Cleaning coffee from documents | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik heb koffie op deze documenten gemorst.

   I spilled coffee on these documents.

   Ik heb

   I have

   koffie

   coffee

   op

   on

   deze

   these

   documenten

   documents

   gemorst

   spilled

   More detail

   Ik heb is the first-person singular form of hebben (“to have”). Here it is the auxiliary in the Dutch perfect: ik heb + a past participle. The auxiliary agrees with the subject; heb is used with ik, while heeft is used with hij/zij/het. Example: Ik heb gewerkt. — “I have worked.” koffie means “coffee.” It is commonly used as an uncountable noun, so this sentence does not specify a number of coffees. Dutch often uses no article for an unspecified substance: Ik drink koffie. — “I drink coffee.” op is a preposition meaning “on” here. With a surface, op expresses contact with or position on that surface. Example: Het boek ligt op de tafel. — “The book is on the table.” deze means “these” and points to more than one nearby or contextually identified item. It is the plural form used with nouns that take de; it also has a singular counterpart, deze, for a singular de-word, while dit is used with a singular het-word. Here its plural use is determined by documenten. documenten means “documents.” Its singular base form is document; the plural is formed with -en: document → documenten. The plural form takes the article de when an article is needed. gemorst is the past participle of the verb morsen, “to spill.” Together with heb it forms the perfect heb gemorst, expressing a completed spilling. The participle itself does not show who performed the action; the subject form Ik and the auxiliary heb identify the actor as “I.” The meaningful structure is Ik heb + koffie + op + deze documenten + gemorst: “I have spilled coffee on these documents.” In natural English, the fixed translation uses the simple past “I spilled,” while Dutch uses its perfect form here. The prepositional phrase op deze documenten specifies where the coffee was spilled.

2. Haal ze weg bij het kopje voordat de vlek zich verspreidt.

   Move them away from the cup before the stain spreads.

   Haal

   move or take

   ze

   them

   weg bij

   away from

   kopje

   cup

   voordat

   before

   vlek

   stain

   zich verspreidt

   spreads

   More detail

   Haal is the imperative form of halen, “to take” or “to fetch.” Here, with weg, it means “move/remove.” The imperative subject is understood from the situation; this form can address one person or more than one person, so it does not by itself establish a singular or informal addressee. ze is the object pronoun “them,” referring to plural items. In this context, the fixed translation and surrounding coffee-spill context support the intended plural objects without changing the pronoun’s form. weg bij is a useful Dutch pattern meaning “away from.” weg expresses removal or movement away, while bij introduces the place or object from which something is moved. Example: Haal de stoel weg bij de deur. — “Move the chair away from the door.” kopje means “cup” here. It is the diminutive form of kop; diminutive nouns in Dutch are neuter, which is why Dutch uses het kopje. The diminutive can also suggest a small cup, but the fixed translation simply identifies it as a cup. voordat is the conjunction “before.” It introduces an event that must happen later than the action it follows: Ga naar binnen voordat het regent. — “Go inside before it rains.” In the clause after voordat, Dutch places the finite verb at the end. vlek means “stain” or “spot.” It is a common-gender noun, so the definite form is de vlek: “the stain.” zich verspreidt means “spreads” here. verspreiden is the base form; verspreidt is its present-tense form with the singular subject de vlek. zich is the reflexive pronoun used with this meaning of spreading. Example: De rook verspreidt zich snel. — “The smoke spreads quickly.” Together, Haal ze weg bij het kopje means “Move them away from the cup.” The conjunction voordat then adds the time condition de vlek zich verspreidt, “the stain spreads.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Move them away from the cup before the stain spreads.”

3. De bovenste pagina is al doorweekt.

   The top page is already soaked.

   bovenste

   top; uppermost

   pagina

   page

   al

   already

   doorweekt

   soaked through

   More detail

   bovenste means “top” or “uppermost” here. It indicates position, not simply that something is high. It is the superlative form related to boven (“above”); the opposite is onderste (“bottom” or “lowermost”). In de bovenste pagina, the adjective has -e because it stands before the noun with the definite article de. pagina means “page.” Its plural is pagina’s. In this sentence it is singular: one page is being described. al means “already.” It places the state before the relevant present moment: the page has already become soaked. It does not itself identify when the soaking happened. doorweekt means “soaked through” or “completely wet.” It is related to the verb doorweken (“to soak through”). With is, as in is doorweekt, it describes the page’s resulting state: “is soaked through.” Example: De handdoek is doorweekt. — “The towel is soaked through.” The sentence combines De bovenste pagina (“the top page”), is (“is”), al (“already”), and doorweekt (“soaked through”). Together: “The top page is already soaked.”

4. Laat de pagina plat drogen voordat je hem vastpakt.

   Let it dry flat before you handle it.

   Laat

   let

   de pagina

   the page

   plat

   flat

   drogen

   dry

   voordat

   before

   je

   you

   hem

   it

   vastpakt

   handles

   More detail

   Laat is the imperative of laten, “to let” or “to allow.” Here it introduces the construction laat + object + infinitive: “let the object do something.” The object is de pagina, and the action is drogen, so the instruction allows or causes the page to dry. This is not the ordinary imperative of “dry”; that would address the page as the thing performing the action. de pagina means “the page.” Pagina is a common-gender singular noun, so its definite article is de; the plural is also de pagina's. In this context, the surrounding text and the translation identify this as the page that is soaked and is to be handled afterward. plat means “flat” here and describes the manner or resulting position of the drying. With an adjective used this way, Dutch does not add a separate adverbial ending: plat drogen means “dry flat.” Compare the useful pair plat “flat” and opgerold “rolled up” in an example such as Laat de kaart plat drogen. — “Let the map dry flat.” This is a new example, not a claim about the supplied conversation. drogen is the infinitive “to dry.” In laat ... drogen, it remains an infinitive after laten; the form does not show who performs the drying. The page is the thing that dries, while the implied addressee is being told to let that happen. voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. The event after it is presented as the later event relative to the drying: first the page dries flat, and afterward the handling takes place. je is the subject pronoun “you.” It is the familiar singular or plural form in Dutch; the fixed translation identifies the addressee as “you” but does not require choosing between those numbers. In the clause je ... vastpakt, it is the person who handles the page. hem is the object pronoun “it” in this sentence. Dutch uses hem for a singular masculine or common-gender object, and the fixed translation plus context identify its referent here as the page. It is not the subject of vastpakt; it is the thing being handled. vastpakt comes from the separable verb vastpakken, “to handle” or “to grab firmly.” In the present tense, it is the second-person singular form with je: je pakt ... vast in a main clause. Because this verb is inside the subordinate clause introduced by voordat, the finite verb appears at the end and the written form is joined as vastpakt: voordat je hem vastpakt — “before you handle it.” Together, Laat de pagina plat drogen gives the instruction “Let the page dry flat.” The subordinate clause voordat je hem vastpakt sets the timing condition “before you handle it.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Let it dry flat before you handle it.”

5. Zal ik een schone kopie van die pagina afdrukken?

   Should I print a clean copy of that page?

   Zal ik

   Should I …?

   schone

   clean

   kopie

   copy

   die

   that

   pagina

   page

   afdrukken

   print

   More detail

   Zal ik is a reusable way to ask whether the speaker should do something. zal is the first-person singular present form of zullen; placing ik after the verb gives the usual inversion in a yes/no question. The infinitive can follow later: Zal ik ... afdrukken? means “Should I print ...?” schone means “clean” here. Its base form is schoon. The adjective has -e because it stands before the singular common-gender noun kopie in this noun phrase: een schone kopie. The form een does not itself state a numerical count. kopie means “copy.” It is a de-word: de kopie. Its plural is kopieën, as in meerdere kopieën (“several copies”). die means “that” here and modifies pagina. In Dutch, die is used with singular de-words and also with plural nouns; the form itself does not identify the referent independently of context. Here the fixed translation supports “that.” pagina means “page.” Together, die pagina means “that page”: die selects a particular page, while pagina names the object. afdrukken means “to print.” It is the infinitive of the separable verb afdrukken. In this question, the infinitive remains together at the end. In a finite main clause, the parts separate: Ik druk de pagina af. = “I print the page.” Together, een schone kopie van die pagina means “a clean copy of that page”; van links the copy to the page it reproduces. The inverted question Zal ik ... afdrukken? asks whether the speaker should perform that action, giving the complete meaning “Should I print a clean copy of that page?”

6. Dat is veiliger, omdat de tekst misschien wazig wordt.

   That would be safer because the text may blur.

   Dat

   That

   veiliger

   safer

   omdat

   because

   tekst

   text

   misschien

   maybe

   wazig

   blurry

   wordt

   becomes

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here and functions as the subject. In this context it points back to the proposed action or option in the preceding question, rather than naming a new object. Dutch demonstratives distinguish forms such as dit/dat for singular neuter nouns or neuter references, and deze/die for common-gender or plural references; the form in this sentence is dat. veiliger is the comparative of veilig, “safe.” The useful chain is veilig (safe) → veiliger (safer) → het veiligst (the safest). The ending -er marks comparison on this adjective. Example: Deze manier is veiliger. — “This way is safer.” omdat introduces the reason for the statement and means “because.” It starts a subordinate clause. In a Dutch subordinate clause, the finite verb commonly moves to the end, as in omdat de tekst misschien wazig wordt. de tekst means “the text.” Tekst is the noun; de is its definite article. Its plural is teksten, as in de teksten (“the texts”). Example: De tekst is kort. — “The text is short.” misschien means “maybe” or “possibly.” It expresses uncertainty about the following situation; it does not itself say that the situation will occur. wazig means “blurry” or “unclear” in this context. Here it describes the visual result of the text. Example: De foto wordt wazig. — “The photo becomes blurry.” wordt is the third-person singular present form of worden, “to become” or “to get.” The relevant chain is worden → wordt; the form agrees with the singular subject de tekst. With an adjective, worden describes a change into a state: de tekst wordt wazig means “the text becomes blurry.” This is different from is wazig, which describes the text as already being blurry rather than becoming so. Together, Dat is veiliger says “That is safer,” and omdat de tekst misschien wazig wordt gives the reason: “because the text may become blurry.” The full utterance therefore means: “That would be safer because the text may blur.”

7. Ik leg de droge pagina's apart terwijl deze droogt.

   I will separate the dry pages while this one dries.

   leg … apart

   set aside; separate

   droge

   dry

   pagina's

   pages

   terwijl

   while

   deze

   this one

   droogt

   dries

   More detail

   leg ... apart is the split form of the reusable Dutch construction apart leggen, meaning “to set aside” or “to separate.” leg is the present-tense first-person singular form of leggen (“to put/lay”); the subject Ik supplies the “I.” Dutch finite verbs do not have a special future form here, so the English future “will” comes from the intended action in context. In a main clause, apart can appear separately from the finite verb: Ik leg het boek apart. — “I set the book aside.” droge means “dry” here and describes pagina's. It is the attributive form of the adjective droog; with the plural noun introduced by de, the adjective has the -e ending. The adjective says that the pages are already dry, rather than describing the drying process. pagina's is the plural of pagina (“page”); the apostrophe is part of the standard spelling of this plural. terwijl introduces a simultaneous subordinate clause and means “while.” It links the setting-aside action with another action happening at the same time. For example, Ik lees terwijl zij kookt. — “I read while she cooks.” deze is the demonstrative pronoun “this one” in the supplied meaning. It is a singular common-gender form; the neuter singular counterpart is dit, while deze is also used for plural demonstrative reference. The fixed sentence identifies the referent only as the one that is drying, without specifying it further. droogt means “dries” here. It is the present-tense third-person singular form of drogen (“to dry”): ik droog, hij/zij/het droogt. In the subordinate clause deze droogt, the verb appears at the end, a normal Dutch subordinate-clause pattern. Together, Ik leg de droge pagina's apart means “I set the dry pages aside/separate the dry pages.” terwijl deze droogt adds the simultaneous action “while this one dries.” The complete meaning is: “I will separate the dry pages while this one dries.”

8. Zet de drankjes de volgende keer op een andere tafel.

   Keep the drinks on another table next time.

   Zet

   keep; put

   drankjes

   drinks

   de volgende keer

   next time

   andere

   different; another

   tafel

   table

   More detail

   Zet is the imperative of zetten, “to put” or “to place.” It addresses the listener directly and gives an instruction. In this sentence, the intended result is that the drinks remain on the other table. The present-tense form is ik zet; the imperative is zet. drankjes means “drinks” here. It is the plural of drankje; the plural ending is -s. The form drankje is a diminutive related to drank, but the sentence refers to the drinks as items, not necessarily to their size. Dutch uses de with plural nouns, as in de drankjes. de volgende keer is the reusable time expression “next time.” Volgende means “following” or “next” in this expression. Compare deze keer (“this time”) and de vorige keer (“last time”). andere means “another” or “different.” It describes tafel and uses the form required after the definite article de: de andere tafel (“the other/different table”). With an indefinite singular noun, Dutch commonly has een andere tafel (“another table”). tafel means “table.” It is a singular noun; its plural is tafels. In the sentence, the preposition op places the drinks on a surface, and een andere tafel means “another table.” The article een is indefinite; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Together, Zet de drankjes gives the instruction “put/keep the drinks,” op een andere tafel specifies their destination or location, and de volgende keer specifies when this should happen. The complete utterance is: “Keep the drinks on another table next time.”