Choosing a Movie with Friends | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Welke film zullen we kijken?

   Which movie should we watch?

   Welke

   which

   film

   movie

   zullen we

   shall we

   kijken

   watch

   More detail

   Welke means “which” when asking someone to select one item from a relevant set. It is used before a noun: Welke film? means “Which movie?” Compare wat (“what”), which is not followed by a noun in this pattern: Wat kijk je? — “What are you watching?” film is the noun “movie” or “film.” Its plural is films: Welke films kijk je? — “Which movies are you watching?” zullen we is a reusable question pattern meaning “shall we” or, in this context, “should we.” Zullen is the present-tense form of zullen with we; it can introduce a suggestion or proposal. For example, Zullen we morgen gaan? means “Shall we go tomorrow?” kijken is the infinitive “to watch” or “to look.” After zullen, the other verb remains an infinitive and appears later in the clause: Zullen we een film kijken? — “Shall we watch a movie?” In this utterance, kijken means “watch,” referring to watching a film. Together, Welke film asks which movie is being considered, and zullen we kijken forms a proposal about watching it. Dutch places the finite verb zullen before the subject we in this yes/no question, while the infinitive kijken comes at the end. The whole utterance therefore means: “Which movie should we watch?”

2. Ik wil iets luchtigs, misschien een komedie.

   I want something light, maybe a comedy.

   Ik wil

   I want

   iets

   something

   luchtigs

   light

   misschien

   maybe

   komedie

   comedy

   More detail

   Ik wil means “I want.” wil is the present-tense form of willen for ik; the full pattern ik wil + ... is a reusable way to express a present desire or intention. For example: Ik wil water. — “I want water.” iets means “something.” It is an indefinite pronoun for an unspecified thing. In iets luchtigs, it introduces an unspecified option and is followed by an adjective describing that option. For example: Ik zoek iets nieuws. — “I’m looking for something new.” luchtigs describes the requested thing as “light,” here meaning light in tone or entertainment rather than physically low in weight. The adjective is based on luchtig. After iets, an adjective used to describe the unspecified thing commonly takes the ending -s: iets luchtigs, “something light”; iets grappigs, “something funny.” The -s belongs to luchtigs, not to iets. misschien means “maybe” or “perhaps.” It marks the following option as a possibility rather than presenting it as certain. For example: Misschien morgen. — “Maybe tomorrow.” komedie means “comedy.” With een, the phrase een komedie means “a comedy,” referring to one unspecified comedy as a possible choice. The noun itself is komedie; the article is not a numerical claim by itself here. Together, Ik wil iets luchtigs expresses the speaker’s desire for something light in tone. misschien een komedie then offers a comedy as a possible example of that preference. The complete meaning is: “I want something light, maybe a comedy.”

3. Deze film heeft goede recensies en duidelijke ondertiteling.

   This film has strong reviews and clear subtitles.

   Deze

   this

   film

   film

   heeft

   has

   goede

   good; strong

   recensies

   reviews

   duidelijke

   clear

   ondertiteling

   subtitles

   More detail

   Deze is the demonstrative meaning “this” here. In Dutch, deze is used with a singular common-gender noun and with plural nouns; the form for a singular neuter noun is dit. Here it points to film, a common-gender de-noun. film means “film” or “movie.” Its plural is films; the noun itself does not change for gender in this sentence. heeft is the present-tense third-person singular form of hebben (“to have”). The pattern [subject] heeft ... expresses that one subject has or possesses something. For example, De film heeft een goed einde. means “The film has a good ending.” goede describes recensies as favorable or strong. Its base form is goed (“good”); the form goede is the attributive form used here before the plural noun recensies. This adjective expresses evaluation, so “strong reviews” is a natural translation in this context. For example, goede muziek means “good music.” recensies means “reviews.” It is the plural of recensie (“review”). The plural ending is -s, so een recensie is “a review” and recensies is “reviews.” duidelijke means “clear.” Its base form is duidelijk; duidelijke is the form used before the noun ondertiteling in this phrase. For example, duidelijke uitleg means “clear explanation.” ondertiteling means “subtitling” or, in this context, “subtitles.” It is a mass-like singular noun referring to the subtitle text or subtitle provision as a whole; the English plural translation does not require Dutch to use a plural form here. Together, Deze film means “This film.” heeft then states that the film has two things, joined by en (“and”): goede recensies (“strong reviews”) and duidelijke ondertiteling (“clear subtitles”). The complete meaning is: “This film has strong reviews and clear subtitles.”

4. Kunnen we de trailer bekijken voordat we kiezen?

   Can we watch the trailer before we choose?

   Kunnen we

   Can we …?

   trailer

   trailer

   bekijken

   watch; view

   voordat

   before

   kiezen

   choose

   More detail

   Kunnen we means “Can we …?” here. kunnen is the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with we; it expresses ability or permission depending on context, and the fixed translation supports a request about whether the activity is possible. In a yes/no question, the modal verb comes before the subject: Kunnen we ...? Compare the reusable pattern Kunnen we beginnen? — “Can we begin?” The following main verb remains in the infinitive: kunnen ... bekijken. trailer is a noun meaning “trailer,” the preview for a film or other production. It is used here with the definite article de: de trailer. A reusable noun phrase is een trailer (“a trailer”) or de trailer (“the trailer”); the article does not by itself assert a numerical count. bekijken means “to watch” or “to view” something attentively. It is the infinitive after the modal kunnen. Its present forms include ik bekijk (“I watch/view”) and we bekijken (“we watch/view”). Example: We bekijken de film. — “We watch the film.” voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause describing an earlier time. In Dutch, the finite verb in this subordinate clause normally comes at the end: voordat we kiezen — “before we choose.” kiezen means “to choose.” In we kiezen, it is the present-tense form used with we; it has the same written form as the infinitive kiezen. The singular form changes: ik kies means “I choose,” while we kiezen means “we choose.” Example: We kiezen later. — “We choose later.” Together, Kunnen we forms the yes/no question, de trailer bekijken supplies the activity, and voordat we kiezen places that activity earlier than the choice. The whole utterance asks whether the speakers can watch the trailer before they choose.

5. De trailer zou ons moeten helpen beslissen.

   The trailer should help us decide.

   trailer

   trailer

   zou … moeten

   should

   ons

   us

   helpen

   help

   beslissen

   decide

   More detail

   trailer means “trailer” here, the short promotional film being considered. It is a noun. Dutch commonly uses de with this word: de trailer. Example: We bekijken de trailer. — “We watch the trailer.” zou moeten expresses the expected or intended result “should.” zou is a form of zullen; with moeten it forms a modal combination, followed by an infinitive. In this sentence, the fixed translation establishes the intended “should” meaning. Example: Dat zou moeten werken. — “That should work.” ons means “us” as the object of helpen; it is the first-person plural object pronoun. It is distinct from wij/we, which are subject forms meaning “we.” Example: Zij helpt ons. — “She helps us.” helpen is the infinitive “to help.” After the modal construction zou moeten, it remains an infinitive. In ons helpen, ons identifies who receives the help, while helpen names the action. Example: Deze uitleg kan ons helpen. — “This explanation can help us.” beslissen is the infinitive “to decide.” The sequence helpen beslissen means “help decide”; it describes what the help enables the group to do. Example: De informatie helpt ons beslissen. — “The information helps us decide.” Together, De trailer is the subject, zou moeten expresses “should,” ons helpen says that it should help us, and beslissen states the action we are helped to perform. The whole utterance therefore means: “The trailer should help us decide.”

6. Het verhaal ziet er leuk uit, maar niet te moeilijk.

   The story looks fun but not too difficult.

   verhaal

   story

   ziet … er … uit

   looks; seems

   leuk

   fun; enjoyable

   moeilijk

   difficult

   More detail

   verhaal means “story” here. Its base form is verhaal; the noun is neuter, which is why the definite article is het: het verhaal = “the story.” A useful contrast is het verhaal (“the story”) and een verhaal (“a story”); een does not by itself state a numeric count. ziet er leuk uit is the Dutch pattern “looks/seems fun.” The lexical verb is ziet, the third-person singular present form of zien (“to see”): ik zie, hij/zij/het ziet. In this expression, er ... uit belongs with zien and gives the appearance-based meaning; er and uit are separated because uitzien is a separable verb. The subject is het verhaal, so the singular form ziet is used. Example: De film ziet er goed uit. — “The film looks good.” leuk means “fun” or “enjoyable” here. It is the adjective describing how the story appears. In Dutch, an adjective used after a linking or appearance expression such as er ... uitzien remains in its basic form: Het verhaal ziet er leuk uit. — “The story looks fun.” moeilijk means “difficult” here. Its base form is moeilijk; the comparative is moeilijker (“more difficult”) and the superlative is het moeilijkst (“the most difficult”). In te moeilijk, te means “too,” so the phrase means “too difficult,” not simply “difficult.” niet te moeilijk negates that assessment and means “not too difficult.” Example: De oefening is moeilijker. — “The exercise is more difficult.” The remaining small words connect these pieces: maar means “but,” and niet places negation before te moeilijk. Thus Het verhaal is the subject; ziet er leuk uit says how it appears; and maar niet te moeilijk adds the contrast that it does not appear excessively difficult. Together, the utterance means: “The story looks fun but not too difficult.”

7. Dan kiezen we voor deze film.

   Then let's choose this film.

   Dan

   then

   kiezen

   choose

   we

   we

   voor

   for

   deze

   this

   film

   film

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here: it links the choice to the preceding discussion and places it next in the sequence. At the beginning of a Dutch main clause, this adverb is followed by the finite verb, so the sentence has the order Dan kiezen we ... rather than Dan we kiezen .... kiezen means “choose” here. Its base form is kiezen; with we, the present-tense form is also kiezen: we kiezen = “we choose.” In this sentence, the present-tense clause is used for the proposal translated as “let’s choose.” The common construction is kiezen voor + noun: “choose” or “opt for” something. Example: We kiezen voor de trein. — “We choose the train.” we is the subject pronoun “we,” referring to the speaker together with at least one other person. It is the subject of kiezen, and the verb form agrees with this plural subject. voor is the preposition used in the construction kiezen voor ..., introducing the option selected. Here it connects kiezen with deze film. deze means “this” and points to a singular nearby or contextually selected noun. It agrees with film, which is a singular common-gender de-word. Dutch uses dit with a singular het-word, while deze is used with singular de-words and with plurals. film means “film” or “movie.” Its article is de: de film; its plural is films. In this sentence it is the option being selected. Together, Dan kiezen we voor deze film has the pattern Then + finite verb + subject + kiezen voor + selected option. The initial Dan means “then,” we kiezen voor expresses the joint choice, and deze film identifies the selected film, giving “Then let’s choose this film.”

8. Laten we een snack halen voordat de film begint.

   Let's get a snack before it starts.

   Laten we

   let’s

   halen

   get

   snack

   snack

   voordat

   before

   film

   film

   begint

   starts

   More detail

   Laten we is the reusable Dutch pattern for “let’s …”. It consists of laten (“let”) plus we (“we”); the following verb stays in the infinitive. Example: Laten we gaan. — “Let’s go.” halen means “get” here, in the sense of obtaining or fetching something. It is the infinitive, so it follows Laten we unchanged. Example: We halen brood. — “We get bread.” snack is a noun meaning “snack”. In Dutch, it commonly takes the article de: de snack. The source uses een snack, an indefinite noun phrase meaning “a snack”; the article does not by itself establish a specific numerical count as a teaching point here. voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. In that clause, the finite verb comes at the end: voordat de film begint — “before the film starts.” film means “film” or “movie”. Its common singular form is de film, and its plural is films. Here it is the subject of the subordinate clause. begint is the present-tense form of beginnen (“to begin, start”) for a singular subject such as de film. The form contrasts with beginnen, the infinitive: De film begint. — “The film starts.” Together, Laten we een snack halen means “Let’s get a snack.” voordat de film begint adds the time relation “before the film starts.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Let’s get a snack before it starts,” where “it” refers to the film identified in the Dutch clause and the preceding context.