Checking the apartment before leaving | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Voordat we weggaan, moeten we het appartement controleren.

   Before we leave, we should check the apartment.

   Voordat

   before

   weggaan

   leave

   moeten we

   we should

   appartement

   apartment

   controleren

   check

   More detail

   Voordat introduces a time clause meaning “before.” It is a conjunction, so it links an event to a later event in time. Example: Voordat ik vertrek, bel ik haar. — “Before I leave, I call her.” weggaan means “to leave” or “to go away.” Its infinitive is weggaan; in the present tense, ik ga weg means “I leave,” while we gaan weg means “we leave.” In the subordinate clause here, the verb appears at the end: we weggaan. moeten we contains the modal verb moeten and the subject we. Moeten expresses necessity or obligation; in this sentence, the fixed translation presents that obligation as “should.” The form is moeten with plural we, while singular ik moet means “I must/should.” After a modal verb, the other verb normally stays in the infinitive: We moeten controleren — “We must/should check.” Because the sentence begins with the subordinate clause Voordat we weggaan, the main clause has inversion: moeten comes before we. appartement is a neuter noun meaning “apartment.” In this sentence it appears with the definite article het: het appartement, “the apartment.” The noun itself remains appartement here; the article marks the definite noun phrase. controleren means “to check” or “to inspect.” It is the infinitive after the modal verb moeten. Example: We moeten de deur controleren. — “We should check the door.” Together, Voordat we weggaan means “Before we leave.” The main clause moeten we het appartement controleren means “we should check the apartment,” with moeten expressing the obligation and controleren naming the action. The complete utterance is therefore: “Before we leave, we should check the apartment.”

2. Ik heb het fornuis al uitgezet.

   I already turned off the stove.

   Ik heb

   I have

   fornuis

   stove; cooker

   al

   already

   uitgezet

   turned off

   More detail

   Ik heb is the first-person singular present form of hebben, used here as the auxiliary for a completed action. In Dutch, a perfect-tense pattern is hebben or zijn + a past participle: Ik heb gebeld. — “I called / I have called.” The subject here is ik, “I”; heb agrees with that subject. fornuis means “stove” or “cooker.” Its base form is fornuis; the noun phrase in the sentence is het fornuis, with het as its article. Example: Het fornuis is schoon. — “The stove is clean.” al means “already.” It places the action before the relevant point in time. Example: Ik ben al klaar. — “I am already ready.” uitgezet is the past participle of the separable verb uitzetten, “to turn off” or “to switch off.” Its parts are uit + zetten, but the past participle is written as the single form uitgezet. In the simple past, the separable structure is visible: Ik zette het fornuis uit. — “I turned off the stove.” In the perfect, the auxiliary carries the tense and uitgezet appears at the end: Ik heb het fornuis uitgezet. Together, Ik heb + het fornuis + al + uitgezet forms the Dutch perfect-tense sentence “I already turned off the stove.” The subject is I, het fornuis is the thing turned off, and al marks that this completed action happened already.

3. Zijn alle ramen dicht?

   Are all the windows closed?

   Zijn alle

   are all

   ramen

   windows

   dicht

   closed

   More detail

   Zijn alle is the question pattern “are all …?” Here zijn is the present-tense form of zijn for a plural subject: alle ramen (“all windows”). Compare singular Is het raam dicht? — “Is the window closed?” and plural Zijn de ramen dicht? — “Are the windows closed?” ramen means “windows” here. Its singular is raam; the plural changes the ending: raam → ramen. The word alle means “all” and indicates that the question concerns the windows as a complete group, not just one window. dicht describes the state of the windows: closed or shut. It is a predicate adjective after zijn, so the reusable pattern is zijn + noun phrase + adjective: De deuren zijn dicht. — “The doors are closed.” Its useful opposite is open: De deur is open. — “The door is open.” Together, Zijn alle ramen dicht? asks whether every window is in the closed state: “Are all the windows closed?”

4. Het raam van de slaapkamer staat nog open.

   The bedroom window is still open.

   raam

   window

   van

   of; from

   slaapkamer

   bedroom

   staat

   is; stands

   nog

   still

   open

   open

   More detail

   raam means “window” here. Its plural is ramen; the singular noun takes the neuter article het, as in het raam. Example: Het raam is groot. — “The window is large.” van links one noun to another and commonly expresses an “of” relationship. In het raam van de slaapkamer, it identifies the window associated with the bedroom. The noun after van uses de: de slaapkamer. slaapkamer means “bedroom.” It is a Dutch compound noun: slaapkamer is written as one word, and its article is de. Example: De slaapkamer is boven. — “The bedroom is upstairs.” staat is the third-person singular present form of staan (“to stand”). Dutch uses staan with some objects in a state or position, including an open or closed window; in this sentence, staat open means “is open,” not necessarily that the window is physically standing upright. The subject is singular, so staat agrees with het raam. nog means “still” and shows that the state continues at the relevant time. It comes before open here: staat nog open — “is still open.” open means “open.” It describes the state of het raam after staat; the adjective does not take a separate ending in this predicate use. Its opposite is dicht (“closed”). Example: De deur staat open. — “The door is open.” Together, het raam van de slaapkamer means “the bedroom window,” staat open means “is open,” and nog adds the continuing sense “still.” The complete utterance therefore means: “The bedroom window is still open.”

5. Ik doe het dicht en doe de balkondeur op slot.

   I'll close it and lock the balcony door.

   doe … dicht

   close or shut

   balkondeur

   balcony door

   doe … op slot

   lock

   More detail

   doe ... dicht is a reusable Dutch way to say “close something.” doe is the first-person singular present form of doen (“to do”), and dicht describes the resulting closed position. In the utterance, het is the object pronoun meaning “it”; the fixed translation supports that this is the thing being closed. The pattern is iets dichtdoen: “to close something.” Example: Ik doe de deur dicht. — “I close the door.” en joins the two actions into one coordinated sentence. The same subject is understood for the second clause, so the repeated doe is again first-person singular present doen. balkondeur is a compound noun: balkon (“balcony”) + deur (“door”). Dutch commonly forms such compounds as one word, with the final part identifying the main kind of thing: a balkondeur is a type of deur. Example: De balkondeur is open. — “The balcony door is open.” doe ... op slot is the fixed construction for locking something. Here op slot does not mean merely placing something somewhere; together with doe it expresses securing the object with its lock. The pattern is iets op slot doen: “to lock something.” Example: Ik doe de voordeur op slot. — “I lock the front door.” Putting the parts together, the speaker says that they close the already understood object and lock the balcony door: “I'll close it and lock the balcony door.” The present-tense Dutch forms are understood from context as actions the speaker is about to carry out.

6. De lichten in de gang zijn nog aan.

   The hallway lights are still on.

   lichten

   lights

   gang

   hallway

   nog

   still

   zijn … aan

   are on

   More detail

   lichten means “lights” here. It is the plural of licht (“light”), so it refers to more than one light. Example: Het licht is aan. — “The light is on.” gang means “hallway” or “corridor.” In in de gang, in introduces the location and de is the definite article used with this noun. Example: De schoenen staan in de gang. — “The shoes are in the hallway.” nog means “still” here. It says that the lights remain on at the relevant time. It contrasts with al (“already”), which presents a state as having begun or occurred by a reference time. Example: De lamp is nog aan. — “The lamp is still on.” zijn ... aan expresses the state “are on.” zijn is the present-tense plural form of zijn (“to be”), agreeing with plural lichten; the singular counterpart is is, as in Het licht is aan. Here aan describes the switched-on state. The intervening nog gives the sequence zijn nog aan. Together, De lichten identifies the lights, in de gang locates them, and zijn nog aan says that they remain switched on. The complete meaning is: “The hallway lights are still on.”

7. Dus doe ik ze uit.

   So I'll turn them off.

   Dus

   so

   doe … uit

   turn off

   ze

   them

   More detail

   Dus means “so” here and links this action to what was just established: the hallway lights are still on. doe ... uit is the separable verb uitdoen, “to turn off” or “switch off.” The observed form doe is the present-tense first-person singular form of doen; the particle uit appears later in the clause. In a main clause, the verb comes before the subject after an initial element such as Dus: Dus doe ik ... (“So I ...”). Example: Ik doe de lamp uit. — “I turn off the lamp.” ze is an unstressed Dutch object pronoun meaning “them” in this sentence. The fixed translation and the preceding context identify it as referring to the hallway lights. In this plural object use, ze does not show the gender of the things referred to. The sentence uses the Dutch present tense for an action the speaker is about to carry out or intends to carry out, which is why the fixed English translation uses “I’ll.” Together, Dus (“so”), doe ... uit (“turn off”), and ze (“them”) produce the intended meaning: “So I’ll turn them off.”

8. Dat zou alles moeten zijn.

   That should be everything.

   Dat

   that

   zou

   should

   alles

   everything

   moeten

   have to

   zijn

   be

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun: it points to something understood from the situation, without the sentence itself identifying a more specific referent. Dutch demonstratives include dit (“this”) and dat (“that”); dat is used with a singular neuter referent or with a clause-like situation. zou is a form of zullen. In this construction, zou helps express an expectation or qualified conclusion, often translated as “should” or “would.” Example: Dat zou goed zijn. — “That would be good.” alles means “everything” or “all of it.” It is a pronoun rather than a noun naming a particular object. Dutch treats alles as singular for agreement: Alles is klaar. — “Everything is ready.” moeten is the infinitive of moeten, “must” or “have to.” After a form such as zou, the following modal verb stays in the infinitive: zou moeten means “should” or more literally “would have to.” Compare Ik moet gaan. — “I have to go.” zijn is the infinitive of zijn, “to be.” In moeten zijn, it follows the modal verb in the infinitive: Het moet waar zijn. — “It must be true.” Together, dat identifies the situation being assessed, and zou ... moeten zijn expresses a cautious expectation. Thus Dat zou alles moeten zijn. means “That should be everything.” The sentence presents the speaker’s conclusion as expected rather than as an absolute guarantee.

9. Laten we gaan voordat het te laat wordt.

   Let's go before it gets too late.

   Laten we

   let’s

   gaan

   go

   voordat

   before

   te laat

   too late

   wordt

   gets / becomes

   More detail

   Laten we is a reusable Dutch way to make a suggestion: laten we + an infinitive means “let’s …”. Here it introduces gaan, so the speaker suggests going together. Laten is part of this fixed suggestion pattern; we is its subject, and the following verb stays in the infinitive rather than becoming a finite verb agreeing with we. gaan is the infinitive of gaan, “to go”. In this construction it remains an infinitive after laten we. Example: Laten we wachten. — “Let’s wait.” voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. The clause after it names the later event that must not happen before the suggested action. In Dutch, a finite verb commonly appears at the end of a subordinate clause introduced by voordat, as in voordat het begint — “before it begins.” te laat means “too late”. laat means “late”; te before an adjective marks an excessive degree, so te laat means later than is acceptable or useful, not simply “late”. Compare laat — “late” with te laat — “too late”. wordt is the present-tense form of worden, “to become” or “to get”. With the subject het, it is third-person singular and expresses a change into a state: het wordt te laat — “it gets too late”. In other contexts, worden can also serve as an auxiliary in a passive construction, but here it is the main verb meaning “gets/becomes”. Together, Laten we gaan gives the suggestion “Let’s go”, and voordat het te laat wordt adds the time limit “before it gets too late”. The complete utterance therefore means “Let’s go before it gets too late.” The het subject is translated as “it”; the supplied sentence does not specify what situation that pronoun refers to.