Reporting a Lost Travel Card | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik denk dat ik mijn reiskaart in de trein ben kwijtgeraakt.

   I think I lost my travel card on the train.

   Ik denk

   I think

   dat

   that

   mijn

   my

   reiskaart

   travel card

   in de trein

   on the train

   ben kwijtgeraakt

   lost

   More detail

   Ik denk means “I think.” denk is the present-tense form of denken (“to think”) for ik; the same verb has denkt with hij/zij/u, for example: Ik denk het. — “I think so.” dat introduces the content of the thought: “that.” In a Dutch subordinate clause introduced by dat, the finite verb commonly comes at the end, as in Ik weet dat hij komt. — “I know that he is coming.” mijn means “my.” It is a possessive determiner placed before the noun. Mijn is used with singular and plural nouns, so it does not itself state how many items there are; for example, mijn kaarten means “my cards.” reiskaart means “travel card.” It is a compound noun: reis relates to “journey/travel” and kaart means “card,” but the complete compound is the reusable word for a card used for travel. The plural is reiskaarten, with -en added to the noun. in de trein means “on the train” here. in marks being inside or within a place or vehicle, and de is the definite article used with trein (“train”). Dutch can use in where English uses “on” for a train. ben kwijtgeraakt expresses “lost” in this sentence. The base verb is kwijtraken, “to lose”; its past participle is kwijtgeraakt. Here, ben is the first-person singular present form of zijn (“to be”), used as the auxiliary in the perfect construction. In the subordinate clause, the auxiliary and participle occur together at the end: dat ik ... ben kwijtgeraakt. For example, Ik ben mijn sleutel kwijtgeraakt. — “I lost my key.” Together, Ik denk dat gives “I think that,” ik mijn reiskaart in de trein ben kwijtgeraakt gives “I lost my travel card on the train,” and the complete utterance means: “I think I lost my travel card on the train.”

2. Je moet naar het bureau voor gevonden voorwerpen gaan.

   You should go to the lost property office.

   Je moet

   you should

   naar

   to

   bureau

   office

   gevonden voorwerpen

   lost property

   gaan

   go

   More detail

   Je moet contains moeten, a modal verb. In this sentence, its present-tense form moet expresses advice or an expected action, matching “should”; depending on context, the same form can express a stronger “must.” The form moet is used with je here, while the infinitive is moeten. A reusable pattern is Je moet + infinitive: Je moet wachten. — “You should wait.” naar marks movement toward a destination and is commonly translated as “to” in this use. It is different from a location expression for simply being somewhere: movement uses naar, while a location is often expressed with in or op, depending on the place. bureau means “office” here. The destination phrase has the neuter article het: het bureau. Dutch bureau can also mean a desk in another context, but the destination phrase and the fixed translation support “office” here. gevonden voorwerpen is the established expression for “lost property.” Literally, it refers to found objects: gevonden is the past participle of vinden (“to find”) used adjectivally before voorwerpen, and voorwerpen is the plural of voorwerp (“object” or “item”). In this expression, the whole noun phrase refers to property that has been found. The form gevonden does not show ordinary -e agreement here; this participial form is also used in het gevonden voorwerp (“the found object”). gaan is the infinitive “to go.” After the modal verb moet, Dutch places the other verb in the infinitive: Je moet gaan — “You should go.” Together, Je moet + naar het bureau voor gevonden voorwerpen + gaan means “You should go to the lost property office.” The modal expresses the recommendation, naar introduces the destination, and gaan supplies the action.

3. Kunnen ze voorkomen dat de kaart wordt gebruikt?

   Can they stop the card from being used?

   Kunnen ze

   can they

   voorkomen

   prevent

   de kaart

   the card

   wordt gebruikt

   is used

   More detail

   Kunnen ze combines the present-tense modal verb kunnen with the subject pronoun ze. Here kunnen means “can/be able to,” and its plural form agrees with ze meaning “they”; the fixed translation identifies ze as plural in this sentence. The same spelling ze can also be an unstressed singular feminine “she” in other contexts, so the surrounding meaning matters. A useful pattern is Kunnen ze ...? = “Can they ...?” voorkomen is the infinitive meaning “prevent” in this construction. After a modal such as kunnen, the following lexical verb remains in the infinitive. Dutch commonly uses voorkomen dat + a finite clause to express preventing something from happening. Example: We proberen te voorkomen dat de deur opengaat. — “We are trying to prevent the door from opening.” This illustrates voorkomen dat with a different subject and event. de kaart means “the card.” kaart is a noun whose definite article is de; de marks definiteness here, not a numerical count. The noun itself is singular, as shown by the singular form kaart and the singular verb form later in the sentence. wordt gebruikt is a passive construction: wordt is the third-person singular present form of worden (“become/be”), and gebruikt is the past participle of gebruiken (“use”). Together they mean “is used.” The passive presents the card as the thing receiving the action; the person using it is not expressed. Because de kaart is singular, the passive auxiliary is wordt; with a plural subject, Dutch uses worden, as in the example De kaarten worden gebruikt. — “The cards are used.” The sentence follows the reusable pattern Kunnen ze voorkomen dat [subject] wordt gebruikt? The modal question asks whether they can prevent something, voorkomen dat introduces the prevented event, and de kaart wordt gebruikt describes that event. As a whole, it means: “Can they stop the card from being used?”

4. Ze kunnen je helpen een formulier in te vullen om de kaart te blokkeren.

   They can help you fill out a form to block it.

   Ze kunnen

   They can

   helpen

   help

   formulier

   form

   in te vullen

   fill out

   kaart

   card

   blokkeren

   block

   More detail

   Ze kunnen means “They can.” Ze is the subject pronoun used here for the people who can provide the help; the fixed translation identifies them as “they.” Kunnen is the present-tense form of kunnen with a plural subject such as ze. It expresses ability or possibility. Compare Ik kan (“I can”) and ze kunnen (“they can”). helpen means “to help.” It is an infinitive after the modal verb kunnen: ze kunnen helpen = “they can help.” Dutch can also use helpen with a person and an infinitive, as here: Ze helpen me bellen. = “They help me call.” formulier means “form.” The form is introduced by een, an indefinite article; this identifies it as a non-specific form in the sentence, without by itself stating a numeric count. Een formulier invullen is a reusable combination meaning “to fill out a form.” in te vullen means “to fill out.” The verb is the separable verb invullen; its infinitive-with-te form is split as in te vullen. In a main clause, the same verb can split differently: Ik vul het formulier in. = “I fill out the form.” The form invullen is not a form of the noun formulier; they are separate words. kaart means “card.” Here, the definite phrase de kaart refers to the card identified by the fixed translation and the surrounding context. De is the definite article used with this noun; the article is part of the noun phrase, while kaart carries the lexical meaning “card.” blokkeren means “to block.” It is an infinitive after om te, which introduces the purpose of the preceding action: om de kaart te blokkeren = “to block the card.” The verb remains blokkeren in this infinitive form. For example, Ik wil de rekening blokkeren. = “I want to block the account.” Together, ze kunnen je helpen gives “they can help you.” Een formulier in te vullen states what help consists of: filling out a form. Om de kaart te blokkeren gives the purpose of filling it out. The complete utterance therefore means: “They can help you fill out a form to block it,” where the fixed translation and context identify “it” as the card.

5. Ik heb mijn accountgegevens bij me.

   I have my account details with me.

   Ik heb

   I have

   mijn

   my

   accountgegevens

   account details

   bij me

   with me

   More detail

   Ik heb uses heb, the first-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”): ik heb, jij hebt, hij/zij heeft. Here it states that the speaker has the details. In this Dutch main clause, the subject comes before the finite verb: Ik heb .... mijn is the possessive form meaning “my.” It indicates a relation to the speaker, not a quantity. mijn is used directly before a noun: mijn boek (“my book”), mijn gegevens (“my data”). accountgegevens is a compound noun meaning “account details” or “account information.” gegevens is the plural of gegeven; account- specifies what the information concerns. In this word, Dutch writes the compound as one word. bij me means “with me” in this construction. me is the unstressed first-person pronoun form; the stressed form is mij. Compare bij me (“with me,” neutral and conversational) with bij mij (“with me,” with emphasis or contrast). The pattern iets bij je hebben means “to have something with you.” Example: Heb je je paspoort bij je? — “Do you have your passport with you?” Together, Ik heb mijn accountgegevens bij me means “I have my account details with me.” A reusable pattern is Ik heb + [something] + bij me. Example: Ik heb mijn sleutel bij me — “I have my key with me.”

6. Die informatie helpt het personeel.

   That information will help the staff.

   Die

   that

   informatie

   information

   helpt

   helps

   het personeel

   the staff

   More detail

   Die is the demonstrative form used here with singular de-words, giving “that” in Die informatie. In this use, it presents the information as a specific, more distant or already established item. The supplied texts do not identify what that information refers to beyond the intended meaning “that information.” Compare deze for a corresponding nearby singular de-word, and dit/dat with singular het-words. informatie means “information” here. Its basic form is informatie, and it is commonly used as a mass noun for information in general. Dutch normally uses the definite article with it: de informatie. Example: De informatie is duidelijk. — “The information is clear.” helpt is the present-tense form of helpen (“to help”) with a third-person singular subject: ik help, hij/zij/het helpt. The -t belongs to this verb form; it is not an ending on informatie. Because Die informatie is singular, the sentence uses helpt. Dutch present tense can also describe a future event when the context supports that reading; here the fixed translation gives the meaning “will help.” Example: Deze uitleg helpt mij. — “This explanation helps me.” het personeel means “the staff.” Personeel is a collective noun treated as singular here, and its fixed article is het; this article does not mean “one.” That singular treatment is why the verb is helpt, not plural helpen. Example: Het personeel werkt vandaag. — “The staff is working today.” Together, Die informatie is the subject, helpt expresses the helping action, and het personeel is the group helped by that action. The complete utterance means: “That information will help the staff.”

7. Dan vraag ik of ik een nieuwe kaart moet aanvragen.

   Then I'll ask whether I should get a new card.

   Dan

   then

   vraag

   ask

   ik

   I

   of

   whether

   nieuwe

   new

   kaart

   card

   moet

   should

   aanvragen

   apply for

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here, linking this action to an earlier step. When a sentence starts with an adverb such as Dan, Dutch commonly places the finite verb before the subject: Dan vraag ik ... (“Then I ask ...”). vraag is the first-person singular present form of vragen, “to ask”: ik vraag = “I ask / I will ask.” Dutch present tense can refer to a planned future action when the time or context makes that clear; Dan and the fixed translation give that future reading here. The next-context imperative Vraag is a different form of the same verb, used for a command: “Ask.” ik is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” In this sentence it is the person who will ask. It follows vraag because the sentence begins with Dan; this is the usual verb–subject order after a fronted element in a main clause. of introduces an indirect yes/no question. of ik ... moet aanvragen means “whether I should request ...” It is not the conditional “if” meaning in this sentence. A reusable pattern is vragen of + clause: Ik vraag of de winkel open is. — “I ask whether the shop is open.” nieuwe means “new.” Its base form is nieuw; before the noun phrase een nieuwe kaart, it has the -e form. This form is used here because the adjective comes before kaart, a singular common-gender de-word, and the noun phrase has the indefinite article een. The adjective describes kaart, not aanvragen. kaart means “card.” It is a singular noun and a de-word: de kaart, “the card.” In een nieuwe kaart, een marks an indefinite noun phrase; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. The supplied translation identifies the intended object as a card. moet is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb moeten, “must / should.” With ik, the form is ik moet. In this sentence it expresses what the speaker should do, matching “whether I should ...”; the full context determines this practical recommendation reading. A modal verb is followed here by an infinitive at the end of the clause. aanvragen means “to request” or “to apply for,” and here it means requesting a new card. It is an infinitive after moet, so the combination is ik moet ... aanvragen = “I should ... request.” In Dutch, aanvragen is a separable verb in finite uses (ik vraag ... aan), but its infinitive remains together after a modal, as in this sentence. This is different from the independently useful verb vragen, “to ask.” Together, Dan vraag ik means “Then I’ll ask.” The indirect-question clause of ik een nieuwe kaart moet aanvragen adds what the speaker will ask: whether requesting a new card is the appropriate action. The complete meaning is “Then I’ll ask whether I should get/request a new card.”

8. Vraag dat eerst, want misschien heeft iemand de kaart afgegeven.

   Ask first, because someone might have handed it in.

   Vraag

   ask

   eerst

   first

   want

   because

   misschien

   maybe

   iemand

   someone

   de kaart

   the card

   heeft … afgegeven

   has handed in

   More detail

   Vraag is the imperative of vragen (“to ask”). It gives a direct instruction to one or more listeners; the subject is understood rather than stated. Compare ik vraag (“I ask”) and vraag! (“ask!”). eerst means “first” and places this action before another relevant action. Example: Lees eerst de vraag. — “Read the question first.” want introduces the reason for the instruction and is commonly translated as “because” or “for”. It connects two main-clause-like parts: an instruction, followed by its explanation. misschien means “maybe” or “perhaps”. Here it marks the possibility that the event in the following clause has happened; it does not assert that it happened. iemand means “someone”, an indefinite person reference. It is singular in grammar, although the person is not identified. For example, Iemand belt aan. means “Someone is ringing the doorbell.” de kaart means “the card”. kaart is the noun; de is its definite article. The article marks a specific card understood in the situation, rather than stating a numerical quantity. In the supplied translation, this card is the item referred to by “it”. heeft ... afgegeven is the Dutch perfect construction for “has handed in”. heeft is the present-tense form of hebben used with the singular subject iemand. afgegeven is the past participle of the separable verb afgeven (“to hand in” or “to give over”). In this sentence, the auxiliary and participle are separated by the object: iemand heeft de kaart afgegeven. Together, Vraag eerst gives the instruction “Ask first”. want misschien introduces the reason and possibility, while iemand heeft de kaart afgegeven says that someone may already have handed in the card. The complete meaning is: “Ask first, because someone might have handed it in.”