Asking for a copy of a stamped document | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Mag ik een kopie van dit document krijgen?

   Could I get a copy of this document?

   Mag ik

   Could I …?

   kopie

   copy

   van

   of

   dit

   this

   document

   document

   krijgen

   get

   More detail

   Mag ik is the question form of mogen (“may/be allowed to”), with ik as the subject. In a polite request, it commonly means “Could I …?” rather than asking only about permission. Dutch questions often place the finite verb before the subject: Mag ik ...? Compare Ik mag ... (“I may ...”) in a statement. kopie means “copy.” It is a noun; its plural is kopieën. The indefinite article in een kopie marks an unspecified copy, but does not by itself state a numerical contrast. van commonly introduces the source, relation, or content of a noun phrase. Here van dit document means “of this document,” identifying what the copy is a copy of. A useful reusable pattern is een kopie van X (“a copy of X”). dit means “this” and modifies the following noun phrase. In this sentence it is the form used with the singular neuter noun document. Dutch demonstratives distinguish forms such as dit with a singular neuter noun and deze with a singular common-gender noun or a plural noun; the choice is determined by the noun phrase, not simply by physical distance. document means “document.” In Dutch it is a neuter noun: het document. This noun classification explains the form dit document; it does not mean that every noun meaning an object takes dit. krijgen is the infinitive of “get” or “receive.” After the finite modal mag, the lexical verb remains in the infinitive and comes at the end: Mag ik ... krijgen? Here it expresses obtaining the requested copy. The neighboring context mentions seeing the original, but that does not change the meaning or tense of krijgen in this sentence. Together, Mag ik frames a polite request, een kopie van dit document names the requested item, and final krijgen expresses obtaining it. The complete utterance therefore means: “Could I get a copy of this document?”

2. Ik moet eerst het origineel zien.

   I need to see the original first.

   Ik moet

   I need to / I must

   eerst

   first

   het origineel

   the original

   zien

   to see

   More detail

   Ik moet means “I need to” here. moet is the present-tense singular form of moeten, “to have to” or “must”; with ik, it expresses the speaker’s necessity. A modal verb such as moeten is followed by an infinitive: Ik moet wachten. — “I have to wait.” eerst means “first” or “before anything else.” It places the seeing before another implied or previously relevant step. It can also occur in a different position: Eerst lees ik het formulier. — “First I read the form.” het origineel means “the original.” origineel can describe something, as in een origineel document (“an original document”), and it can also be used as a noun-like form for the original item itself. Here het marks the definite neuter form of that noun-like use. The article het identifies a particular original, but the sentence does not need to specify more about the item. zien is the infinitive “to see.” After moeten, Dutch uses the infinitive directly, without te: Ik moet het origineel zien. — “I need to see the original.” The form zien is the base form; a present-tense example with a third-person singular subject is Hij ziet het origineel. — “He sees the original.” Together, Ik moet + eerst + het origineel + zien gives: “I need to see the original first.” The modal construction expresses necessity, eerst sets the order, and het origineel zien is the action that must happen first.

3. Moet ik een aanvraagformulier invullen?

   Should I fill out a request form?

   Moet ik

   Should I

   aanvraagformulier

   request form

   invullen

   fill out

   More detail

   Moet ik combines the present-tense modal verb moeten with the subject ik (“I”). In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Moet ik ...? = “Should I ...?” or, depending on context, “Do I need to ...?” The form moet is the singular present form used with ik; the infinitive is moeten. Compare the statement Ik moet ... (“I must/need to ...”) with the question Moet ik ...? (“Should/do I need to ...?”). aanvraagformulier is a compound noun meaning “request form” or “application form.” It combines aanvraag (“request/application”) and formulier (“form”). Dutch compounds are written as one word, so this noun is not written as two separate words in the sentence. Example: Ik zoek een aanvraagformulier. — “I am looking for a request form.” invullen means “to fill out” or “to complete” a form. It is a separable verb: in a finite main-clause form, its parts can separate, as in Ik vul het formulier in. — “I fill out the form.” After a modal such as moet, the infinitive stays together at the end: Ik moet het formulier invullen. — “I have to fill out the form.” Together, Moet ik asks whether the speaker is expected or required to perform the action, een aanvraagformulier identifies the object, and invullen names that action. The whole utterance therefore means “Should I fill out a request form?”

4. Vul het formulier alstublieft in.

   Please complete the form.

   Vul … in

   fill in; complete

   formulier

   form

   alstublieft

   please

   More detail

   Vul ... in is the polite instruction meaning “fill in” or “complete.” The verb is invullen; in this sentence its imperative form is vul, while the separable particle in appears at the end. In a statement, the parts can separate as in Ik vul het formulier in. (“I fill in the form.”). The imperative addresses the listener directly, so Dutch normally leaves the subject unstated here. formulier means “form.” Its plural is formulieren: een formulier (“a form”), twee formulieren (“two forms”). The related verb invullen describes entering the requested information in a form; it does not itself state how many forms there are. alstublieft is the polite word “please.” It can make a request courteous, as here. A reusable pattern is Vul ... alstublieft in. (“Please fill in ...”). Together, Vul het formulier alstublieft in. uses the imperative vul ... in with the definite noun phrase het formulier and the politeness word alstublieft, producing “Please complete the form.”

5. Dan kan ik de kopie maken.

   Then I can make the copy.

   Dan

   then

   kan ik

   I can

   kopie

   copy

   maken

   make

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here, linking this action to a time or condition already established. It can also mean “well” or “so” in other contexts, but this sentence uses the time/sequence meaning. Example: Dan begin ik. — “Then I begin.” kan ik expresses “I can.” kan is the present-tense form of kunnen with ik; kunnen is the infinitive meaning “to be able to” or “can.” In a main clause beginning with Dan, Dutch places the finite verb before the subject: Dan kan ik ..., not Dan ik kan .... The following verb remains in the infinitive. Example: Dan kan ik helpen. — “Then I can help.” kopie is the noun “copy.” In this sentence it appears as de kopie, with the definite article de; the article is not itself a numerical statement. Dutch nouns take de or het as their definite article, and kopie takes de. Example: Ik lees de kopie. — “I read the copy.” maken means “to make” and is the infinitive after the modal verb kan. The combination een kopie maken is the reusable pattern “to make a copy.” In the fixed sentence, de kopie maken means “to make the copy,” referring to a specific copy in the intended situation. Example: Wij kunnen een kopie maken. — “We can make a copy.” Together, Dan + kan ik gives “Then I can,” and de kopie maken gives “make the copy.” The complete utterance is therefore “Then I can make the copy.”

6. Ik heb alleen de pagina met de stempel nodig.

   I only need the page with the stamp.

   Ik

   I

   heb … nodig

   need

   alleen

   only

   pagina

   page

   met

   with

   stempel

   stamp

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the one who needs something. A useful contrast is jij for “you” when addressing one person. heb ... nodig is a reusable Dutch construction meaning “need.” heb is the present-tense first-person singular form of hebben (“to have”); nodig completes the construction. The two parts can be separated by other sentence elements, as here: Ik heb alleen ... nodig. Do not treat nodig as the main verb by itself in this pattern. Example: Ik heb hulp nodig. — “I need help.” alleen means “only” here. It restricts what the speaker needs: the needed item is limited to the page with the stamp. Its position between heb and the rest of the needed phrase is natural in this sentence. Example: Ik wil alleen water. — “I only want water.” pagina means “page.” The form in the sentence is singular; its plural is pagina's. The noun phrase uses de: de pagina means “the page,” referring to a specific page in the situation. met means “with” and introduces a phrase describing an accompanying feature or item. Here, met de stempel identifies which page is meant: the page that has the stamp. stempel means “stamp.” It is singular in de stempel; its plural is stempels. In this noun phrase, the stamp is associated with the page through met, rather than being the item that is needed on its own. Together, de pagina met de stempel means “the page with the stamp.” Placing it into Ik heb alleen ... nodig gives Ik heb alleen de pagina met de stempel nodig. The complete meaning is “I only need the page with the stamp.”

7. Ik kopieer die pagina en houd de andere pagina's bij elkaar.

   I will copy that page and keep the other pages together.

   Ik

   I

   kopieer

   copy

   die

   that

   pagina

   page

   houd

   keep

   andere

   other

   pagina's

   pages

   bij elkaar

   together

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” This form does not distinguish grammatical gender. Example: Ik lees. — “I read.” kopieer means “copy” here. It is the present-tense first-person singular form of kopiëren; the ik form uses the verb stem: ik kopieer. Dutch present tense can also refer to a planned or expected future action when the context makes that clear, as in the fixed translation “I will copy.” Example: Ik kopieer het document morgen. — “I will copy the document tomorrow.” die means “that” in this sentence. It is the singular demonstrative used with a de-word such as pagina; deze would mean “this.” Dutch uses die and deze both for singular de-words and for plural nouns, while dat and dit are used with singular het-words. Example: die brief — “that letter.” pagina means “page.” It is a de-word: de pagina. Its plural is pagina's, with an apostrophe before the plural s because the word ends in an unstressed vowel. Example: Ik lees de pagina. — “I read the page.” en connects the two coordinated actions: “and.” It does not change the form of either verb. The sentence therefore links ik kopieer ... with houd ... bij elkaar while keeping the same stated subject. houd means “keep” here. It is the first-person singular present form of houden: ik houd; other forms include jij houdt and wij houden. The d belongs to the verb stem in ik houd; this form should not be replaced by the infinitive houden. Example: Ik houd het boek. — “I keep the book.” andere means “other.” Before a plural noun, this form is andere, as in andere pagina's; it also occurs before singular de-words. With a singular neuter noun, definiteness matters: een ander boek means “another book,” while het andere boek means “the other book.” Here it identifies pages other than the one referred to by die pagina; it does not itself state how many pages there are. pagina's means “pages.” It is the plural of pagina, and the apostrophe is part of the written plural form. Example: de andere pagina's — “the other pages.” bij elkaar is a fixed phrase meaning “together.” With houden, bij elkaar houden means “keep together,” so the pages remain together rather than being separated. Example: Houd de papieren bij elkaar. — “Keep the papers together.” As a whole, Ik kopieer die pagina gives “I will copy that page,” and en houd de andere pagina's bij elkaar adds “and keep the other pages together.” The same subject ik applies to both present-tense verbs: kopieer and houd. Thus the complete utterance is: “I will copy that page and keep the other pages together.”

8. Ga alstublieft voorzichtig met het origineel om.

   Please handle the original carefully.

   Ga … om

   handle; deal with

   alstublieft

   please

   voorzichtig

   carefully

   origineel

   original

   More detail

   Ga … om is a separable Dutch construction meaning “handle/deal with …”. In this sentence, Ga is the imperative of gaan (“to go”), but together with the later particle om it forms omgaan met (“to handle/deal with”). The object appears between the verb and particle: Ga voorzichtig met het origineel om. In a non-imperative form, the parts can also separate: Ik ga voorzichtig met het origineel om. — “I handle the original carefully.” alstublieft is the polite word “please”. It can make a request more courteous and does not itself indicate a quantity or grammatical person. voorzichtig means “careful/carefully” here and describes how the handling should be done. Dutch uses the same form in this position as an adverb; as an adjective before a noun, it can also be inflected, for example een voorzichtig kind — “a careful child.” origineel means “original” here, referring to the original item rather than a copy. As a noun, it is commonly used with the neuter article het: het origineel. The related opposite is de kopie — “the copy”; that contrast is useful here because the surrounding context mentions copying and returning material. The pattern voorzichtig met + object + omgaan means “to handle an object carefully.” The imperative Ga addresses the listener, alstublieft adds “please”, and met het origineel identifies what should be handled. Together, Ga alstublieft voorzichtig met het origineel om. means “Please handle the original carefully.”

9. Ik geef alles weer bij elkaar terug.

   I will return everything together.

   Ik

   I

   geef

   give

   alles

   everything

   weer

   again

   bij elkaar

   together

   terug

   back

   More detail

   Ik means “I.” It is the first-person singular pronoun: the speaker refers to themself. Dutch also uses jij/je for “you” and hij/zij/ze for “he/she,” but those forms cannot replace Ik without changing the participant. geef is the present-tense first-person singular form of geven, “to give.” In this sentence it occurs with terug in the separable verb teruggeven, meaning “to return” or “to give back.” The subject Ik is why the form is geef; with hij or zij, for example, the form is geeft. alles means “everything.” It is an indefinite pronoun referring to all the relevant things as a whole, without naming them individually. Example: Ik begrijp alles. — “I understand everything.” weer most commonly means “again.” With an action of returning something, it can indicate doing so again or restoring it back, as in the fixed sentence. Its meaning here works together with teruggeven; it does not mean that alles is a separate object. bij elkaar is a fixed adverbial expression meaning “together” or “collectively.” It describes the arrangement of the things being returned. Example: Leg de boeken bij elkaar. — “Put the books together.” terug means “back.” In teruggeven, it is the separable part that adds the idea of giving something back or returning it. In a Dutch main clause, a separable verb commonly places this part at the end: Ik geef het terug. — “I give it back.” Together, Ik geef ... terug forms “I return ... / I give ... back.” alles is the thing returned, weer adds the idea of returning or restoring it again, and bij elkaar says that it is returned together. Thus the complete utterance means: “I will return everything together.” Dutch present tense can express a planned or intended future action when the context makes that reading clear; here the fixed translation supplies that future interpretation. The preceding sentence identifies the item being handled as “the original,” but this utterance itself uses the broader expression alles rather than naming the items.