Borrowing a laptop charger | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. De batterij van mijn laptop is bijna leeg.

   My laptop battery is almost empty.

   batterij

   battery

   mijn

   my

   laptop

   laptop

   bijna

   almost

   leeg

   empty

   More detail

   batterij means “battery” here. It is a noun: de batterij; its plural is batterijen. In de batterij van ..., de marks this singular noun as a common-gender noun. mijn means “my” and indicates possession. It is the possessive form used before laptop here. Dutch possessives such as mijn do not change to match the grammatical gender of the singular noun they modify. Compare mijn laptop (“my laptop”) and mijn batterij (“my battery”). laptop is the noun “laptop.” Its usual plural is laptops. The pattern de batterij van mijn laptop literally expresses “the battery of my laptop,” or naturally “my laptop battery.” van connects the battery with the thing it belongs to; it does not mean that the laptop itself is empty. bijna is an adverb meaning “almost” or “nearly.” It limits the following description: the battery is close to being empty, but the sentence does not state that it is completely empty. leeg means “empty.” Here it is a predicate adjective after is, describing the state of the battery. Its comparison forms are leeg (“empty”), leger (“emptier”), and leegst (“emptiest”). In bijna leeg, the adjective describes the battery’s current state, while bijna adds the meaning “almost.” The remaining framework is De ... is ...: de batterij is the singular subject, and is is the third-person singular present form of zijn (“to be”). Thus De batterij van mijn laptop is bijna leeg. assembles as “The battery of my laptop is almost empty,” naturally translated as “My laptop battery is almost empty.”

2. Je kunt mijn oplader lenen tot de vergadering.

   You can borrow my charger until the meeting.

   Je kunt

   you can

   mijn

   my

   oplader

   charger

   lenen

   borrow

   tot

   until

   vergadering

   meeting

   More detail

   Je kunt combines je (“you”) with kunt, a present-tense form of the modal verb kunnen (“can; be able to”). In this sentence it expresses permission or possibility: “you can borrow”. With an infinitive, the modal comes before the subject’s action, while the infinitive appears later: Je kunt komen = “You can come.” Kunnen has forms such as ik kan, je/jij kunt (also je/jij kan in common usage), and wij kunnen. mijn means “my” and marks possession. It is used before the possessed noun: mijn boek = “my book”. Unlike an adjective, this possessive form does not change here to agree with the noun’s gender or number. The related form jouw means “your”. oplader is the noun “charger”. Dutch commonly forms this word from opladen (“to charge”) with the noun-forming ending -er; the observed noun itself is oplader. For example, Waar is de oplader? means “Where is the charger?” lenen is the infinitive “to borrow” in this sentence. Dutch lenen can also mean “to lend” in a different construction, so the surrounding words matter: Ik leen een boek van haar means “I borrow a book from her”, while Ik leen haar een boek means “I lend her a book”. Here mijn oplader is the thing being borrowed, and mijn identifies the speaker as its owner. tot introduces the endpoint of a time span and means “until” here. It is followed by de vergadering, “the meeting”. For example, Ik blijf hier tot morgen means “I will stay here until tomorrow.” vergadering is the noun “meeting”. De is the definite article used with this noun; it means “the” and does not itself state a numerical quantity. The indefinite counterpart is een vergadering, “a meeting”. Together, Je kunt + mijn oplader + lenen expresses permission or possibility for the addressee to borrow the speaker’s charger. tot de vergadering sets the endpoint of that borrowing period. The complete meaning is: “You can borrow my charger until the meeting.”

3. Werkt hij met mijn laptop?

   Is it compatible with my laptop?

   Werkt

   works; is compatible

   hij

   it

   met

   with

   mijn

   my

   laptop

   laptop

   More detail

   Werkt is the present-tense third-person singular form of werken (“to work”). In this sentence, “work” means “be compatible/function with” something, not necessarily “perform a job.” Dutch forms a yes/no question here by placing the finite verb before the subject: Werkt hij ...? Compare the reusable pattern Werkt dit? — “Does this work?” hij is the singular masculine personal pronoun. It is translated as “it” here because the intended participant is the item whose compatibility is being checked; the translation does not make that item a person. The same form can also mean “he” when its referent is a man. met is the preposition “with.” In the pattern werken met iets, it identifies the thing that a device or system works with or is compatible with. Example: Deze kabel werkt met mijn telefoon. — “This cable works with my phone.” mijn means “my” and comes before the possessed noun. Unlike some Dutch possessive forms, mijn does not change for the gender or number of the following noun in this pattern: mijn laptop, mijn kabel. laptop is the noun “laptop.” It is a loanword used as a Dutch noun; its plural is laptops. Here it is the object after met, the device with which the item is being checked for compatibility. Together, Werkt hij asks whether the item works, met mijn laptop specifies what it must work with, and the whole utterance means “Is it compatible with my laptop?” The inverted order makes it a yes/no question; a statement would be Hij werkt met mijn laptop — “It works with my laptop.”

4. Dat zou moeten werken, maar controleer eerst de stekker.

   It should be, but check the connector first.

   Dat

   it

   zou moeten

   should

   werken

   work / function

   maar

   but

   controleer

   check

   eerst

   first

   stekker

   plug / connector

   More detail

   Dat is a Dutch demonstrative pronoun. Here, following the fixed translation, it means “it” and functions as the subject; the word itself does not identify the exact referent. In other contexts, dat can mean “that.” Dutch uses dit and dat with singular neuter (het) nouns, while deze and die are used with singular common-gender (de) nouns and with plural nouns. zou moeten expresses an expectation close to English “should.” zou is a form of zullen, and moeten is the infinitive “have to” or “must.” Together they can be followed by another infinitive: zou moeten werken means “should work.” werken means “to work” or “to function.” It is the infinitive after zou moeten, so it has no separate person ending in this clause. Example: De kabel zou moeten werken. — “The cable should work.” maar means “but.” It links the expectation in the first clause with the contrasting instruction that follows. controleer means “check.” It is the imperative form of controleren (“to check”). In this sentence it addresses the listener; Dutch uses this imperative form without an expressed subject. The form does not itself mark the addressee as singular or plural; formal address can also be expressed with u, as in controleert u. eerst means “first” or “before anything else.” Here it places the checking action before other relevant steps. stekker is a noun meaning “plug” or, in this technical context, “connector.” It is a singular de-noun: de stekker; its plural is stekkers. Together, Dat zou moeten werken means “It should work,” while maar controleer eerst de stekker means “but check the connector first.” The whole utterance therefore says that the relevant item is expected to function and instructs the listener to check the connector first.

5. Hij past en de batterij laadt nu op.

   It fits, and the battery is charging now.

   Hij

   it

   past

   fits

   batterij

   battery

   laadt … op

   is charging

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Hij is the subject pronoun used here for the already-mentioned item, matching the fixed translation “it.” Dutch hij is singular; its exact referent is not named in the supplied sentence. Example: Hij werkt. — “It works.” past is the present-tense form of passen, “to fit.” With a third-person singular subject such as hij, the verb has this form: hij past. In this sentence it describes suitability of size or shape, not the separate sense “to try on.” Example: Deze hoes past. — “This case fits.” batterij means “battery.” In the sentence it appears with the definite article de: de batterij. The noun itself is singular here. Example: De batterij is leeg. — “The battery is empty.” laadt ... op comes from the separable verb opladen, “to charge.” In a main clause, its parts can separate: the finite verb laadt follows the subject, while op comes at the end. Laadt is the present-tense third-person singular form of opladen. Dutch present tense can describe an action in progress, so the fixed translation naturally uses “is charging.” Example: Ik laad mijn telefoon op. — “I am charging my phone.” nu means “now” and specifies the time of the charging. It modifies the action expressed by laadt ... op, not the earlier statement about fitting. The conjunction en links two clauses. First, Hij past means “It fits.” Second, de batterij laadt nu op means “the battery is charging now.” Together, Hij past en de batterij laadt nu op. means “It fits, and the battery is charging now.”

6. Leg hem terug op mijn bureau als je klaar bent.

   Put it back on my desk when you finish.

   Leg … terug

   put back

   hem

   it

   bureau

   desk

   als je klaar bent

   when you are finished

   More detail

   Leg ... terug is the reusable Dutch pattern for telling someone to put something back. Leg is the imperative of leggen (“to put/place”): leggen → leg for a direct command. This imperative form can address one person or more than one person; the form itself does not mark that distinction. Terug adds the idea of returning the item to its previous place or position. Together, leg ... terug means “put ... back.” The object can come between the two parts: Leg het boek terug. — “Put the book back.” Hem is the object form meaning “him” or, as here, “it” for a masculine or common-gender referent. It is the form used for the thing being placed back; the sentence and fixed translation identify that thing only as “it,” without specifying what it is. In a different role, Dutch uses hij as the subject form: Hij legt het terug. — “He puts it back.” Bureau means “desk.” With mijn, the phrase mijn bureau means “my desk”: mijn marks possession, while bureau is the noun. The preposition op means “on” and is not included in the selected quote; op mijn bureau therefore means “on my desk.” Als je klaar bent means “when you are finished.” Als introduces the time condition, je is the subject “you,” and klaar means “finished/ready.” Bent is the second-person singular present form of zijn (“to be”): je bent. Dutch places bent at the end of this subordinate clause. Here, klaar describes the person addressed as having finished, rather than specifying what task was completed. The sentence assembles as Leg hem terug (“Put it back”) + op mijn bureau (“on my desk”) + als je klaar bent (“when you are finished”). Thus the full meaning is: “Put it back on my desk when you finish.”

7. Ik leg hem terug voordat je weggaat.

   I'll put it back before you leave.

   Ik

   I

   leg

   put

   hem

   it

   terug

   back

   voordat

   before

   je

   you

   weggaat

   leave

   More detail

   Ik is the Dutch first-person singular subject pronoun, meaning “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out the action. The corresponding second-person subject form is je, meaning “you.” leg is the present-tense first-person singular form of leggen, “to put” or “to lay.” The subject ik triggers this form. Example: Ik leg het boek op tafel. — “I put the book on the table.” hem is an object pronoun meaning “him” or “it” for a masculine common-gender referent. Here, the fixed translation establishes the intended meaning as “it.” It is the object of leg; the sentence does not say that the object performs the action. Dutch also has haar for “her” or “it” with a feminine referent, and het for “it” with a neuter referent. terug means “back” and specifies that the putting returns the object to an earlier or previous place or state. leggen and terug together form the reusable pattern iets terugleggen, “to put something back.” Example: Ik leg de sleutel terug. — “I put the key back.” voordat introduces a clause meaning “before ...”. The clause after it gives the event that must occur later than the putting-back action. It is a subordinating conjunction, so the finite verb in its clause comes at the end. je is the informal second-person singular subject pronoun, “you.” Here it is the subject of weggaat, not the object of the first clause. weggaat is the present-tense second-person singular form of the separable verb weggaan, “to leave” or literally “to go away.” In a subordinate clause introduced by voordat, the complete verb appears together at the end: voordat je weggaat. In a main clause, the separable parts normally split: Je gaat weg. — “You leave” or “You are leaving.” The main clause is Ik leg hem terug: “I put it back.” The subject ik comes first, leg shows the speaker’s present-tense action, hem identifies the object as “it” in this context, and terug adds the return-to-an-earlier-place meaning. The subordinate clause voordat je weggaat means “before you leave.” Together, the utterance means: “I’ll put it back before you leave.” Dutch uses the present tense here even though the English translation uses “will,” because the future timing is clear from the context and the voordat clause.

8. Dan heb ik genoeg tijd voordat ik hem weer nodig heb.

   That gives me enough time before I need it again.

   Dan

   then / in that case

   heb ik

   I have

   genoeg

   enough

   tijd

   time

   voordat

   before

   hem

   it

   weer

   again

   nodig heb

   need

   More detail

   Dan means “then” or, as here, “in that case.” It connects the sentence to the relevant situation and presents the result: “Then …” The same word can also refer to a point in time, depending on context. heb ik uses the present form of hebben (“to have”) with ik (“I”). In a neutral clause, ik heb means “I have”; because Dan occupies the first position here, Dutch places the finite verb before the subject: Dan heb ik. genoeg means “enough.” It is unchanged here and modifies tijd, giving the reusable pattern genoeg + noun: genoeg tijd means “enough time.” tijd means “time.” It is a noun; its plural is tijden (“times” or “periods”). In this sentence it refers to a sufficient amount of time, not to a particular clock time. voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. The clause after it describes the event that must occur later than the available time: voordat ik ... means “before I …” In Dutch subordinate clauses, the finite verb commonly comes at the end, which explains the order nodig heb here. hem is a third-person singular object pronoun. The fixed translation identifies its intended meaning here as “it”; the pronoun’s Dutch form carries grammatical information about the referred-to item, but does not add a gender distinction to the English translation. weer means “again,” indicating that the need happens another time. For example, Ik kom weer means “I’ll come again.” nodig heb is part of the Dutch construction nodig hebben, literally “to have necessary,” but naturally “to need.” Here nodig is the adjective “necessary/needed,” while heb is the finite form of hebben; in the subordinate clause, heb comes last. A reusable example is Ik heb water nodig. — “I need water.” Together, Dan heb ik genoeg tijd means “Then I have enough time,” and voordat ik hem weer nodig heb means “before I need it again.” The complete utterance therefore means: “That gives me enough time before I need it again.”