker. It does not itself state how many tickets there are. Dutch possessives such as mijn, jouw (“your,” singular informal), and zijn (“his/its”) appear before the noun they determine. Example: Mijn tas is klaar. — “My bag is ready.” kaartje means “ticket” in this context. It is a diminutive form related to kaart (“card” or “map”), formed with -je; the diminutive ending is part of the observed noun and does not by itself determine the English translation in every context. A ticket can also be called ticket in Dutch, while kaartje is a common native word for a small card or ticket. Example: Ik heb een kaartje. — “I have a ticket.” klaar is an adjective meaning “ready” here. It describes the state in which the speaker keeps the ticket. Unlike the verb houd, klaar is not inflected for the speaker; the construction is iets klaar houden (“keep something ready”), with the object placed before klaar. Example: Houd je paspoort klaar. — “Keep your passport ready.” This example uses the imperative houd, whereas the fixed sentence uses the first-person form houd with ik. Together, Ik houd mijn kaartje klaar has the pattern ik + verb + possessive + noun + adjective: “I keep my ticket ready.” The speaker is the agent, mijn kaartje is the thing being kept in a ready state, and klaar gives that state. In the supplied context, this is useful preparation for possible checking before boarding.

8. Houd het bij de hand; het personeel kan het controleren voordat we instappen.

   Keep it handy; staff may check it before we board.

   Houd het bij de hand

   keep it handy

   personeel

   staff

   kan

   may

   controleren

   check

   voordat

   before

   instappen

   board

   More detail

   Houd het bij de hand is a reusable imperative meaning “keep it handy.” Houd is the imperative of houden (“to keep/hold”); the imperative addresses one or more people without an expressed subject. Het is the object pronoun “it,” and bij de hand is the fixed expression “within reach” or “handy.” The pronoun’s specific referent is supplied by the situation, not by this phrase alone. Example: Houd je paspoort bij de hand. — “Keep your passport handy.” personeel means “staff” or “personnel.” It is a collective noun referring to the employees as a group. In this sentence it is the subject of the checking action. Example: Het personeel helpt de reizigers. — “The staff helps the travelers.” kan is the singular present form of kunnen, “to be able to” or “may/can.” Here it expresses possibility: staff may check it. With the singular collective noun het personeel, the form is kan; with a plural subject, the present form is kunnen. Kunnen is also the infinitive, used after another conjugated verb when appropriate. controleren is an infinitive meaning “to check” or “inspect.” After a modal such as kan, Dutch places the lexical verb in the infinitive: kan controleren — “may/can check.” Example: Ze kunnen de tickets controleren. — “They can check the tickets.” voordat introduces a subordinate time clause meaning “before.” The event in this clause occurs earlier than the event in the main clause. Here, the possible checking occurs before boarding. Example: Bel me voordat je vertrekt. — “Call me before you leave.” instappen is an infinitive meaning “to board” or “get in,” used here for boarding. It is a separable verb built from in and stappen; in the infinitive it remains written as one word. In voordat we instappen, we is the subject and instappen is the verb: “before we board.” Example: We stappen bij de volgende halte in. — “We board at the next stop.” Together, Houd het bij de hand gives the instruction to keep the item readily available. After the semicolon, het personeel kan het controleren says that staff may check the item, and voordat we instappen specifies that the checking may happen before we board. The complete meaning is: “Keep it handy; staff may check it before we board.”