Apologizing for a damaged borrowed tool | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use Apologizing for a damaged borrowed tool to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Ik moet mijn excuses aanbieden voor wat er met het gereedschap dat ik heb geleend is gebeurd.

ik MOOT mine ex-SKYOO-zuhs AHN-bay-dun fohr waht er met ut khuh-RAYT-skhahp daht ik hep khuh-LAYNT is khuh-BURT. I need to apologize for what happened to the tool I borrowed.

Wat is ermee gebeurd?

waht is er-MAY khuh-BURT? What happened to it?

Het handvat is gebarsten terwijl ik het gebruikte.

ut HAHNT-vut is khuh-BAR-stun ter-WILE ik ut khuh-BROYK-tuh. The handle cracked while I was using it.

Laat me kijken hoe erg de schade is.

laht muh KIGH-kun hoo ERKH duh SKHAH-duh is. Let me see how bad the damage is.

Ik kan het vervangen of helpen om het te repareren.

ik kahn ut fur-VAHNG-un of HELP-un om ut tuh ray-pah-RAY-run. I can replace it or help repair it.

We moeten kijken of de reparatie goed blijft.

wuh MOO-tun KIGH-kun of duh ray-pah-RAH-tsee khoot BLYE-vut. We should check whether a repair will hold.

Het spijt me dat ik extra werk heb veroorzaakt.

ut SPITE muh daht ik EX-truh werk hep fur-OHR-zahkt. I am sorry for causing extra work.

Zeg het me de volgende keer meteen.

zekh ut muh duh VOL-khun-duh kayr muh-TAYN. Tell me right away next time.

We kunnen het oplossen.

wuh KUN-un ut OP-loh-sun. We can sort it out.

Word by Word

Ik Ik means “I” and identifies the speaker in Ik moet mijn excuses aanbieden. It normally comes before the verb in a simple statement and is used when talking about yourself.

moet Moet expresses necessity in Ik moet mijn excuses aanbieden: the speaker needs to apologize. It is the form of moeten used with Ik and is followed by an infinitive, such as aanbieden. Use it when saying that something is necessary.

mijn Mijn means “my” in mijn excuses and shows that the apologies belong to the speaker. It comes directly before the noun it describes. Use it to identify something connected to yourself.

excuses Excuses means “apologies” in mijn excuses aanbieden. Together with aanbieden, it forms a common way to apologize. Use this expression when taking responsibility for something.

aanbieden Aanbieden means “to offer” or “to give,” and in mijn excuses aanbieden it means to offer or give an apology. It remains in the infinitive after moet. Use it with something being offered, such as excuses.

voor Voor means “for” and introduces what the apology concerns in voor wat er met het gereedschap dat ik heb geleend is gebeurd. It commonly comes before the thing or situation being addressed. Use it when explaining what you are apologizing for.

wat Wat means “what” and introduces the situation being discussed in wat er met het gereedschap dat ik heb geleend is gebeurd. Here it refers to an unspecified event rather than asking for a single object. Use it to introduce information about what happened.

er Er helps refer to the situation in wat er met het gereedschap dat ik heb geleend is gebeurd. With gebeurd, it is part of the Dutch way of asking or stating what happened in a situation. Use it when referring to an event without naming a separate location.

met Met means “with” or, in wat er met het gereedschap dat ik heb geleend is gebeurd, “to” in relation to the tool. It marks the thing affected by what happened. The reusable pattern is wat er met ... is gebeurd.

het Het means “the” before het gereedschap and “it” in Ik kan het vervangen and Zeg het me. As an article it introduces the tool; as a pronoun it refers back to the tool or situation. Use the exact form according to whether it comes before a noun or replaces one.

gereedschap Gereedschap means “tool” or “tools” in het gereedschap dat ik heb geleend. It names the item involved in the apology and comes after het here. Use it when discussing equipment used for practical work.

dat Dat means “that” or “which” in het gereedschap dat ik heb geleend. It links gereedschap to the clause describing which tool is meant. A reusable pattern is a noun followed by dat and a describing clause.

heb Heb means “have” in dat ik heb geleend. It is the form of hebben used with ik and works with geleend to describe the borrowed tool. Use it before a past participle when describing something you have done.

geleend Geleend means “borrowed” in dat ik heb geleend. It is the past participle of lenen and follows heb in this clause. Use it when identifying something obtained temporarily from another person.

is Is helps express what has happened in is gebeurd and what has happened to the handle in is gebarsten. It is a form of zijn used with these past participles. Use it in these constructions to describe an event or change that has occurred.

gebeurd Gebeurd means “happened” in wat er met het gereedschap dat ik heb geleend is gebeurd. It is the past participle of gebeuren and appears after is. Use it when asking or explaining what took place.

ermee Ermee means “with it” or “to it” in Wat is ermee gebeurd? It refers back to the tool without repeating the noun. Use this form when asking what happened to something already mentioned.

handvat Handvat means “handle” in Het handvat is gebarsten. It names the part of the tool that was damaged and follows het here. Use it when referring to the part you hold on an object.

gebarsten Gebarsten means “cracked” in Het handvat is gebarsten. It is the past participle of barsten and describes the resulting damage to the handle. Use it when reporting that a hard object has developed a crack.

terwijl Terwijl means “while” and introduces the simultaneous activity in terwijl ik het gebruikte. It connects the cracking with the action of using the tool. Use it to describe two actions happening during the same period.

gebruikte Gebruikte means “was using” in terwijl ik het gebruikte. It is a past form of gebruiken and describes the activity taking place when the handle cracked. Use it after terwijl to explain what was happening at that time.

Laat Laat means “let” in Laat me kijken and asks someone to allow the speaker to do something. It is used with me and an infinitive in this request. Use the pattern Laat me + infinitive when asking to inspect or do something.

me Me means “me” in Laat me kijken and Zeg het me. In Laat me kijken it is the person who is allowed to look; in Zeg het me it is the person receiving the information. Use it for the speaker as an object.

kijken Kijken means “look” or “see” in Laat me kijken hoe erg de schade is. It is an infinitive after Laat me and refers to inspecting the damage. Use it when asking to look at or examine something.

hoe Hoe means “how” in hoe erg de schade is and introduces the degree of the damage. It is followed here by erg and the thing being assessed. Use hoe with a describing word when asking about degree or severity.

erg Erg means “bad” or “severe” in hoe erg de schade is. It describes the seriousness of the damage rather than identifying the damage itself. Use it in a hoe ... construction when assessing how serious a problem is.

de De means “the” in de schade and de volgende keer. It comes before these nouns and forms a definite noun phrase. Use it when referring to a specific type of damage or a specific next occasion.

schade Schade means “damage” in de schade. It names the harm that needs to be assessed or repaired. Use it when discussing damage to an object or property.

kan Kan means “can” or “am able to” in Ik kan het vervangen. It is the form of kunnen used with ik and is followed by an infinitive. Use it to offer or describe an ability to take action.

vervangen Vervangen means “replace” in Ik kan het vervangen. It is the infinitive after kan and refers to replacing the damaged tool. Use it with the thing that will be replaced, as in het vervangen.

of Of means “or” between alternatives in Ik kan het vervangen of helpen om het te repareren. In of de reparatie goed blijft, it means “whether” and introduces something to check. Use it to connect alternatives or to introduce an indirect yes-or-no question.

helpen Helpen means “help” in Ik kan het vervangen of helpen om het te repareren. It is an infinitive after kan and identifies assistance as the alternative to replacement. Use it with a person or task that receives help.

om Om introduces the purpose phrase om het te repareren, meaning “to repair it.” It works together with te and the infinitive repareren rather than expressing the whole meaning alone. Use om ... te + infinitive to state the purpose of an action.

te Te marks the infinitive in om het te repareren. It comes directly before repareren in this construction. Use te before an infinitive when it follows a construction such as om ... te.

repareren Repareren means “repair” in om het te repareren. It is the infinitive after te and names the proposed action for the damaged tool. Use it when describing fixing an object rather than replacing it.

We We means “we” and identifies the people jointly discussing the repair in We moeten kijken. It comes before the verb in this statement. Use it when including yourself and at least one other person.

moeten Moeten expresses “should” or “must” in We moeten kijken. It is the form used with we and is followed by the infinitive kijken. Here it presents checking the repair as a sensible shared next step.

reparatie Reparatie means “repair” as a thing or result in of de reparatie goed blijft. It refers to the repair being assessed, not to the action of repairing itself. Use it when discussing whether a completed repair will remain effective.

goed Goed means “properly” or “well” in de reparatie goed blijft. It describes the repair as remaining sound or effective. Use it with blijft when checking whether something continues to work properly.

blijft Blijft means “stays,” “remains,” or “holds” in de reparatie goed blijft. It is the form of blijven used with de reparatie and describes the repair continuing to work. Use it when checking whether a condition continues.

spijt Spijt expresses regret in Het spijt me dat ik extra werk heb veroorzaakt. In this fixed expression, the speaker says that the situation is regrettable and apologizes. Use Het spijt me when expressing that you are sorry.

extra Extra means “extra” or “additional” in extra werk. It describes work added beyond what was already expected. Use it before a noun when referring to an additional amount or task.

werk Werk means “work” in extra werk. It refers to the effort created by the damaged tool and its repair. Use it when discussing tasks or effort that someone has to carry out.

veroorzaakt Veroorzaakt means “caused” in dat ik extra werk heb veroorzaakt. It is the past participle of veroorzaken and follows heb. Use it when explaining that an action or problem produced a result.

Zeg Zeg means “tell” or “say” in Zeg het me de volgende keer meteen. It is an imperative asking the other person to give the information directly. Use Zeg het me when asking someone to tell you something.

volgende Volgende means “next” in de volgende keer. It identifies the occasion after the current one and comes before keer. Use it to refer to the next occurrence of an event.

keer Keer means “time” or “occasion” in de volgende keer. Here it refers to a future situation in which the same kind of event may happen. Use it with a describing word to identify a particular occasion.

meteen Meteen means “right away” in de volgende keer meteen. It tells the listener that the information should be given without delay. Use it when requesting immediate action or communication.

kunnen Kunnen means “can” or “be able to” in We kunnen het oplossen. It is the form used with we and is followed by the infinitive oplossen. Here it expresses confidence that the problem can be dealt with.

oplossen Oplossen means “solve” or “sort out” in We kunnen het oplossen. It is the infinitive after kunnen and refers to dealing with the damage and its consequences. Use it with a problem or situation that needs to be resolved.

Grammar Points

terwijl + bijzin

terwijl ik het gereedschap gebruikte

tur-WILE ik ut khuh-RAYT-skhahp khuh-BROYK-tuh

while I was using the tool

Na ‘terwijl’ staat het vervoegde werkwoord aan het einde van de bijzin.

mijn excuses aanbieden

mijn excuses aanbieden

mine ex-SKYOO-zuhs AHN-bay-dun

to apologize

Dit is een vaste uitdrukking voor ‘to apologize’; ‘aanbieden’ hoort bij ‘excuses’.

Dutch Vocabulary

barsten verb

BAR-stun to crack gebarsten

erg adv

ERKH badly; severe

excuses aanbieden phrase

ex-SKYOO-zuhs AHN-bay-dun to apologize mijn excuses aanbieden

Ik moet mijn excuses aanbieden voor wat er is gebeurd.

gebeuren verb

khuh-BUR-un to happen gebeurd

gebruiken verb

khuh-BROY-kun to use gebruikte

gereedschap noun

khuh-RAYT-skhahp tool het gereedschap

handvat noun

HAHNT-vut handle het handvat

kijken verb

KIGH-kun to look; to see

repareren verb

ray-pah-RAY-run to repair

schade noun

SKHAH-duh damage de schade

terwijl conj

tur-WILE while

vervangen verb

fur-VAHNG-un to replace

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

What happened to it?

Show Answer

Wat is ermee gebeurd?

We can sort it out.

Show Answer

We kunnen het oplossen.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to crack

Show Answer

gebarsten

to use

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gebruikte

while

Show Answer

terwijl

to happen

Show Answer

gebeurd