Choosing a gift for a coworker | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. We moeten een cadeau voor onze collega kiezen.

   We need to choose a gift for our coworker.

   We moeten

   we need to / must

   een cadeau

   a gift

   voor

   for

   onze

   our

   collega

   coworker

   kiezen

   to choose

   More detail

   We moeten combines the subject we with the present-tense modal verb moeten (“need to” or “must”). With we, moeten has this plural form; the infinitive that it governs comes later in the clause. Dutch pattern: We moeten + infinitive. Example: We moeten vertrekken. — “We need to leave.” een cadeau means “a gift.” Cadeau is a noun; its usual plural is cadeaus. Here een is the Dutch indefinite article and does not by itself assert a numerical count; the sentence refers to a gift without specifying which one. voor introduces the intended recipient or purpose. In een cadeau voor onze collega, it connects the gift with its recipient: “a gift for our coworker.” Example: Dit is voor mijn vriend. — “This is for my friend.” onze is the possessive determiner meaning “our.” Dutch uses onze with a singular common-gender noun or with a plural noun, while ons is used with a singular neuter noun. Collega is a common-gender noun, so the combination is onze collega. Example: Onze auto is oud. — “Our car is old.” collega means “coworker” or “colleague.” The plural is collega's. The noun itself does not specify whether the coworker is male or female; that information is not supplied by this utterance. kiezen is the infinitive “to choose.” Its present-tense forms include ik kies (“I choose”) and wij kiezen (“we choose”). After a modal such as moeten, the infinitive stays in this form and appears at the end: We moeten kiezen. — “We need to choose.” Together, We moeten states a need, een cadeau voor onze collega identifies what is to be chosen and for whom, and kiezen supplies the action required by moeten. The complete meaning is: “We need to choose a gift for our coworker.”

2. Moet het nuttig of meer persoonlijk zijn?

   Should it be useful or more personal?

   Moet het

   Should it

   nuttig

   useful

   meer persoonlijk

   more personal

   zijn

   be

   More detail

   Moet het asks whether something should have a certain quality. Moet is the present-tense form of moeten used with singular third-person het; in a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Moet het ...? The subject pronoun het means “it” here. In the supplied context, it refers to the gift being considered. For comparison, moeten is used with plural subjects: Ze moeten kiezen means “They have to choose.” nuttig means “useful” here. It is an adjective used after zijn (“be”), describing the subject rather than preceding a noun. In this predicate use, the adjective has the basic form: Het is nuttig means “It is useful.” meer persoonlijk means “more personal.” Meer marks a comparison, and persoonlijk is the adjective being compared. The comparison is expressed with a separate word here, not with an ending on persoonlijk. In another construction, an attributive adjective can have an ending: een persoonlijke keuze means “a personal choice.” After zijn, the adjective can remain persoonlijk: De keuze is persoonlijk means “The choice is personal.” zijn is the infinitive “to be.” After a modal such as moeten, the second verb stays in the infinitive, so Moet het ... zijn? is a reusable pattern meaning “Should it be ...?” Together, Moet het introduces a yes/no question about the desired quality, and nuttig of meer persoonlijk presents two alternatives: being useful or being more personal. The complete meaning is: “Should it be useful or more personal?” In this context, the question helps choose between usefulness and personal character for the gift being considered.

3. Ze houdt van thee, dus een theeset kan een goed idee zijn.

   She likes tea, so a tea set might work.

   Ze

   she

   houdt van

   likes

   thee

   tea

   dus

   so

   theeset

   tea set

   kan … zijn

   might be

   goed

   good

   idee

   idea

   More detail

   Ze means “she” here. It is a third-person singular personal pronoun. The capital letter is required because it begins the sentence; in another position the same pronoun is normally written ze. houdt van expresses liking or loving something. The verb is the separable-free expression houden van; in this sentence, houdt is its present-tense third-person singular form, agreeing with ze. Compare ik houd van thee (“I like tea”) with zij houdt van thee (“she likes tea”). The van belongs to this expression and should not be omitted when naming what someone likes. thee is the noun “tea.” Dutch commonly uses it without an article when referring to tea as a drink or substance: Ik drink thee means “I drink tea.” dus links a reason to a conclusion and means “so” or “therefore.” It introduces the conclusion here: because she likes tea, the following suggestion may be suitable. theeset is a compound noun meaning “tea set”: thee + set. Dutch compounds are written as one word. A compound’s final part determines its grammatical gender; set is a common-gender noun, so it is de set and de theeset. kan ... zijn is a modal construction. kan is the singular present form of kunnen (“can, be able to; may”), and zijn is the infinitive “to be.” With a modal verb, the other verb appears as an infinitive, commonly at the end of the clause: Dat kan een goed idee zijn means “That might be a good idea.” In this sentence, kan presents the suggestion as possible rather than certain. goed means “good.” In een goed idee, it describes idee. The adjective has no -e here because idee is a neuter het-noun and the noun phrase is indefinite (een): een goed idee. With a definite phrase, compare het goede idee (“the good idea”). idee means “idea.” Its plural is ideeën (“ideas”), with a diaeresis marking the separate vowel pronunciation. In the sentence it is the noun completed by the adjective goed. Together, Ze houdt van thee gives the reason: “She likes tea.” dus connects that reason to the conclusion. een theeset kan een goed idee zijn then says that a tea set is a possible good idea. The complete utterance means: “She likes tea, so a tea set might work.”

4. Dat is persoonlijk, maar toch nuttig.

   That feels personal but still useful.

   Dat

   that

   persoonlijk

   personal

   maar toch

   but still

   nuttig

   useful

   More detail

   Dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” Here it is the subject of is; the supplied translation identifies the subject as “that,” but does not specify what it refers to. Dutch demonstratives also vary by grammatical gender and number in other uses, such as deze/die and dit/dat; this sentence gives the neuter singular form dat. persoonlijk means “personal” here. It is an adjective describing the subject after the linking verb is, so it appears in its predicative form without an adjective ending. The related opposite is onpersoonlijk, “impersonal.” Example: De boodschap is persoonlijk. — “The message is personal.” maar toch combines maar, “but,” with toch, “still/nevertheless.” Together they mark a contrast: the second description remains true despite the first. Toch can have other discourse uses, but here it specifically strengthens the contrast introduced by maar. Example: Het is klein, maar toch handig. — “It is small, but still useful.” nuttig means “useful.” It is another predicative adjective after is, and it does not take an ending in this position. Its comparison forms are nuttiger (“more useful”) and het nuttigst (“the most useful”). Example: Deze tip is nuttig. — “This tip is useful.” Together, Dat is persoonlijk gives the first assessment, and maar toch nuttig contrasts it with a second assessment that still applies. The complete utterance means: “That is personal, but still useful.” The fixed English translation uses “feels personal” to express the intended reading, while the Dutch wording itself uses is, “is.”

5. Laten we ook een klein kaartje toevoegen.

   Let's add a small card too.

   Laten we

   let's

   ook

   too; also

   klein

   small

   kaartje

   card

   toevoegen

   add

   More detail

   Laten we is the Dutch pattern for making a suggestion that includes the speaker: “let’s …”. It is followed by an infinitive, as in Laten we beginnen. — “Let’s begin.” The form we identifies the group, but the construction does not state how many other people are included. ook means “also” or “too”. Here it adds this action to something already under discussion; it does not change the action itself. For example: Ik kom ook. — “I’m coming too.” klein means “small”. Its comparative is kleiner (“smaller”) and its superlative is het kleinst (“the smallest”). In this sentence, klein describes the card, not the adding action. kaartje means “card” here. It is the diminutive form of kaart (“card”), with the ending -je; diminutives in Dutch are grammatically neuter, so one says het kaartje. After the indefinite article een, a singular neuter noun normally takes the uninflected adjective form: een klein kaartje. The een marks an indefinite card, but does not by itself state a numerical count. toevoegen means “to add”. It is an infinitive and a separable verb: in a finite clause, toe can move to the end, as in We voegen een kaartje toe. — “We add a card.” The infinitive remains together after Laten we: Laten we ... toevoegen. Together, Laten we introduces the suggestion, ook adds this action to the existing plan, and een klein kaartje is the indefinite small card being added. The complete meaning is: “Let’s add a small card too.”

6. Iedereen kan het ondertekenen voordat we haar het cadeau geven.

   Everyone can sign it before we give her the gift.

   Iedereen

   everyone

   kan

   can; is able to

   het

   it

   ondertekenen

   sign

   voordat

   before

   we

   we

   haar

   her

   cadeau

   gift

   geven

   give

   More detail

   Iedereen means “everyone” and is grammatically singular in Dutch, so it combines with the singular form kan, not with a plural verb. Example: Iedereen is welkom. — “Everyone is welcome.” kan is the present-tense form of kunnen for a singular subject. It expresses ability here: “can.” The modal is followed by a verb in its base form, as in Zij kan komen. — “She can come.” The first het is an object pronoun meaning “it.” In this sentence, the fixed translation and the preceding context identify the object as the small card. Later, het appears again in het cadeau; there it is the definite article “the,” not the pronoun “it.” ondertekenen is the base form meaning “to sign,” used after the modal kan: Iedereen kan ondertekenen — “Everyone can sign.” It is a useful verb for signing a document, card, or similar item. voordat is a subordinating conjunction meaning “before.” It introduces the time clause that follows. Dutch commonly places the finite verb at the end of such a subordinate clause, as in Voordat we vertrekken — “Before we leave.” we is the first-person plural subject pronoun, “we.” It refers to the speaker together with at least one other person, without specifying the group further. haar is the object form meaning “her” here. It functions as the recipient of the giving: We geven haar een boek. — “We give her a book.” This is distinct from the possessive use of haar, as in haar boek, “her book.” cadeau is a noun meaning “gift” or “present.” In het cadeau, the article het marks this noun phrase as definite: “the gift.” The article does not by itself state a numeric count. geven means “to give.” With the subject we, geven is the present-tense plural form; it is also identical in shape to the infinitive. In the subordinate clause, it stands at the end: we haar het cadeau geven — “we give her the gift.” Together, Iedereen kan het ondertekenen says “Everyone can sign it.” voordat we haar het cadeau geven adds the time condition “before we give her the gift.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Everyone can sign it before we give her the gift.”