Asking to move a work deadline | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik heb meer tijd nodig voor het verslag.

   I need more time for the report.

   heb … nodig

   need

   meer

   more

   tijd

   time

   voor

   for

   verslag

   report

   More detail

   heb ... nodig is the Dutch construction for “need.” In this sentence, heb is the present-tense form of hebben (“to have”) for ik (“I”); nodig completes the construction and means “needed/necessary.” The words can be separated by what is needed: Ik heb hulp nodig. — “I need help.” meer means “more” and is the comparative form related to veel (“much/many”). It indicates a greater amount than the relevant reference amount: Ik heb meer tijd nodig. — “I need more time.” tijd means “time.” It is a noun; in this sentence it is the thing that is needed. Ik heb tijd nodig. — “I need time.” voor means “for” here, introducing what the time is intended for. Its meaning in this sentence is not the separate temporal sense “before.” Ik heb tijd voor de taak. — “I have time for the task.” verslag means “report.” It is a neuter Dutch noun, so the definite article is het: het verslag (“the report”). The article is included in the fixed sentence, while verslag is the noun itself. Together, Ik heb meer tijd nodig voor het verslag. means “I need more time for the report.” The pattern Ik heb [amount] [thing] nodig voor [purpose or task] can be reused with another amount, thing, or purpose.

2. Wat houdt ons op?

   What's slowing things down?

   Wat

   what

   houdt … op

   slows down

   ons

   us

   More detail

   Wat means “what” here and asks for the thing causing the delay. In Dutch, wat is also used in other question patterns, such as Wat doe je? — “What are you doing?” houdt ... op comes from the separable verb ophouden, “to stop” or, with a person or activity being affected, “to hold up / delay.” The form houdt is the present-tense form for a singular subject; its base form is ophouden. In this sentence, op is separated and appears after the object ons. Compare: De regen houdt ons op. — “The rain is holding us up.” Ons is the object form corresponding to the subject pronoun wij (“we”). It means “us” as the people being delayed here. Compare Wij wachten. — “We are waiting,” with Ze helpen ons. — “They help us.” Together, Wat houdt ons op? follows the pattern Wat + verb + object + separated particle? The question asks what is delaying us or preventing our progress, giving the natural meaning “What’s slowing things down?”

3. Er ontbreekt nog wat informatie.

   Some information is still missing.

   ontbreekt

   is missing

   nog

   still

   wat

   some

   informatie

   information

   More detail

   ontbreekt is the present-tense form of ontbreken, “to be missing” or “to be absent.” In this sentence, it is third-person singular. The construction er ontbreekt ... presents something that is missing without making that thing the sentence’s topic: Er ontbreekt een detail. — “A detail is missing.” The verb agrees with the singular noun een detail; with a plural noun, use ontbreken: Er ontbreken twee details. — “Two details are missing.” nog means “still” here. It shows that the absence continues at this point in time. Its position between the verb and the missing item is common in this sentence pattern: Er ontbreekt nog een handtekening. — “A signature is still missing.” wat means “some” in this use. Before a mass noun or an unspecified amount, wat indicates an unspecified quantity without stating an exact number: Ik heb wat tijd nodig. — “I need some time.” Here it is not the question word “what”; that meaning appears in questions such as Wat heb je nodig? — “What do you need?” informatie means “information.” It is a mass noun, so it normally refers to information as an uncounted substance or body of facts rather than to a fixed number of individual items. A countable alternative is een stukje informatie, “a piece of information.” Together, Er ontbreekt nog wat informatie means “Some information is still missing.” Er introduces the situation, ontbreekt states the absence, nog marks that it continues, and wat informatie identifies the unspecified amount that is missing.

4. Hoeveel extra tijd heb je nodig?

   How much more time do you need?

   Hoeveel

   how much

   extra

   extra; more

   tijd

   time

   heb je nodig

   do you need

   More detail

   Hoeveel asks for an amount or quantity. It is used with an uncountable noun such as tijd: Hoeveel tijd heb je? means “How much time do you have?” With a countable plural, Dutch uses hoeveel as well: Hoeveel dagen? means “How many days?” extra means additional beyond what is already expected or available. In this sentence it describes tijd, so extra tijd means “additional time.” Example: We hebben extra dagen nodig. — “We need additional days.” tijd means “time.” In this use it refers to an amount of time rather than to a particular point on a clock. The noun is commonly treated as uncountable when discussing duration: Ik heb weinig tijd. — “I have little time.” heb je nodig is the question pattern for “do you need.” The lexical verb is hebben (“to have”); heb is its present-tense form with je in this inverted question order. nodig hebben is the Dutch construction meaning “to need”: in a statement, Je hebt tijd nodig. means “You need time.” In a yes/no or information question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Heb je tijd nodig? — “Do you need time?” Together, Hoeveel extra tijd asks for the amount of additional time, and heb je nodig asks what amount the listener needs. The complete utterance therefore means “How much more time do you need?”

5. Kunnen we de deadline verschuiven naar later deze week?

   Could we move the deadline to later this week?

   Kunnen we

   Could we? / Can we?

   de

   the

   deadline

   deadline

   verschuiven

   move; reschedule

   naar

   to

   later deze week

   later this week

   More detail

   Kunnen we begins a yes/no question. Kunnen is the present-tense form of kunnen used with plural subject we; in this question, it is a modal meaning “can/could” and introduces a possible action. Dutch places the finite modal before the subject in this question pattern: Kunnen we ...? The English “could” here is a natural way to make the proposal polite; it does not require a past-time meaning. Example: Kunnen we morgen beginnen? — “Can we start tomorrow?” de is the definite article used here with the noun deadline. It identifies a specific deadline in the situation. Dutch definite articles are de and het; the correct article is learned with the noun, so learn de deadline as a unit. deadline is a noun meaning a final time or date by which something should be completed. Dutch commonly uses this borrowed noun with de: de deadline. Example: De deadline is vrijdag. — “The deadline is Friday.” verschuiven is the infinitive after the modal kunnen. In this sentence it means moving or rescheduling something to a later time, not physically moving it from one place to another. The modal construction keeps the lexical verb in the infinitive: kunnen + verschuiven. Example: We kunnen de afspraak verschuiven. — “We can reschedule the appointment.” naar marks the destination or resulting time of the shift. Here it connects the deadline with the later time: verschuiven naar ... — “move/reschedule to ...” Example: Kunnen we het gesprek naar maandag verschuiven? — “Could we move the conversation to Monday?” later deze week specifies the new time. Later is the comparative form related to laat (“late”): laat — “late,” later — “later.” Deze week means “this week”; deze is the demonstrative determiner used with week, a de-word. Together, the phrase refers to a time later within the current week. Example: Ik bel je later deze week. — “I’ll call you later this week.” As a whole, Kunnen we de deadline verschuiven naar later deze week? combines the modal question Kunnen we ...?, the specific object de deadline, the rescheduling verb verschuiven, and the destination-time phrase naar later deze week. It therefore asks, in a polite way, whether the participants can move the deadline to a later point in the same week.

6. Dat kan, maar stuur het team een korte update.

   That works, but send the team a short update.

   Dat kan

   That works

   stuur

   send

   team

   team

   korte

   short

   update

   update

   More detail

   Dat kan means “That works” here. Dat is a demonstrative pronoun functioning as the subject; its specific referent is the proposed action understood from context. kan is the third-person singular present form of kunnen (“can”): ik kan, jij kunt/kan, hij/zij/het kan. In this utterance, the combination expresses acceptance or feasibility rather than physical ability. stuur means “send.” It is the imperative of sturen (“to send”). The Dutch imperative normally uses the verb stem, so sturen becomes stuur; the subject “you” is understood. Example: Stuur de e-mail. — “Send the email.” team is a noun meaning “team.” In het team, it is the object receiving the update, an indirect object without a preposition in this sentence. The article het belongs to the full noun phrase, although only team is selected here. korte means “short” in een korte update. It is the inflected form of the adjective kort. The -e ending is used here because the adjective is attributive before the common-gender noun update in this indefinite noun phrase. Compare een korte update — “a short update” — with een kort bericht — “a short message,” where bericht is a neuter noun and the singular indefinite phrase has no adjective ending. update is a noun meaning “update,” namely a short piece of new information. In een korte update, een introduces an unspecified individual item; it does not by itself state a numerical count as the main point. The phrase is the direct object of stuur. Together, maar (“but”) contrasts the accepted proposal with the instruction. stuur het team een korte update has the reusable pattern [send] [recipient] [thing sent]: send the team a short update. The complete utterance is therefore: “That works, but send the team a short update.”

7. Ik leg uit wat klaar is en wat nog ontbreekt.

   I'll explain what is ready and what is still missing.

   Ik

   I

   leg uit

   explain

   wat

   what

   klaar

   ready

   is

   is

   nog

   still

   ontbreekt

   is missing

   More detail

   Ik means “I” and identifies the speaker as the subject. Dutch subject pronouns include ik (I), jij/je (you), and hij/zij/ze (he/she/they); the verb form must agree with the subject. leg uit is the form of the separable verb uitleggen, “to explain.” In the present tense, ik leg carries the subject and tense, while uit appears separately: Ik leg het uit means “I explain it.” The complete verb is not a different verb derived from leg; leg is the present form of leggen, used here with uit as the separable particle. wat introduces each thing being described: “what” or “that which.” Here it begins two parallel clauses, wat klaar is and wat nog ontbreekt. It does not identify a particular noun; the clauses refer generally to whatever is ready and whatever is still missing. klaar means “ready” here. It is a descriptive word used after is in wat klaar is. For example, Het werk is klaar means “The work is ready/finished.” is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a third-person singular subject. In wat klaar is, the whole wat clause functions as the subject of this form: literally, “what ready is,” with Dutch clause word order placing is after klaar. nog means “still” here. It indicates that the state continues at the relevant time. In wat nog ontbreekt, it modifies the idea of being missing; it is not part of the verb itself. For example, Het ontbreekt nog means “It is still missing.” ontbreekt means “is missing” or “is absent” here. Its base form is ontbreken; ontbreekt is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject. This verb is not the same as missen, which commonly means that someone misses or lacks something from a person’s perspective; ontbreken presents the thing as being absent. Together, wat klaar is means “what is ready,” and wat nog ontbreekt means “what is still missing.” The two parallel wat clauses are coordinated by en (“and”). The separable verb leg ... uit then takes both clauses as what is being explained: Ik leg uit wat klaar is en wat nog ontbreekt. The complete meaning is “I’ll explain what is ready and what is still missing.” In Dutch, the present tense can express a planned or immediate future action when the context makes that reading clear.

8. Dat helpt iedereen om rekening te houden met de vertraging.

   That will help everyone plan around the delay.

   Dat

   that

   helpt

   helps

   iedereen

   everyone

   om rekening te houden met

   to take ... into account

   vertraging

   delay

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here and is the singular subject. Dutch dat can refer to something previously mentioned or understood; this sentence does not identify the exact referent. Dit means “this” and is the corresponding form commonly used for something nearer or more immediate. helpt is the present-tense form of helpen (“to help”). It agrees with the singular subject dat; iedereen is also grammatically singular, so Dutch says iedereen helpt (“everyone helps”). Dutch present tense can describe a future result when the context supports that reading, which accounts for “will help” in the fixed translation. iedereen means “everyone” or “everybody.” Although it refers to all people, it takes singular agreement. Example: Iedereen begrijpt het. — “Everyone understands it.” om rekening te houden met is a reusable construction meaning “to take into account” or “to allow for.” rekening houden met is the fixed verb expression “take into account,” and te houden is the infinitive form used in this om ... te clause. After helpen, this clause states the action that the help makes possible; it is not necessary to treat it as a separate purpose clause. Example: We plannen om rekening te houden met het weer. — “We plan to allow for the weather.” vertraging means “delay.” In the utterance it occurs in de vertraging, “the delay”; the selected quote contains the noun, while de is the definite article. A useful related contrast is versnelling (“acceleration” or “speed-up”), but that word is not present here. Together, Dat helpt iedereen means “That helps everyone,” and om rekening te houden met de vertraging states what the help enables them to do: take the delay into account. In the fixed translation’s natural future-oriented wording, the complete meaning is “That will help everyone plan around the delay.”