Snowy streets and bus delays | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Er is 's nachts veel sneeuw gevallen.

   It snowed a lot during the night.

   Er is

   there is

   's nachts

   during the night

   veel

   a lot of; much

   sneeuw

   snow

   gevallen

   fallen

   More detail

   Er is is a common Dutch pattern in which er introduces what happens or exists. Here, is is the auxiliary verb used with the perfect tense of vallen (“to fall”), so its contribution is understood together with gevallen, rather than as a separate literal “there is” in the complete sentence. The form is is the third-person singular present of zijn (“to be”). Compare: Er is veel regen gevallen. — “A lot of rain has fallen.” 's nachts is a fixed time expression meaning “at night” or “during the night.” It is an adverbial expression written as two words; the apostrophe reflects the shortened form of an older expression. Compare: overdag — “during the day.” veel means “a lot of” or “much” here. It quantifies the mass noun sneeuw without requiring an article: veel sneeuw means “a lot of snow.” With a countable plural, the same word can mean “many,” as in veel huizen — “many houses.” sneeuw is the noun “snow.” It is normally used as a mass noun when referring to the substance generally, so veel sneeuw does not specify separate individual snow units. Example: De sneeuw ligt op straat. — “The snow is lying in the street.” gevallen is the past participle of vallen, “to fall.” A useful form chain is vallen → viel (simple past) → gevallen (past participle). Dutch uses zijn as the auxiliary with this verb in the perfect: De sneeuw is gevallen. — “The snow has fallen.” The participle gevallen itself does not show the subject’s person or number here; is carries the finite verb form. Together, Er is ... gevallen presents the falling as a completed event in the perfect, veel sneeuw identifies what fell and its amount, and 's nachts gives the time. The complete utterance therefore means: “It snowed a lot during the night.”

2. De stoepen kunnen vanmorgen glad zijn.

   The sidewalks may be icy this morning.

   stoepen

   sidewalks

   kunnen

   may

   vanmorgen

   this morning

   glad

   icy

   zijn

   be

   More detail

   stoepen means “sidewalks” here. Its singular base form is stoep (“sidewalk”); stoepen is the regular plural. The plural subject is why the sentence uses the plural verb form kunnen. kunnen expresses possibility here: “may” or “can.” In the present tense, the form agrees with the subject: ik kan, hij kan, but wij kunnen and de stoepen kunnen. After a modal verb such as kunnen, the other verb normally remains an infinitive and moves to the end. Example: De wegen kunnen glad zijn. — “The roads may be slippery.” vanmorgen is the time adverb “this morning.” It identifies when the possibility applies. A related time word is vanochtend, which is also commonly used for “this morning.” glad describes a surface as slippery; in this weather context, “icy” is the intended translation. It can also describe other smooth or slippery surfaces. Its comparative form is gladder (“more slippery”), and its superlative is gladst (“most slippery”). Example: De vloer is glad. — “The floor is slippery.” zijn is the infinitive “to be.” Here it follows kunnen and completes the pattern kunnen + zijn: “may be.” The form zijn itself is not marked for the plural subject in this construction; kunnen carries the finite verb form. Together, De stoepen kunnen vanmorgen glad zijn means “The sidewalks may be icy this morning.” De stoepen is the plural subject, kunnen marks possibility, vanmorgen gives the time, and glad zijn describes the possible condition of the sidewalks. The modal structure is reusable as subject + kunnen + ... + infinitive, for example De paden kunnen nat zijn. — “The paths may be wet.”

3. Dan moet ik laarzen met meer grip aantrekken.

   Then I should wear boots with better grip.

   Dan

   Then

   moet ik

   I should

   laarzen

   boots

   met

   with

   meer

   more; better

   grip

   grip

   aantrekken

   put on; wear

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here: it links the speaker’s choice to information already established. It commonly introduces a consequence or next step. Example: Dan ga ik naar huis. — “Then I’ll go home.” moet ik contains the present-tense form moet of moeten (“must; have to”) and the subject pronoun ik (“I”). With ik, the form is moet; moeten is the infinitive. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the softer meaning “should,” rather than an absolute command. After Dan, Dutch keeps the finite verb before the subject: Dan moet ik .... This is ordinary statement word order after a fronted element, not necessarily a question. laarzen means “boots.” It is the plural of laars (“boot”). The plural form is used because the sentence refers to boots rather than one boot. Example: Ik draag zwarte laarzen. — “I wear black boots.” met means “with” and introduces a feature or accompaniment. Here it connects the boots to the feature described by the following noun phrase: the boots are “with more grip.” Example: een jas met een kap — “a coat with a hood.” meer is the comparative form related to veel (“much; many”): veel → meer (“more”). In meer grip, it compares the amount or degree of grip with some understood alternative. English naturally renders this as “better grip” in this context; meer itself means “more,” not “better” in every use. grip is a noun meaning “grip” or “traction.” In this sentence it refers to how well the boots hold against the walking surface. The noun is often used in combinations such as grip op de vloer (“grip on the floor”). aantrekken is the infinitive meaning “to put on” clothing or footwear. It is a separable verb: in a finite main clause, the aan part can separate, as in Ik trek laarzen aan. — “I put on boots.” After the modal verb moet, however, the infinitive stays together at the end: Ik moet laarzen aantrekken. — “I have to put on boots.” The translation “wear” expresses the intended result in this sentence, while the Dutch verb specifically focuses on putting the boots on. Together, Dan moet ik gives “Then I should,” laarzen met meer grip gives “boots with better grip,” and the final infinitive aantrekken supplies the action. The complete utterance therefore means: “Then I should wear boots with better grip.”

4. Je moet ook voorzichtiger lopen dan normaal.

   You should also walk more carefully than usual.

   Je moet

   you should

   ook

   also

   voorzichtiger

   more carefully

   lopen

   walk

   dan normaal

   than usual

   More detail

   Je moet combines je (“you”) with moet, the present-tense form of the modal verb moeten for je (and also for hij/zij/het). Here it expresses advice or a recommendation: “you should.” The infinitive after a modal stays in its base form. For example: Je moet wachten. — “You should wait.” ook means “also” and adds this recommendation to something already relevant. Its exact scope depends on the sentence, but here it modifies the recommendation as a whole rather than changing the meaning of lopen by itself. voorzichtiger is the comparative form of voorzichtig, “careful” or “carefully.” In this sentence it describes how the walking should be done, so its meaning is “more carefully.” Dutch uses -er for this comparison: voorzichtig → voorzichtiger. The comparison can be made explicit with dan: Zij loopt voorzichtiger dan ik. — “She walks more carefully than I do.” lopen is the infinitive “to walk.” After moet, it remains lopen, not a finite form. In the sentence, voorzichtiger tells us the manner of walking, while lopen supplies the action. dan normaal completes the comparison: dan means “than,” and normaal means “usual” here, with the understood meaning “than usual.” Dutch commonly leaves the repeated action or manner implicit in this expression. For example: Hij werkt harder dan normaal. — “He works harder than usual.” Together, Je moet expresses the recommendation, ook adds it to the existing situation, voorzichtiger lopen means “walk more carefully,” and dan normaal sets the comparison standard. The complete utterance therefore means: “You should also walk more carefully than usual.”

5. Denk je dat de bussen vertraging krijgen?

   Do you think buses will be delayed?

   Denk je

   do you think

   bussen

   buses

   vertraging

   delay

   krijgen

   get; experience

   More detail

   Denk je is the Dutch question pattern for “do you think”. It contains denk, the present-tense form of denken (“to think”), and je, the subject pronoun “you”. In this yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject. The statement order is je denkt (“you think”); the question order is denk je. bussen means “buses” here. Its singular base form is bus (“bus”), and bussen is its plural. The spelling doubles the s to preserve the short vowel: bus → bussen. Example: De bussen zijn laat. — “The buses are late.” vertraging means “delay”. It is a noun for lateness or a hold-up in a journey. Its plural is vertragingen (“delays”). In vertraging krijgen, the noun combines with krijgen to express experiencing a delay, naturally translated here as “to be delayed”. krijgen means “to get” or, in this expression, “to experience”. The form krijgen is both the infinitive and the present-tense form for plural subjects. Here it is the finite present form agreeing with plural de bussen; it is not an infinitive. Compare de bus krijgt (“the bus gets”) with de bussen krijgen (“the buses get”). Example: We krijgen hulp. — “We get help.” Together, Denk je dat introduces a yes/no question about a following clause: “Do you think that …?” In the subordinate clause de bussen vertraging krijgen, de bussen is the subject and vertraging krijgen is the predicate; the finite verb krijgen appears at the end. The whole utterance means “Do you think buses will be delayed?” The present form can describe the expected situation without a separate future auxiliary.

6. Waarschijnlijk, omdat het verkeer langzaam rijdt in de sneeuw.

   Probably, because traffic moves slowly in snow.

   Waarschijnlijk

   probably

   omdat

   because

   verkeer

   traffic

   langzaam

   slowly

   rijdt

   moves; drives

   sneeuw

   snow

   More detail

   Waarschijnlijk means “probably” here and signals that the speaker is not fully certain. It can also be used as an adjective meaning “probable” or “likely,” but in this sentence it modifies the whole statement as an adverb. omdat introduces a reason: “because.” It is a subordinating conjunction, so the words after it form the explanation for what came before. A reusable pattern is omdat + clause, as in Ik blijf thuis omdat het regent. — “I am staying home because it is raining.” verkeer means “traffic.” It is normally treated as an uncountable mass noun in this use and takes the neuter definite article het: het verkeer. The article belongs with the noun; verkeer itself is the noun being taught here. langzaam means “slowly” in this sentence. Dutch uses the same form for the adjective “slow” and the adverb “slowly” in this use: een langzame bus means “a slow bus,” while De bus rijdt langzaam means “The bus moves slowly.” In langzaam rijdt, it describes how the traffic moves. rijdt is the present-tense third-person singular form of rijden, “to drive” or “to move/travel by vehicle.” The subject here is singular het verkeer, so the form is rijdt; the infinitive is rijden. For example, De trein rijdt snel. means “The train travels quickly.” sneeuw means “snow.” In the utterance, in de sneeuw means “in the snow” or, in the fixed translation, “in snow.” de is the definite article used with this noun phrase; the quoted word sneeuw itself is the noun. Together, omdat het verkeer langzaam rijdt in de sneeuw gives the reason: traffic moves slowly in snow. Adding Waarschijnlijk makes the complete utterance mean “Probably, because traffic moves slowly in snow.”

7. Laat me de ov-app bekijken voordat ik vertrek.

   Let me check the transport app before leaving.

   Laat me

   Let me

   ov-app

   public-transport app

   bekijken

   check; look at

   voordat

   before

   vertrek

   leave; depart

   More detail

   Laat me is a useful way to ask for permission or propose an action: “Let me …”. Here laat is the imperative of laten (“to let/allow”), and me is the object pronoun meaning “me”. After this construction, Dutch normally places the next verb in the infinitive without te: Laat me kijken. — “Let me look.” ov-app is a compound noun. ov is the abbreviation for openbaar vervoer (“public transport”), and app means “app”. The hyphen joins the abbreviation and the noun in this compound; the whole form means “public-transport app”. bekijken means “to look at” or “to check” something. It is an infinitive here, following Laat me; the infinitive itself does not show the actor, while this construction supplies me as the understood actor. Example: Ik wil de kaart bekijken. — “I want to check the map.” voordat introduces a time clause meaning “before”. In voordat ik vertrek, it means that the checking happens before the leaving. Example: Bel me voordat je gaat. — “Call me before you go.” vertrek is the first-person singular present form of vertrekken, “to leave” or “to depart”: ik vertrek — “I leave / I am leaving”. The subject ik is stated directly before it, so this is not an imperative. Example: Ik vertrek om acht uur. — “I leave at eight o’clock.” Together, Laat me de ov-app bekijken means “Let me check the public-transport app”. The clause voordat ik vertrek adds the time relation “before I leave”, so the complete utterance is: “Let me check the transport app before leaving.”

8. Dat kan je tijd besparen.

   That may save you time.

   Dat

   that

   kan

   may

   je

   you

   tijd

   time

   besparen

   save

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here as the subject: it points to a contextually understood thing, event, or action. Its exact referent is not stated in this sentence. Dutch uses dit and dat for singular neuter demonstratives, with dit generally indicating something nearer and dat something farther away. In other structures, dat can also introduce a clause; here it is the subject. kan is the present-tense singular form of kunnen, “can.” With dat as its subject, it expresses possibility here, matching “may.” A modal verb such as kunnen is followed by an infinitive: kan ... besparen. je means informal “you” in the object role here. Dutch je can refer to one person or more than one person, and its form does not show that distinction. In this sentence, the fixed translation selects the object reading “you,” not the possessive reading “your.” tijd means “time.” It is the thing being saved in the useful pattern iemand tijd besparen, meaning “save someone time.” besparen is the infinitive “to save,” specifically “to save someone time” in this sentence. Because it follows the modal kan, it remains an infinitive rather than taking a finite ending. In other contexts, besparen can also mean “avoid” or “spare” something, but the fixed translation selects the “save time” meaning here. Together, Dat kan je tijd besparen has the pattern dat + kunnen + iemand + tijd + besparen: “That may save you time.” Dat is the subject, kan marks possibility, je is the person benefiting from the action, and tijd is what is saved. The sequence je tijd can resemble “your time” to an English reader, but in this fixed sentence the intended meaning is “you time,” as confirmed by the translation.