Preparing for Heavy Rain | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. De weersvoorspelling zegt dat het binnenkort hard gaat regenen.

   The forecast says heavy rain will start soon.

   De weersvoorspelling

   the forecast

   zegt

   says

   dat

   that

   het

   it

   binnenkort

   soon

   hard

   heavily

   gaat regenen

   will rain

   More detail

   De weersvoorspelling means “the forecast.” weersvoorspelling is a compound noun: weer means “weather” and voorspelling means “forecast” or “prediction.” The article de belongs to this noun phrase. A useful related contrast is een weersvoorspelling (“a forecast”), where the article is indefinite rather than definite. zegt is the present-tense third-person singular form of zeggen, “to say.” The subject here is the singular noun phrase De weersvoorspelling, so Dutch uses zegt. Example: De app zegt het. — “The app says so.” dat introduces the content of what is said: “that …”. In Dutch, a clause introduced by dat commonly places its finite verb at the end. Here, the content clause runs from het through gaat regenen, with gaat regenen at its end. het is an impersonal “it” used with weather expressions. It does not identify a particular person or object; it functions as the grammatical subject of the weather statement. Example: Het regent. — “It is raining.” binnenkort means “soon” or “in the near future.” It gives the expected time of the event without specifying an exact date. Example: De winkel opent binnenkort. — “The shop will open soon.” hard modifies the raining in this expression and means “heavily” or “intensely,” not physically “hard.” In Dutch, hard can also mean “hard” in the physical or general sense, but its meaning here is determined by the weather context. Example: Het regent hard. — “It is raining heavily.” gaat regenen is gaan plus the infinitive regenen, “to rain.” In this construction, present-tense gaat expresses an expected or impending future event: literally, “is going to rain.” The observed form gaat is third-person singular because the impersonal subject is het; regenen remains an infinitive. Compare Het gaat sneeuwen. — “It is going to snow.” Together, De weersvoorspelling zegt gives “the forecast says,” and dat het binnenkort hard gaat regenen gives “that it is going to rain heavily soon.” The complete utterance therefore means: “The forecast says heavy rain will start soon.”

2. Draag dan vandaag waterdichte schoenen.

   Then wear waterproof shoes today.

   Draag

   wear

   dan

   then

   vandaag

   today

   waterdichte

   waterproof

   schoenen

   shoes

   More detail

   Draag is the imperative of dragen, “to wear/carry.” Here it gives a direct instruction to wear something. The regular present-tense form with jij is je draagt, but the imperative is draag; the imperative does not add -t in this form. Example: Draag een jas. — “Wear a coat.” dan means “then” here. It links this instruction to the situation already mentioned: because rain is expected, the speaker recommends the action that follows. Example: Neem dan een paraplu. — “Then take an umbrella.” vandaag means “today” and places the instruction in the current day. It is an adverb, so it does not change form for number or gender. Example: Ik werk vandaag. — “I am working today.” waterdichte is the form of the adjective waterdicht, “waterproof,” used before the plural noun schoenen. In this position, Dutch normally adds -e: waterdichte schoenen. The adjective describes the shoes’ resistance to water; it is not the noun’s base form. Example: waterdichte jas — “waterproof coat.” schoenen means “shoes.” Its singular is schoen; schoenen is the plural. Example: Mijn schoenen zijn nat. — “My shoes are wet.” Together, Draag ... schoenen gives the instruction “wear ... shoes,” while waterdichte specifies which kind of shoes, dan connects the recommendation to the preceding situation, and vandaag specifies when to do it. The complete utterance therefore means: “Then wear waterproof shoes today.”

3. Er zijn altijd plassen bij het station.

   There are always puddles near the station.

   Er zijn

   there are

   altijd

   always

   plassen

   puddles

   bij

   near; by

   station

   station

   More detail

   Er zijn is the Dutch existential pattern for saying that one or more things are present or exist in a place. Here zijn is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) used with a plural subject: er is is used with a singular noun, while er zijn is used with a plural noun. Example: Er zijn twee fietsen. — “There are two bicycles.” altijd means “always” and marks that the situation holds at all relevant times. It can be reused with many verbs: Zij komt altijd op tijd. — “She always arrives on time.” plassen means “puddles” here. It is the plural of plas (“puddle”): een plas — “a puddle”; twee plassen — “two puddles.” The plural form helps explain why the sentence uses zijn rather than is. bij is a preposition meaning “near” or “by” in this location expression. It introduces the place associated with the thing being located. For example: De winkel is bij het station. — “The shop is near the station.” station means “station.” In the complete location phrase bij het station, het marks the station as a definite noun phrase; the selected word station itself is the noun. The same noun can be used in other definite or indefinite phrases, such as een station (“a station”) and het station (“the station”). Together, Er zijn presents things as being present, altijd says this is consistently the case, plassen identifies those things as puddles, and bij het station gives their location. The whole utterance therefore means: “There are always puddles near the station.”

4. Je hebt misschien ook extra tijd nodig door vertragingen.

   You may also need extra time for delays.

   Je hebt … nodig

   you need

   misschien

   perhaps; may

   ook

   also

   extra

   extra

   tijd

   time

   door

   because of; due to

   vertragingen

   delays

   More detail

   Je hebt ... nodig is the Dutch construction for “you need ...”. hebt is the present-tense form of hebben for je (“you”): ik heb, je/jij hebt, hij/zij heeft. The needed thing can come between hebt and nodig, as in Je hebt meer water nodig (“You need more water”). Here, Je identifies the person who may need something; the fixed translation supports “you.” misschien means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It makes the statement uncertain: the speaker says that needing extra time is possible, not certain. Dutch can place it in several positions; here it follows hebt and comes before the rest of the need construction. ook means “also” or “too.” It adds this need to something else already relevant. Its exact scope here is the statement that you may need extra time. extra means “additional” or “more than the usual amount.” It describes tijd, not vertragingen. For example, We hebben extra hulp nodig means “We need additional help.” tijd means “time.” It is the thing needed in this sentence. A useful contrast is tijd (“time”) versus keer (“time” in the sense of an occasion), as in drie keer (“three times”). door introduces the cause or circumstance responsible for something. In door vertragingen, it means “because of” or “due to delays.” This is different from voor, which commonly means “for” a purpose or recipient; the fixed sentence presents the delays as the cause of the need for extra time. vertragingen means “delays.” Its singular base form is vertraging; the plural is formed with -en: vertragingen. Example: De vertraging duurt lang means “The delay lasts a long time.” Together, Je hebt ... nodig frames extra tijd as what you need. door vertragingen gives the reason for needing it, while misschien makes the whole statement tentative and ook adds it to another relevant point. The complete meaning is: “You may also need extra time because of delays.”

5. Moet ik mijn laptop in een waterdichte hoes doen?

   Should I put my laptop in a waterproof sleeve?

   Moet ik

   Should I…?

   mijn

   my

   laptop

   laptop

   in

   in; into

   waterdichte

   waterproof

   hoes

   sleeve; cover

   doen

   put; do

   More detail

   Moet ik is the Dutch question pattern for asking whether the speaker should do something. moet is the present-tense form of moeten used with singular subjects, including ik; after this modal verb, the other verb appears as an infinitive. Compare Ik moet gaan — “I have to go.” The question form is made by placing moet before ik. mijn means “my” and marks possession. It is the possessive form used here with laptop; the possessor is the speaker, not the laptop. For example, mijn tas means “my bag.” laptop is the noun “laptop.” Dutch nouns are normally written with an initial lowercase letter, as here. Its plural is laptops. in expresses an inside location or destination. With doen in this sentence, in introduces what the laptop is put into: iets in iets doen means “to put something into something.” waterdichte means “waterproof” here. Its base form is waterdicht; the -e form appears before the noun in een waterdichte hoes. The adjective describes the hoes, not the laptop. Compare een waterdichte tas — “a waterproof bag.” hoes means a sleeve or cover, especially a covering designed to contain or protect something. Its plural is hoezen. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies it as a sleeve for the laptop. doen is the infinitive “to put” in this construction. Dutch doen has a broad basic meaning related to “do” or “make,” but iets in iets doen specifically means putting one thing into another. For example, Ik doe de boeken in de tas means “I put the books in the bag.” Together, moet ik asks about the speaker’s obligation or recommended action, and mijn laptop in een waterdichte hoes doen describes putting the speaker’s laptop into a waterproof sleeve. The whole utterance therefore means: “Should I put my laptop in a waterproof sleeve?”

6. Houd hem in je tas, zodat hij droog blijft.

   Keep it inside your bag where it stays dry.

   Houd

   keep

   hem

   it

   in je tas

   in your bag

   zodat

   so that

   hij

   it

   droog

   dry

   blijft

   stays

   More detail

   Houd is the imperative of houden, “to keep” or “to hold.” The imperative addresses one or more people and commonly has no expressed subject: Houd de deur dicht. — “Keep the door closed.” hem is the singular object pronoun “him” or, as here, “it.” In this sentence, the fixed translation and the preceding question identify the referent as the laptop. Dutch object pronouns include hem for a masculine/common-gender singular referent; the form is not chosen simply because the referent is singular. in je tas means “in your bag.” je is the informal possessive “your,” and tas means “bag.” The preposition in places something inside a container here. The compact reusable pattern is iets in je tas houden — “keep something in your bag.” zodat introduces the intended result: “so that.” It links the instruction to what should happen as a result. A useful pattern is ..., zodat ...; the clause after it is a subordinate clause. hij is the singular subject pronoun “he” or “it.” Here it refers to the laptop, matching the intended “it” in the translation. Dutch uses this pronoun for a masculine/common-gender singular referent; its grammatical class should not be confused with the referent’s real-world identity. droog is the adjective “dry.” After a linking verb such as blijven (“to remain, stay”), it describes the subject: Het blijft droog. — “It stays dry.” blijft is the present-tense third-person singular form of blijven, “to remain” or “to stay.” The form chain is blijven → blijft for a singular third-person subject; compare ik blijf — “I stay.” Together, Houd hem in je tas gives the instruction “Keep it in your bag.” zodat hij droog blijft adds the intended result, “so that it stays dry.” The whole utterance therefore means: “Keep it inside your bag so that it stays dry.”

7. Dan moet ik eerder vertrekken dan normaal.

   Then I should leave earlier than usual.

   Dan

   then

   moet ik

   I should

   eerder

   earlier

   vertrekken

   leave

   dan

   than

   normaal

   usual

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here, linking the utterance to a time or condition already understood from context. It can also introduce a consequence in other sentences, but here it points to that time or situation. moet ik contains the finite form moet of moeten (“must; should”) followed by ik (“I”). In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the weaker advice-like meaning “should,” rather than a firm command. The order moet ik results from the verb coming before the subject after the sentence-initial Dan; this is a common Dutch main-clause pattern. For example: Morgen moet ik werken. — “Tomorrow I have to work.” eerder is the comparative form of vroeg (“early”): vroeg — “early,” eerder — “earlier,” het vroegst — “the earliest.” It describes the time of leaving, not the manner of leaving. Dutch uses eerder ... dan ... for “earlier ... than ...”. vertrekken is an infinitive meaning “to leave” or “to depart.” After the modal verb moet, the infinitive remains at the end of this main clause: Ik moet vertrekken. — “I have to leave.” It is different from aankomen, “to arrive.” The second dan is the comparison word “than.” It introduces the standard used for comparison, unlike the first Dan, which means “then.” The capitalization difference follows its position: the first word starts the sentence, while the second occurs inside it. normaal means “usual” in the comparison dan normaal. The phrase is shortened from the idea “than is usual” or “than usual”; it does not specify exactly what the usual time is. Normaal can also mean “normally” when it modifies a whole statement, but here it refers to the usual time for leaving. Together, Dan moet ik eerder vertrekken dan normaal means “Then I should leave earlier than usual.” The pattern is Dan moet ik [comparative] [infinitive] dan normaal: “Then I should [comparative] [action] than usual.” The sentence expresses the speaker’s intended or advisable earlier departure in the relevant situation.

8. Dat zou de reis minder stressvol moeten maken.

   That should make the trip less stressful.

   Dat zou

   That should

   de reis

   the trip

   minder

   less

   stressvol

   stressful

   maken

   make

   More detail

   Dat zou means “that should” here. Dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that”; this sentence does not identify a more specific referent for it. Zou is the singular past form of zullen; with moeten and a following infinitive, zou ... moeten expresses an expected or intended result, corresponding here to “should ...”. The plural form is zouden. De reis means “the trip”. Reis is a singular noun, and de is its definite article. The article identifies the noun phrase as definite; it does not by itself state a numerical count. Minder means “less” and expresses a lower degree. It comes before stressvol in minder stressvol, “less stressful”. The contrasting comparison is meer, “more”: meer stressvol means “more stressful”. Stressvol means “stressful”. Here it describes the degree of stress associated with the trip after minder; the observed form has no adjective ending in this construction. In an attributive noun phrase, Dutch can use the related form stressvolle, as in een stressvolle reis, “a stressful trip”. Maken means “make” or “cause”. It is the infinitive governed by moeten in zou ... moeten maken. The observed infinitive does not show person or number; for example, the present forms are ik maak, “I make”, and hij/zij maakt, “he/she makes”. Together, de reis minder stressvol maken means “make the trip less stressful”. The pattern Dat zou X moeten maken means “That should make X ...”. Therefore the whole utterance means “That should make the trip less stressful.”