Checking an Email Before Sending | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kun je deze e-mail controleren voordat ik hem verstuur?

   Could you check this email before I send it?

   Kun je

   could you

   deze

   this

   e-mail

   email

   controleren

   check

   voordat

   before

   ik

   I

   hem

   it

   verstuur

   send

   More detail

   Kun je is an inverted question pattern: kun is the present-tense form of kunnen used with the second-person subject je, and je comes after the verb because this is a question. The pattern Kun je + infinitive ...? asks whether someone can or is willing to do something. Example: Kun je wachten? — “Can you wait?” deze means “this” here and points to the singular noun e-mail that follows. For a singular het-word, Dutch uses dit instead; deze is used with singular de-words and also with plural nouns. The form does not itself state who owns the email. e-mail is the noun meaning “email.” In this sentence it is the direct object of controleren: it is the thing to be checked. The spelling with a hyphen is the form used in the fixed utterance. controleren is the infinitive “to check” or “to review.” After the modal verb kun, Dutch uses the infinitive: Kun je deze e-mail controleren? The infinitive stays controleren even though je is the person who would perform the action. Example: Ik wil de tekst controleren. — “I want to check the text.” voordat introduces a clause meaning “before.” It links the checking with a later action and places the finite verb at the end of its subordinate clause in this sentence. ik is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” It is the person who will perform the action in the clause introduced by voordat. hem is the object pronoun “him” or, as here, “it” for the email already identified in the sentence. It is the thing being sent, not the sender. Dutch uses hem for a singular common-gender object referent in this kind of context; the English translation uses “it” because the referent is an email. Example: Ik lees de brief en stuur hem morgen. — “I read the letter and will send it tomorrow.” verstuur is the first-person singular present form of versturen, “to send.” The base form is versturen; with the subject ik, the present form is ik verstuur. Here it appears at the end of the subordinate clause because voordat makes that clause subordinate. Example: Ik verstuur het bericht vandaag. — “I am sending the message today.” Together, Kun je deze e-mail controleren? asks someone to check this email. voordat ik hem verstuur adds the time condition “before I send it,” with ik as the sender and hem referring back to the email. The complete utterance therefore means: “Could you check this email before I send it?”

2. Ik kan hem controleren. Wat moet ik eerst controleren?

   I can check it. What should I check first?

   Ik kan

   I can

   hem

   it

   controleren

   to check

   Wat moet ik

   What should I …?

   eerst

   first

   More detail

   Ik kan is a reusable way to say that the subject can do something. kan is the present-tense form of kunnen with ik; the modal verb is followed by an infinitive: Ik kan ... controleren (“I can ... check”). In this main clause, the infinitive comes at the end. hem is an object pronoun. Here the fixed translation and the preceding context identify it as the email, so it means “it.” Compare the object position in Ik controleer hem (“I check it”) with a subject position such as Hij controleert de e-mail (“He checks the email”). controleren means “to check” or “to inspect.” It is the infinitive after the modal kan. The same infinitive pattern occurs after other modal verbs, for example: Ik moet het controleren. — “I must check it.” Wat moet ik introduces a question about what the speaker is expected or required to do: “What must I ...?” moet is the present-tense form of moeten with ik. Here wat asks for the object of controleren, while ik is the subject. The infinitive belonging with moet appears later: Wat moet ik controleren? — “What must I check?” eerst means “first” and marks the initial step in an order. Here it asks which item should be checked before the others in the intended sequence. Together, Ik kan hem controleren says that the speaker can check the email identified by the context. The second sentence asks what the speaker should check first: Wat asks for the object, moet ik expresses the expected action, eerst marks its order, and controleren names the action. The fixed utterance therefore means: “I can check it. What should I check first?”

3. Begin alsjeblieft met de onderwerpregel.

   Please start with the subject line.

   Begin

   start; begin

   alsjeblieft

   please

   met

   with

   onderwerpregel

   subject line

   More detail

   Begin is the imperative of beginnen (“to begin/start”). In this form, the person being addressed is normally left unstated; Begin! can address one person or more than one, depending on context. Example: Begin hier. — “Start here.” alsjeblieft is a polite word meaning “please” here. It makes the request more courteous without changing the action requested. met means “with” and introduces what the action starts with. In this sentence, beginnen met + noun means “to start with + noun.” Example: We beginnen met de introductie. — “We start with the introduction.” onderwerpregel is a compound noun meaning “subject line,” specifically the line identifying the subject of a message. It is different from onderwerp, which can mean “subject” or “topic”; the next sentence’s het onderwerp van de vergadering refers to the meeting topic, not a message subject line. Dutch compounds are written as one word here, and onderwerpregel takes the definite article de, as shown in de onderwerpregel. Together, Begin and alsjeblieft make a polite request, while met de onderwerpregel specifies the starting point. The complete utterance means: “Please start with the subject line.”

4. De onderwerpregel is duidelijk, maar het onderwerp van de vergadering zou helpen.

   The subject line is clear, but the meeting topic would help.

   onderwerpregel

   subject line

   duidelijk

   clear

   onderwerp

   topic

   vergadering

   meeting

   zou

   would

   helpen

   help

   More detail

   onderwerpregel is a compound noun meaning “subject line.” The parts are onderwerp (“subject/topic”) and regel (“line”), but the compound has its own specific office or message-label meaning. Dutch writes this kind of compound as one word. Example: De onderwerpregel is kort. — “The subject line is short.” duidelijk means “clear” here. It is an adjective and does not change for the common-gender noun onderwerpregel in this sentence. The same word can describe something easy to understand or visibly distinct, depending on context. Example: De uitleg is duidelijk. — “The explanation is clear.” onderwerp means “topic” here. It is also a general word for a subject or theme; the translation “topic” fits because it is connected to de vergadering (“the meeting”). Unlike the compound onderwerpregel, it appears here as a separate noun. Example: Wat is het onderwerp? — “What is the topic?” vergadering means “meeting.” Its plural is vergaderingen. In het onderwerp van de vergadering, van links the topic to the meeting: “the topic of the meeting.” Example: De vergadering begint om negen uur. — “The meeting starts at nine o’clock.” zou is a form of zullen used here to express “would.” It combines with the infinitive helpen; the form carrying the modal meaning is zou, while helpen remains the infinitive. In this sentence, zou helpen presents the help as a projected or conditional possibility, not as an already stated fact that it helped. Example: Dat zou goed zijn. — “That would be good.” helpen is the infinitive “to help.” It can be used after modal forms such as zou: zou helpen means “would help.” Example: Deze informatie kan helpen. — “This information can help.” Together, De onderwerpregel is duidelijk says “The subject line is clear.” Maar introduces a contrast. Het onderwerp van de vergadering means “the topic of the meeting,” and zou helpen says that it would help. The complete utterance therefore means: “The subject line is clear, but the meeting topic would help.”

5. Is het juiste bestand bijgevoegd?

   Is the correct file attached?

   Is het

   is the …?

   juiste

   correct

   bestand

   file

   bijgevoegd

   attached

   More detail

   Is het begins a yes/no question. is is the present-tense singular form of zijn (“to be”); placing it before the subject phrase creates question order. Here het is the definite article in het juiste bestand, not a separate pronoun meaning “it.” A reusable pattern is Is + noun phrase + ...?, for example: Is de deur open? — “Is the door open?” juiste means “correct” here. Its base form is juist; the -e form appears before this definite noun phrase: het juiste bestand. The adjective describes which file is meant. For example: de juiste naam — “the correct name.” bestand is a noun meaning “file.” It is a het-word, so its definite article is het: het bestand. Its plural is bestanden: de bestanden — “the files.” bijgevoegd means “attached” here. It is the past participle of bijvoegen (“to attach” or “to add as an attachment”). Used after zijn, it describes the file’s attached state and does not change for the noun’s gender or number. For example: Het document is bijgevoegd. — “The document is attached.” Together, Is het juiste bestand bijgevoegd? asks whether the correct file is attached. het juiste bestand identifies the file, while is bijgevoegd describes its attached state. The whole utterance means “Is the correct file attached?”

6. Ja, de definitieve versie is bijgevoegd.

   Yes, the final version is attached.

   Ja

   yes

   definitieve

   final

   versie

   version

   is bijgevoegd

   is attached

   More detail

   Ja is the standard Dutch affirmative, “yes.” It confirms the preceding question without adding a new participant or detail. definitieve means “final” here. Its base form is definitief. Before a noun with the definite article de, the adjective normally has the attributive ending -e: de definitieve versie. Compare the predicative form in De versie is definitief (“The version is final”), where the adjective has no -e. versie is the noun “version.” Its plural is versies: twee versies means “two versions.” is bijgevoegd means “is attached.” is is the present-tense singular form of zijn (“to be”). bijgevoegd is the past participle of bijvoegen, a verb meaning “to add” or, in a document or email context, “to attach.” The passive/resultative pattern zijn + past participle presents the version as being attached: Het document is bijgevoegd means “The document is attached.” This is distinct from toegevoegd, used in the next question for “included/added.” Together, de definitieve versie means “the final version,” and is bijgevoegd says that this version is attached. With Ja, the complete utterance means: “Yes, the final version is attached.”

7. Heb ik iedereen die deze e-mail nodig heeft toegevoegd?

   Did I include everyone who needs this email?

   Heb ik

   have I…?

   iedereen

   everyone

   die

   who

   deze

   this

   e-mail

   email

   nodig

   needed; necessary

   heeft

   has

   toegevoegd

   added; included

   More detail

   Heb ik is the inverted form of ik heb (“I have”): Dutch places the finite auxiliary before the subject in this yes/no question. Here heb is the present-tense form of hebben for ik; the question uses the perfect construction hebben + past participle. iedereen means “everyone” and is grammatically singular. That is why the relative clause later uses singular heeft, even though the meaning refers to all people individually. die introduces the relative clause and refers back to iedereen. In this sentence it functions as the subject of nodig heeft, so the clause means “who needs this email.” Dutch die is used here with this de-word/person reference; it is not a separate translation of the whole clause. deze means “this” and points to a nearby or contextually identified item. It agrees with e-mail here: deze e-mail. The corresponding form for a het-word is dit, as in the example dit bericht (“this message”). e-mail is the noun “email.” Its article here is de: de e-mail. The hyphenated spelling in the source is retained; email is also an accepted spelling in Dutch. nodig means “necessary” in this sentence, but nodig hebben is the normal reusable Dutch construction for “to need” something. For example, Ik heb hulp nodig means “I need help.” heeft is the present-tense singular form of hebben in the relative clause: iedereen ... heeft. The base form is hebben; compare ik heb (“I have”) with hij/zij heeft (“he/she has”). toegevoegd is the past participle of toevoegen (“to add”). With hebben, heb toegevoegd means “have added.” In this context, adding people to a list or recipient group naturally gives the intended meaning “included.” Together, iedereen die deze e-mail nodig heeft means “everyone who needs this email.” The main question Heb ik ... toegevoegd? uses the perfect tense to ask whether the speaker has included all of those people: “Did I include everyone who needs this email?”

8. De lijst lijkt compleet.

   The list looks complete.

   lijst

   list

   lijkt

   looks; seems

   compleet

   complete

   More detail

   lijst means “list.” The form here is singular; its definite article is de, as in de lijst (“the list”). Example: De lijst is lang. — “The list is long.” lijkt is the present-tense form of lijken (“to seem” or “to look”) with a singular subject such as de lijst. A useful pattern is iets lijkt + adjective: Het plan lijkt goed. — “The plan looks good.” Here, lijkt expresses an appearance or assessment, not necessarily a confirmed fact. compleet is an adjective meaning “complete.” It is used here after lijkt, so it remains in its predicative form: De lijst lijkt compleet. Attributively, Dutch commonly uses the inflected form complete, as in een complete lijst (“a complete list”). Together, de lijst identifies the list, lijkt says how it appears, and compleet describes that appearance. The complete utterance means: “The list looks complete.”

9. Dan denk ik dat hij klaar is om te versturen.

   Then I think it is ready to send.

   Dan

   then

   denk ik

   I think

   dat

   that

   hij

   he

   klaar

   ready

   om te

   to

   versturen

   send

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here and can refer to a conclusion or situation reached at that point. It is placed first, so the finite verb comes before the subject: Dan denk ik .... Compare the reusable pattern Dan + verb + subject: “Then I think …” denk ik contains denk, the first-person singular present form of denken (“to think”): ik denk = “I think.” Because Dan is fronted, Dutch uses inversion here: denk ik, not ik denk. The phrase expresses the speaker’s view, not certainty. dat introduces the content of the thought: “that.” In the clause after dat, Dutch normally places the finite verb later than it would appear in a main clause. Thus dat hij klaar is corresponds to “that it is ready.” hij is the Dutch third-person singular pronoun used here for the item referred to by the preceding De lijst (“the list”). Although its common basic translation is “he,” Dutch uses hij for a singular common-gender de-word such as lijst; the fixed translation therefore gives “it” in English. Its grammatical form does not itself mean that the referent is a person. klaar is an adjective meaning “ready.” In klaar is, it describes the referent of hij; the form klaar does not change here for this singular common-gender referent. A useful pattern is klaar zijn om ... — “to be ready to …”. om te begins the infinitive construction om te versturen, meaning “to send” in this context. om te + infinitive can express what someone or something is ready or intended to do. Here it completes klaar zijn: “be ready to send.” versturen is the infinitive “to send,” especially for sending or dispatching something. Its infinitive remains versturen after te; the completed form is verstuurd (“sent”), as in the example Ik heb de brief verstuurd. — “I sent the letter.” Putting the parts together: Dan (“then”) + denk ik (“I think”) + dat (“that”) introduces the speaker’s assessment, and hij klaar is om te versturen means that the previously mentioned list is ready to be sent. The whole utterance is therefore: “Then I think it is ready to send.”