Choosing an online language course | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik wil een online taalcursus kiezen.

   I want to choose an online language course.

   Ik wil

   I want

   online

   online

   taalcursus

   language course

   kiezen

   to choose

   More detail

   Ik wil means “I want.” Ik is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” wil is the present-tense form of willen (“to want”) used with ik; this verb is irregular in the present: ik wil, jij/u wilt, hij/zij wil, wij/jullie/zij willen. When willen expresses a desire followed by another action, that action normally appears as an infinitive later in the sentence: Ik wil leren. = “I want to learn.” online is an adjective or adverb meaning “online.” Here it describes the type of course. Dutch commonly uses such international forms directly before a noun: een online les = “an online lesson.” taalcursus means “language course.” It is a compound noun made from taal (“language”) and cursus (“course”), but taalcursus functions as one noun. Its plural is taalcursussen: online taalcursussen = “online language courses.” kiezen means “to choose.” This is the infinitive, the base form of the verb. After the conjugated verb wil, Dutch places the infinitive at the end of this main clause: Ik wil een boek kiezen. = “I want to choose a book.” Do not confuse kiezen with the past form koos (“chose”) or the past participle gekozen (“chosen”); those forms serve different grammatical functions. Together, Ik wil expresses the speaker’s desire, een online taalcursus identifies what the speaker wants to choose, and final kiezen supplies the desired action. The complete utterance therefore means: “I want to choose an online language course.”

2. Vergelijk het rooster, de beoordelingen en de manier van lesgeven.

   Compare the schedule, reviews, and teaching style.

   Vergelijk

   compare

   het rooster

   the schedule

   de beoordelingen

   the reviews

   de manier

   the way or manner

   lesgeven

   teach

   More detail

   Vergelijk is the imperative of vergelijken, meaning “to compare.” It is the form used to give a direct instruction to one or more listeners; the subject is understood rather than stated. Useful forms are vergelijken (infinitive), vergelijk (instruction), and vergeleken (past participle). Example: Vergelijk de twee opties. — “Compare the two options.” het rooster means “the schedule” here, especially a timetable or planned arrangement. Rooster is a neuter noun, which is why it takes the definite article het; this article choice is a grammatical property of the noun, not a statement about quantity. Example: Het rooster verandert morgen. — “The schedule changes tomorrow.” de beoordelingen means “the reviews” or “the evaluations.” The singular is de beoordeling; beoordelingen is its plural form. Dutch uses de with this common-gender noun, both in the singular and plural: de beoordeling, de beoordelingen. Example: De beoordelingen zijn positief. — “The reviews are positive.” de manier means “the way” or “the manner.” In this utterance it introduces how teaching is done. The noun is commonly used in the pattern de manier waarop ... (“the way in which ...”) or, as here, with van followed by an infinitive. lesgeven means “to teach” or literally “to give lessons.” It is a Dutch compound infinitive, formed from les (“lesson”) and geven (“give”), but it functions here as one verb. In van lesgeven, the infinitive follows van to specify the activity: de manier van lesgeven means “the way of teaching” or “teaching style.” Example: Zij houdt van lesgeven. — “She enjoys teaching.” The sentence is an instruction with three coordinated objects of Vergelijk: het rooster, de beoordelingen, and de manier van lesgeven. Thus Vergelijk het rooster, de beoordelingen en de manier van lesgeven. means “Compare the schedule, the reviews, and the teaching style.”

3. Deze cursus is korter, maar heeft minder lessen.

   This course is shorter but has fewer lessons.

   Deze

   this

   cursus

   course

   korter

   shorter

   heeft

   has

   minder

   fewer; less

   lessen

   lessons

   More detail

   Deze means “this” and points to the nearby course named in the sentence: deze cursus, “this course.” Dutch demonstratives agree with the noun’s article class and distance: deze is used with a common-gender noun such as de cursus; dit is used with a neuter het-noun. Example: Deze les is interessant. — “This lesson is interesting.” cursus is the noun “course.” Its plural is cursussen. In Dutch, many nouns ending in a consonant form the plural with -en, with spelling changes sometimes needed to preserve pronunciation. Example: De cursussen beginnen maandag. — “The courses start on Monday.” korter means “shorter” here. It is the comparative form of the adjective kort (“short”): kort → korter → het kortst (“short” → “shorter” → “the shortest”). The comparative compares the length of this course with another relevant course or option; that comparison is understood from the surrounding context. Example: Deze film is korter dan die film. — “This film is shorter than that film.” heeft is the present-tense form of hebben (“to have”) for a singular subject such as deze cursus: ik heb, jij hebt, hij/zij/het heeft, wij hebben. Here it states that the course has fewer lessons. Example: De cursus heeft tien lessen. — “The course has ten lessons.” minder means “fewer” with the countable plural noun lessen. It is the comparative quantity word corresponding to weinig (“few/little”): weinig → minder → het minst (“few/little” → “fewer/less” → “the fewest/least”). With a countable plural, English normally translates it as “fewer”; with an uncountable noun, it is usually “less.” Example: Deze groep heeft minder deelnemers. — “This group has fewer participants.” lessen is the plural of les, “lesson.” The form lessen names multiple lessons, and minder lessen means “fewer lessons.” Example: De cursus heeft acht lessen. — “The course has eight lessons.” The sentence first identifies deze cursus as the subject and describes it as korter, “shorter.” maar means “but” and connects a contrasting second clause. In that clause, heeft supplies the verb, while minder lessen specifies what the course has fewer of. Together, Deze cursus is korter, maar heeft minder lessen. means: “This course is shorter but has fewer lessons.”

4. De andere lijkt geschikter voor beginners.

   The other one looks more beginner-friendly.

   De andere

   the other one

   lijkt

   looks

   geschikter

   more suitable

   beginners

   beginners

   More detail

   De andere means “the other one.” andere is the form of ander used here with the definite article de; it can stand on its own when the noun is understood from context. The exact thing it refers to is not identified more specifically in the supplied sentence. Compare de andere (“the other one”) with een andere (“another one” or “a different one”). lijkt comes from lijken, “to seem” or “to look.” It is the present-tense singular form used with de andere: de andere lijkt. For comparison, ik lijk is “I seem,” while wij lijken is “we seem.” In this sentence, lijkt presents the assessment as an appearance or impression, not as a direct statement that the option objectively is more suitable. geschikter is the comparative form of the adjective geschikt, “suitable” or “appropriate.” The useful chain is geschikt → geschikter → het geschiktst (“suitable” → “more suitable” → “most suitable”). The ending -er marks the comparison on geschikt itself. Here, geschikter voor ... means “more suitable for ...”; the comparison is understood from the alternatives being considered. beginners is the plural of beginner, “beginner.” After voor, it identifies the group for whom something is suitable: voor beginners means “for beginners.” The plural form is beginners; it does not assert a particular number of beginners. Together, De andere identifies the alternative being assessed, lijkt marks an appearance, and geschikter voor beginners describes it as more suitable for beginners. The whole utterance means: “The other one looks more beginner-friendly.”

5. Ik kan alleen in het weekend studeren.

   I can only study on weekends.

   Ik kan

   I can

   alleen

   only

   in het weekend

   on weekends

   studeren

   study

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can” here. ik is the first-person singular pronoun “I”, and kan is the first-person singular present form of kunnen (“can, be able to”). Dutch modal verbs such as kunnen are followed by an infinitive: Ik kan werken means “I can work.” The subject and the modal are grouped in this phrase, while the main verb appears later. alleen means “only” and limits the time available in this sentence. It comes before the time expression, so Ik kan alleen in het weekend ... means “I can ... only on weekends.” In another context, alleen can also mean “alone,” but that is not its meaning here. in het weekend is a reusable time expression meaning “on the weekend” or, naturally in this translation, “on weekends.” het is the definite article used with weekend; the phrase is treated as a time period. For example, Ik werk in het weekend means “I work on weekends.” studeren is the infinitive “to study.” It keeps this form after kan: Ik kan studeren means “I can study.” Dutch infinitives commonly end in -en, but the ending is part of the full word and is not a separate word. Together, Ik kan + alleen in het weekend + studeren gives “I can study only on weekends.” The sentence states the speaker’s ability or available possibility and restricts it to the weekend; it does not specify which particular weekend or how many weekend days.

6. Kies dan de cursus met lessen in het weekend.

   Then choose the course with weekend classes.

   Kies

   choose

   dan

   then

   de cursus

   the course

   lessen

   classes

   in het weekend

   on the weekend

   More detail

   Kies means “choose” here. It is the imperative of kiezen (“to choose”): kies is used to give a direct instruction. Example: Kies een boek. — “Choose a book.” dan means “then” and places this instruction after something already mentioned or understood. In this sentence, it connects the choice to the preceding context about studying on weekends. Example: Lees de informatie en kies dan. — “Read the information and then choose.” de cursus means “the course.” Cursus is a common-gender singular noun, so its definite article is de; its plural is cursussen. Example: De cursus begint maandag. — “The course starts on Monday.” lessen means “classes” or “lessons” here. It is the plural of les (“class” or “lesson”). The singular is een les; the plural changes to lessen. Example: De cursus heeft drie lessen. — “The course has three classes.” in het weekend means “on the weekend” or “at weekends,” depending on the surrounding context. Weekend is used with the neuter definite article het, giving the fixed phrase het weekend. Example: Ik studeer in het weekend. — “I study on weekends.” Together, de cursus met lessen in het weekend means “the course with classes on the weekend.” The preposition met links de cursus to the feature that identifies it, while in het weekend specifies when the lessen take place. The complete utterance is therefore: “Then choose the course with weekend classes.”

7. Volgens de beoordelingen geeft de docent duidelijke uitleg.

   The reviews say the teacher explains clearly.

   Volgens

   according to

   beoordelingen

   reviews

   geeft

   explains

   docent

   teacher

   duidelijke

   clear

   uitleg

   explanation

   More detail

   Volgens means “according to” and introduces the source of the information. The reusable pattern is volgens + noun: Volgens de beoordelingen = “According to the reviews.” The following de is part of the noun phrase; volgens itself does not indicate who performed the action. beoordelingen means “reviews” here. Its singular base form is beoordeling; the plural is formed with -en: beoordeling → beoordelingen. In this sentence it is the source being reported, not the grammatical subject of geeft. geeft is the present-tense singular form of geven, “to give”: ik geef, jij geeft, hij/zij geeft, wij geven. Here it occurs in the useful construction uitleg geven, literally “give explanation,” which naturally means “explain.” The singular form agrees with de docent, not with beoordelingen. docent means “teacher” or “instructor.” The form is singular; its plural is docenten. With the definite article, de docent identifies the teacher as the person who gives the explanation. Example: De docent geeft antwoord. — “The teacher gives an answer.” duidelijke means “clear.” Its base form is duidelijk. Before the singular noun uitleg, it has the attributive -e form: duidelijke uitleg. This adjective describes how the explanation is presented. Example: Zij geeft een duidelijke uitleg. — “She gives a clear explanation.” uitleg means “explanation” and is also used in the construction uitleg geven. In duidelijke uitleg, it is the noun being described by duidelijke; the form is singular and has the definite article de when used as de uitleg. Together, Volgens de beoordelingen sets out the source of the statement, and geeft de docent duidelijke uitleg says that the teacher gives a clear explanation. Thus the whole utterance means: “According to the reviews, the teacher explains clearly.”

8. Dat is belangrijker dan een kortere cursus.

   That matters more than a shorter course.

   Dat

   that

   is

   is

   belangrijker

   more important

   kortere

   shorter

   cursus

   course

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here and points to the situation or content being discussed; the supplied translation confirms this intended reading. In Dutch, dat is the singular neuter demonstrative form. It can refer to content without naming a specific noun. is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular third-person subject: dat is = “that is.” belangrijker means “more important.” It is the comparative of belangrijk (“important”): belangrijk → belangrijker (“more important”) → het belangrijkst (“the most important”). Dutch normally forms this comparative with -er. dan introduces the thing used for comparison: belangrijker dan ... = “more important than ...”. The complete comparison is Dat is belangrijker dan .... een is an indefinite article. In this sentence it introduces cursus; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. kortere means “shorter.” It is the comparative of kort (“short”): kort → korter (“shorter”) → het kortst (“the shortest”). Here the adjective comes before cursus and has the -e form: een kortere cursus. This form is used with the singular common-gender noun de cursus after the indefinite article. cursus means “course.” The plural is cursussen. Together, een kortere cursus means “a shorter course.” The sentence has the reusable pattern Dat is [comparative] dan [noun phrase]: Dat is the subject, is links it to the comparison, and belangrijker dan een kortere cursus says that it has greater importance than a shorter course. Thus the whole utterance means “That matters more than a shorter course.”