Clarifying file requirements | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kun je de eisen voor mij verduidelijken?

   Could you clarify the requirements for me?

   Kun je

   could you

   eisen

   requirements

   voor mij

   for me

   verduidelijken

   clarify

   More detail

   Kun je combines kunnen (“can/be able to”) with je (“you”). In this inverted question order, the conjugated verb comes before the subject: Kun je ...? literally asks whether you can ..., and naturally makes a polite request such as “Could you ...?” Here kun is the present-tense form for je; the wording does not itself assert that the action happened in the past. Example: Kun je helpen? — “Could you help?” eisen means “requirements” here. It is the plural of the noun eis, “requirement” or “demand”: één eis / meerdere eisen. The noun refers to conditions that must be met, rather than to the act of requesting something. Example: De eisen zijn duidelijk. — “The requirements are clear.” voor mij means “for me.” mij is the stressed object form of the first-person pronoun, while the unstressed form me is common in less emphatic speech. Here voor mij identifies the person who should benefit from or receive the clarification; it does not change who performs the clarifying. verduidelijken is the infinitive “to clarify” or “to make clear.” After the modal verb kun, Dutch uses the infinitive at the end of the clause: Kun je ... verduidelijken? This verb is related in meaning to duidelijk maken (“make clear”), but verduidelijken is a single verb. Example: Kun je dit verduidelijken? — “Could you clarify this?” Together, Kun je forms the request, de eisen names what should be clarified, voor mij says that the clarification is for the speaker, and verduidelijken supplies the requested action. The complete meaning is: “Could you clarify the requirements for me?”

2. Welk deel is onduidelijk?

   Which part is unclear?

   Welk

   which

   deel

   part

   onduidelijk

   unclear

   More detail

   Welk asks for the identity of one item and here directly modifies deel. It is the singular form used with a neuter het-word such as het deel. Compare welke with a de-word in the singular or with plural nouns: Welke delen zijn onduidelijk? means “Which parts are unclear?” deel means “part” here. Its base form is singular deel; the plural is delen. The word refers to a part of something understood from the situation, without specifying which part in advance. onduidelijk describes the part as not clear or not understandable. It is the basic adjective form used after the linking verb is, so it does not receive an ending here. Its useful opposite is duidelijk, “clear”: Dit deel is duidelijk. means “This part is clear.” The sentence uses is, the present-tense singular form of zijn (“to be”), to link deel with the description onduidelijk. The question pattern is Welk(e) + noun + is/zijn + adjective? Here, Welk deel asks which part, and is onduidelijk says that this part is unclear. Together, Welk deel is onduidelijk? means “Which part is unclear?”

3. Ik weet niet zeker welk bestandsformaat ik moet gebruiken.

   I'm not sure which file format to use.

   Ik weet niet zeker

   I’m not sure

   welk

   which

   bestandsformaat

   file format

   moet

   must / need to

   gebruiken

   use

   More detail

   Ik weet niet zeker means “I’m not sure.” It is a reusable Dutch pattern for expressing uncertainty: ik weet is “I know,” from weten, while niet zeker makes the statement negative and uncertain. Here, ik is the first-person singular subject. For example: Ik weet het niet zeker. — “I’m not sure.” welk means “which” in this sentence. It is the form used before a singular neuter noun, here bestandsformaat, which takes the article het: het bestandsformaat, so welk bestandsformaat. Before a singular common-gender noun, Dutch uses welke, as in welke versie — “which version.” bestandsformaat means “file format.” It is a compound noun: bestand refers to a file, and formaat to a format. The compound is treated as a neuter noun, hence het bestandsformaat. Example: Dit bestandsformaat werkt goed. — “This file format works well.” moet expresses “must” or “need to” here. It is the present-tense singular form of the modal verb moeten: ik moet, hij moet, but wij moeten. A modal verb is followed by an infinitive; that infinitive appears at the end of this clause. gebruiken is the infinitive “to use.” It follows moet, giving the pattern ik moet ... gebruiken — “I must/need to use ...” The form itself does not mark the subject here; moet carries the finite verb form. Together, welk bestandsformaat ik moet gebruiken is “which file format I need to use.” Dutch places the finite verb moet before the infinitive gebruiken in this subordinate question, while the full sentence begins with the uncertainty pattern: Ik weet niet zeker welk bestandsformaat ik moet gebruiken. — “I’m not sure which file format to use.”

4. Gebruik voor de definitieve versie het standaardformaat voor documenten.

   Use the standard document format for the final version.

   Gebruik

   use

   voor

   for

   definitieve

   final

   versie

   version

   standaardformaat

   standard format

   documenten

   documents

   More detail

   Gebruik is the imperative of gebruiken, “to use.” It gives a direct instruction: “Use …”. The same form can also occur as a present-tense form with certain subjects, but here the sentence-initial position and the intended English make the imperative reading clear. Example: Gebruik dit formulier. — “Use this form.” voor means “for” here and introduces the intended purpose or application: use the format for the final version. It is a preposition and is also common in other purpose expressions, such as voor het werk (“for the work”). definitieve means “final” in this sentence. Its base form is definitief; the observed -e form is the attributive adjective form before de versie. Dutch adjectives commonly take -e in this position, while the exact form depends on the noun phrase’s grammatical structure. Example: de definitieve versie — “the final version.” versie means “version.” It is a singular noun, and the phrase de definitieve versie refers to the final version as a particular version. Its plural is versies, as in twee versies — “two versions.” standaardformaat means “standard format.” It is a compound noun: standaard describes the type, and formaat means “format.” Dutch compounds are written as one word, and this noun is neuter, so the phrase uses het: het standaardformaat. Example: Sla het bestand op in het standaardformaat. — “Save the file in the standard format.” documenten means “documents.” It is the plural of document; the singular is document and the plural ending is -en. Here, voor documenten means that the standard format is intended for documents in general, rather than naming one specific document. Example: Deze map bevat documenten. — “This folder contains documents.” Together, Gebruik supplies the instruction, het standaardformaat voor documenten names what should be used, and voor de definitieve versie specifies the version to which the instruction applies. The complete meaning is: “Use the standard document format for the final version.”

5. Heb je een voorbeeld dat ik kan volgen?

   Do you have an example I can follow?

   Heb je

   do you have

   voorbeeld

   example

   kan

   can

   volgen

   follow

   More detail

   Heb je is the inverted question pattern for “do you have?” The verb is hebben (“to have”); with je as the subject, its present-tense form is hebt in ordinary subject–verb order (je hebt), but the form is heb after inversion (heb je ...?). This is a yes/no question pattern: Heb je ...?. voorbeeld means “example” here. It is a noun; its plural is voorbeelden. The phrase een voorbeeld means “an example.” Here een is an indefinite article, not by itself a claim about a numerical count. A reusable example is een voorbeeld van een zin — “an example of a sentence.” kan expresses ability or possibility here: “can.” It is the first-person singular present form of kunnen when used with the subject ik (ik kan). The same form also occurs with je, hij, zij, or het; the subject identifies who can do something. In this sentence, ik kan means “I can.” volgen is the infinitive “to follow.” After the modal verb kan, Dutch uses an infinitive: ik kan volgen — “I can follow.” In this context, following an example means using it as a model or guide, not necessarily moving behind something physically. The infinitive is also used in Ik wil het voorbeeld volgen — “I want to follow the example.” Together, Heb je een voorbeeld asks whether the addressee has an example, and dat ik kan volgen identifies the example as one that the speaker can follow or use as a model. The whole utterance is therefore: “Do you have an example I can follow?”

6. Ik kan een voorbeeld van een vergelijkbaar verzoek sturen.

   I can send a sample from a similar request.

   Ik kan

   I can

   voorbeeld

   example; sample

   vergelijkbaar

   similar; comparable

   verzoek

   request

   sturen

   send

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can”: ik is the first-person singular subject, and kan is the present-tense form of kunnen used with ik. With an infinitive, kan forms a reusable pattern such as Ik kan ... (“I can ...”), expressing ability or possibility. The infinitive later in this sentence is sturen. voorbeeld means “example” or “sample.” Its plural is voorbeelden. Here, een voorbeeld van een vergelijkbaar verzoek is the direct object of sturen: it is what the speaker can send. Example: Ik geef een voorbeeld. — “I give an example.” vergelijkbaar means “similar” or “comparable.” It describes verzoek. In the indefinite singular noun phrase een vergelijkbaar verzoek, it has no -e ending because verzoek is a singular neuter noun. With a definite noun phrase, the adjective is vergelijkbare, as in het vergelijkbare verzoek (“the similar request”). Example: een vergelijkbare situatie — “a similar situation.” verzoek means “request.” Its plural is verzoeken. Here it is the noun in een vergelijkbaar verzoek, meaning “a similar request.” The indefinite article presents the noun as an unspecified item; it does not by itself state a numerical count. sturen means “to send.” This is the infinitive used after the modal verb kan. Dutch commonly places this infinitive at the end of this type of clause: Ik kan een bericht sturen. — “I can send a message.” Together, een voorbeeld van een vergelijkbaar verzoek means “a sample from a similar request,” matching the fixed translation. Ik kan ... sturen says that the speaker can send it. The whole utterance means: “I can send a sample from a similar request.”

7. Dat zou me helpen begrijpen wat ik moet aanleveren.

   That would help me understand what to deliver.

   Dat

   That

   zou

   would

   me

   me

   helpen

   help

   begrijpen

   understand

   wat

   what

   ik

   I

   moet

   must; need to

   aanleveren

   deliver; provide

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here and functions as the subject. It points to an understood situation or action, without naming a specific noun in this sentence. Dutch demonstratives also distinguish forms such as dit (“this”) and dat (“that”); the choice depends on the demonstrative system and distance/context, not simply on English word order. zou is the singular form of zullen used here for a conditional or hypothetical “would.” The construction zou + infinitive presents a possible result: Dat zou helpen means “That would help.” With a plural subject, the corresponding form is zouden. me is the unstressed object pronoun “me.” The stressed form is mij, used when the pronoun needs emphasis or contrast. In zou me helpen, the person affected by the help is “me.” helpen is the infinitive “to help.” Dutch commonly uses helpen with an object plus another infinitive: Zij helpt me leren. — “She helps me learn.” Here me helpen begrijpen means “help me understand.” begrijpen is the infinitive “to understand.” It follows helpen and names the activity that the help makes easier. For example: Ik wil de uitleg begrijpen. — “I want to understand the explanation.” wat introduces the content of what is to be understood: “what.” In wat ik moet aanleveren, it introduces an embedded question/content clause rather than standing as a separate question. Compare Ik weet wat hij kiest. — “I know what he chooses.” ik is the first-person singular subject pronoun “I.” It is the subject of moet, not of zou; the larger sentence has Dat as its main subject and ik as the subject inside the embedded clause. moet is the present-tense singular form of moeten, meaning “must” or, in this context, “need to.” The subject ik makes moet the appropriate form; the infinitive remains unchanged after it. For example: Ik moet vertrekken. — “I need to leave.” aanleveren means “to deliver” or “to provide,” especially material that someone has requested or needs to receive. It is an infinitive, placed at the end of the embedded clause: wat ik moet aanleveren. A reusable example is Ik moet de gegevens aanleveren. — “I need to provide the data.” Together, Dat zou me helpen means “That would help me,” and begrijpen wat ik moet aanleveren means “understand what I need to deliver.” The full utterance is therefore: “That would help me understand what to deliver.”

8. Stuur me een bericht als er nog iets onduidelijk is.

   Send me a note if anything else is unclear.

   Stuur

   send

   me

   me

   bericht

   message; note

   als

   if

   er

   existential marker

   nog iets

   anything else

   onduidelijk

   unclear

   is

   is

   More detail

   Stuur is the imperative of sturen, “to send.” The imperative addresses the listener directly and normally has no written subject: Stuur me een bericht. means “Send me a note.” In present-tense statements, the same verb has forms such as ik stuur (“I send”) and zij sturen (“they send”); sturen itself is the infinitive/base form. me is the unstressed object pronoun “me.” The stressed form mij is used when the object is contrasted or emphasized. Here, me is the recipient of the sending. bericht is a noun meaning “message” or “note.” The preceding een is an indefinite article; here it introduces an unspecified message, without necessarily emphasizing a numerical count. Een bericht is a reusable pattern for “a message.” als introduces the condition “if” here. It connects the main request with the condition under which the request applies. Dutch also uses als for “when” in some contexts, but the fixed translation supports the conditional meaning here. er is an existential marker in this construction. It helps introduce an indefinite subject or situation, while iets supplies the unspecified thing involved. This use differs from the locative meaning “there” in Het boek ligt er (“The book is there”). nog iets means “anything else” in this context: nog adds the idea of “still” or “more,” while iets means “something” and can refer to an unspecified thing. Together they refer to any additional unspecified matter that may be unclear. The combination does not identify a particular item. onduidelijk is an adjective meaning “unclear” or “not clear.” Its base form is onduidelijk; the prefix on- forms the opposite of duidelijk (“clear”) in this word. Here it is used without an adjective ending as the predicate describing iets. is is the present-tense singular form of zijn, “to be.” Dutch uses this singular form with iets; the form is carried by is, not by onduidelijk. For comparison, ik ben means “I am,” while het is means “it is.” The request begins with the imperative Stuur me een bericht: “Send me a note.” The conditional clause als er nog iets onduidelijk is adds the condition “if anything else is unclear.” In this subordinate clause, the finite verb is comes at the end. Together, the utterance means: “Send me a note if anything else is unclear.”