Practicing a Role-Play Together | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kunnen we dit rollenspel samen oefenen?

   Can we practice this role-play together?

   Kunnen we

   Can we

   dit

   this

   rollenspel

   role-play

   samen

   together

   oefenen

   practice

   More detail

   Kunnen we starts a yes/no question. kunnen is the present-tense form of kunnen used with we; compare ik kan (“I can”) with we kunnen (“we can”). In a question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Kunnen we ...? The verb expresses ability or possibility here, and the fixed translation shows the intended possibility: “Can we ...?” dit means “this” and points to the role-play being discussed. It is the singular neuter form used with het-words; Dutch has the related form deze for singular de-words. Here rollenspel is a het-word: het rollenspel, so dit rollenspel means “this role-play.” rollenspel is a compound noun meaning a role-play or role-playing exercise. Its plural is rollenspellen. In Dutch, compounds are written as one word, as in rollenspel. samen is an adverb meaning “together.” It describes the participants doing the activity jointly. For example: We oefenen samen. — “We practice together.” oefenen is the infinitive meaning “to practice” or “to rehearse.” After a modal verb such as kunnen, Dutch places the other verb in the infinitive: We kunnen oefenen — “We can practice.” Together, Kunnen we dit rollenspel samen oefenen? asks whether the speakers can practice this role-play together: “Can we practice this role-play together?”

2. Ik kan de andere rol spelen.

   I can take the other role.

   Ik kan

   I can

   andere

   other

   rol

   role

   spelen

   play

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can.” Ik is the first-person singular pronoun “I”. kan is the present-tense first-person singular form of kunnen (“can, be able to”). Dutch uses kunnen as a modal verb with an infinitive: Ik kan spelen means “I can play.” The modal carries the person and tense, while the following verb remains in the infinitive. andere means “other” here. Its base form is ander; before a singular de-word, it appears as andere, as in de andere rol. This identifies the role as different from another role already relevant in the situation. It does not itself state how many roles there are. rol means “role”. It is a Dutch de-word: de rol. The plural is rollen (“roles”). In this utterance, it is the object of spelen in the expression een rol spelen, literally “to play a role” and naturally “to take a role” or “to play a part.” spelen means “to play”. It is the infinitive of the regular verb spelen; its present first-person singular form is ik speel. After a modal such as kan, Dutch keeps the infinitive: Ik kan de andere rol spelen. Together, Ik kan + de andere rol + spelen means “I can play the other role.” In the supplied translation, this is naturally rendered as “I can take the other role.”

3. Pauzeer alsjeblieft na elke vraag.

   Please pause after each question.

   Pauzeer

   pause

   alsjeblieft

   please

   na

   after

   elke

   each

   vraag

   question

   More detail

   Pauzeer is the imperative of pauzeren (“to pause”). It gives a direct instruction; the subject is understood rather than stated. The same stem appears in the infinitive pauzeren, while pauzeer is the imperative form used here. alsjeblieft adds “please” and makes the instruction a request. It is a fixed politeness word in this use, not part of the verb’s inflection. Example: Wacht alsjeblieft. — “Please wait.” na is a preposition meaning “after.” It introduces the event that sets the timing: the pause comes after something. Example: na de les — “after the lesson.” elke means “each” or “every” and is used here with the singular noun vraag. It presents the instruction as applying separately to every question, without stating a numerical count. Example: elke dag — “every day.” vraag means “question.” Its plural is vragen. In this sentence it is singular because elke selects a singular noun: elke vraag means “each question.” Together, na elke vraag means “after each question,” and Pauzeer ... alsjeblieft makes the request politely: “Please pause after each question.”

4. Dat geeft je tijd om natuurlijk te antwoorden.

   That will give you time to answer naturally.

   Dat

   That

   geeft

   gives

   je

   you

   tijd

   time

   om … te

   in order to / to

   natuurlijk

   naturally

   antwoorden

   answer

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here and is the subject. It is a demonstrative pronoun; this utterance does not identify a more specific referent. Dutch uses dit for “this” in the corresponding contrast. geeft is the present-tense form of geven, “to give,” with a third-person singular subject: dat geeft. Dutch present tense can describe a future result when the context makes the timing clear, so the fixed translation uses “will give.” Example: Dat geeft ons meer tijd. — “That gives us more time.” je means “you” here as the recipient of the giving. It is an informal unstressed pronoun and can refer to one person or, depending on context, more than one person. The formal pronoun is u. tijd means “time.” The reusable pattern iemand tijd geven means “to give someone time.” Example: Ze geeft hem tijd. — “She gives him time.” om ... te is a split infinitive construction. With material between its two parts, it marks the activity associated with the time; here om natuurlijk te antwoorden means “to answer naturally.” The om appears before the intervening adverb, and te immediately precedes the infinitive. natuurlijk is an adverb meaning “naturally” here. It describes the manner of answering, not the amount of time or the act of giving. The related adjective has the same form: een natuurlijk antwoord — “a natural answer.” antwoorden is the infinitive “to answer,” the base form used after te. As a finite verb, it can appear as Ik antwoord — “I answer.” Together, Dat geeft je tijd says “That gives you time,” and om natuurlijk te antwoorden identifies answering naturally as the activity for which that time is available. The complete utterance means “That will give you time to answer naturally.”

5. Als ik een fout maak, herhaal de zin dan alsjeblieft.

   If I make a mistake, please repeat the line.

   Als

   if

   ik

   I

   fout

   mistake

   maak

   make

   herhaal

   repeat

   zin

   sentence; line

   alsjeblieft

   please

   More detail

   Als introduces a condition: “if.” A reusable pattern is Als + clause, ... (“If ..., ...”). Here it starts the condition rather than expressing a general time meaning. ik is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person who performs the action in the conditional clause. In Dutch, ik is the subject form; do not replace it with an object form such as mij when it is doing the action. een fout means “a mistake.” fout is a noun; its plural is fouten. The indefinite article een marks an unspecified mistake here, not a stated numerical count. For example: Ik maak een fout. — “I make a mistake.” maak is the first-person singular present form of maken, “to make.” The phrase een fout maken is the ordinary Dutch construction for “to make a mistake.” Compare ik maak (“I make”) with jij maakt (“you make”) in a normal present-tense statement; the verb form changes with the subject. herhaal is the singular informal imperative of herhalen, “to repeat.” It gives the listener a direct request or instruction. Dutch commonly uses the verb stem for this imperative: Herhaal de zin. — “Repeat the sentence.” This form itself does not include the meaning “please”; politeness is added separately here by alsjeblieft. de zin means “the sentence”; in the fixed translation, the appropriate sense is “the line.” zin is a common-gender noun, with plural zinnen; the definite article is de in both de zin and de zinnen. The noun can refer to a sentence in language, while in a dialogue or lesson context “line” is a natural translation. alsjeblieft means “please” in this request. It is a polite addition placed after the requested action here. It can also be used in other everyday situations, so its exact role depends on the surrounding utterance. Together, Als ik een fout maak means “If I make a mistake.” The present forms maak and herhaal fit a condition and the requested action; Dutch does not need a separate future form for this meaning. The main clause is herhaal de zin dan alsjeblieft: herhaal gives the instruction, de zin identifies what should be repeated, and dan links the instruction to the stated condition, with the effect “then.” The complete utterance therefore means: “If I make a mistake, please repeat the line.”

6. Ik zal het langzaam zeggen en één belangrijke correctie aangeven.

   I will say it slowly and point out one important correction.

   Ik zal

   I will

   langzaam

   slowly

   zeggen

   say

   één

   one

   belangrijke

   important

   correctie

   correction

   aangeven

   point out

   More detail

   Ik zal means “I will.” Here zal is the singular present form of zullen, used with ik to express a future action. Dutch places the other verb in the infinitive: Ik zal ... zeggen (“I will ... say”). langzaam means “slowly.” It is an adverb modifying the way of saying something. The adjective langzaam has the same form here; compare een langzaam proces (“a slow process”) and Hij werkt langzaam (“He works slowly”). zeggen is the infinitive “to say.” Its base form is also zeggen; with zal, it remains an infinitive rather than taking a present-tense ending. Example: Ik wil het zeggen — “I want to say it.” één means “one” with explicit numerical emphasis. The accent distinguishes the number from the unstressed article een (“a/an”) in writing. Example: Ik kies één antwoord — “I choose one answer.” belangrijke means “important” here. It is the inflected form of the adjective belangrijk. The -e appears before the singular noun correctie, which is a de-word: een belangrijke correctie. Compare the uninflected form before a singular het-word: een belangrijk punt — “an important point.” correctie means “correction,” a change that fixes an error. Its plural is correcties. Example: Deze correctie is nuttig — “This correction is useful.” aangeven means “to point out” or “to indicate.” It is a separable verb: in a finite main clause, its parts can separate, as in Ik geef de fout aan — “I point out the error.” After zal, the infinitive stays together: Ik zal de fout aangeven. In the complete sentence, Ik zal supplies the future construction for both coordinated actions. het langzaam zeggen means “say it slowly,” and één belangrijke correctie aangeven means “point out one important correction.” The fixed utterance therefore means: “I will say it slowly and point out one important correction.”

7. Dat helpt me om minder nerveus te zijn.

   That helps me feel less nervous.

   Dat

   that

   helpt

   helps

   me

   me

   minder

   less

   nerveus

   nervous

   om … te zijn

   to be

   More detail

   Dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” Here it is the subject: it refers to something already identifiable in the situation, but the supplied sentence does not specify exactly what that thing is. Dutch demonstratives vary with grammatical gender and number in other contexts, but dat is the form used with a singular neuter noun or with a clause-like idea. helpt comes from helpen, “to help.” helpt is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject: dat helpt = “that helps.” The same verb appears in useful forms such as ik help (“I help”) and zij helpen (“they help”). me is the unstressed object pronoun “me.” It marks the person receiving the benefit of the help. A stressed alternative is mij, also meaning “me,” but me is the ordinary lighter form in this sentence. minder means “less” and compares the degree of a state. It is the comparative form related to weinig (“little”); the opposite comparison is meer (“more”). Here, minder modifies the feeling of being nervous, so the sentence says that the nervousness is reduced, not necessarily that it disappears. nerveus is an adjective meaning “nervous.” After zijn it describes the person’s state: Ik ben nerveus means “I am nervous.” In this sentence it is not inflected because it follows the linking verb zijn in this predicate. The separated construction om ... te zijn introduces an infinitive phrase. om combines with te and the infinitive zijn (“to be”) to express the state that the help makes possible or supports. The adjective and comparison fit inside it: om minder nerveus te zijn = “to be less nervous.” Together, Dat helpt me means “That helps me,” and om minder nerveus te zijn specifies the resulting aim or state: “to be less nervous.” The complete utterance therefore means “That helps me feel less nervous.”

8. Begin met deze scène.

   Start with this scene.

   Begin

   start; begin

   deze

   this

   scène

   scene

   More detail

   Begin is the imperative of beginnen (“to begin”). The imperative gives a direct instruction; the subject is normally understood as “you.” Related forms are ik begin (“I begin”) and wij beginnen (“we begin/we are beginning”). Example: Begin hier. — “Start here.” deze means “this” and points to one nearby or contextually identified item. It is used with a singular de-word and with plural nouns; the singular form used with a singular het-word is dit. Example: deze scène — “this scene.” scène is a noun meaning “scene.” It is a singular de-word: de scène; its plural is scènes. The accent is part of the spelling of the observed word. Example: De scène begint. — “The scene begins.” Together, Begin gives the instruction “start,” while deze scène identifies what to start with. The complete utterance means “Start with this scene.”

9. Ik zal jouw tempo volgen.

   I will follow your pace.

   Ik zal

   I will

   jouw

   your

   tempo

   pace

   volgen

   follow

   More detail

   Ik zal combines the first-person singular pronoun Ik (“I”) with zal, the present-tense form of zullen, used here to express a future intention or commitment. With this use, Dutch places the other verb in the infinitive: Ik zal ... volgen = “I will ... follow.” Example: Ik zal wachten. — “I will wait.” jouw means “your” when addressing one person. It is a possessive determiner and does not change for the gender or number of the thing possessed. Examples: jouw boek — “your book”; jouw boeken — “your books.” The form jouw identifies the possessor as “you,” not a quantity. tempo is the noun meaning “pace” or “tempo.” Dutch commonly uses het tempo; the article is not present here because jouw occupies the determiner position: jouw tempo. volgen is the infinitive meaning “to follow.” Its base form is volgen; after zal, this infinitive remains at the end of the clause. Example: Ik volg jouw tempo. — “I follow your pace.” In that example, volg is the present-tense first-person form, whereas volgen is the form required after zal. Together, Ik zal expresses the speaker’s future intention, jouw tempo identifies the addressee’s pace, and volgen names the action. The complete utterance therefore means “I will follow your pace.”