A fair cleaning routine | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Onze schoonmaakroutine werkt niet en de keuken blijft rommelig worden.

   Our cleaning routine is not working, and the kitchen keeps getting messy.

   Onze

   our

   schoonmaakroutine

   cleaning routine

   werkt niet

   doesn't work

   keuken

   kitchen

   rommelig

   messy

   blijft … worden

   keeps becoming

   More detail

   Onze means “our” here. It is the possessive form used with a plural noun or with a singular de-word; ons is used with a singular neuter het-word. For example: onze tafel = “our table,” but ons huis = “our house.” schoonmaakroutine is a compound noun: schoonmaak refers to cleaning, and routine is the routine itself. The compound means “cleaning routine.” Dutch compounds are written as one word, and this noun is a de-word: de schoonmaakroutine. In werkt niet, werkt is the present-tense third-person singular form of werken, “to work.” niet negates the clause, so together they mean that the routine does not work. The same verb can describe functioning: Het apparaat werkt = “The device works.” keuken means “kitchen” and is a noun used here with the definite article: de keuken. The article is separate from the noun; the phrase in the sentence is de keuken. rommelig means “messy” or “untidy.” It describes the state of the kitchen. Its base form is already rommelig; it can also be used after a linking verb, as in De kamer is rommelig = “The room is messy.” blijft is the third-person singular present form of blijven, “to remain” or “keep.” worden means “become” or “get.” Together, the separated construction blijft ... worden expresses that a change continues: the kitchen keeps getting messy. Dutch uses blijven plus an infinitive for continuing an action or process, while worden supplies the idea of becoming. The sentence first says Onze schoonmaakroutine werkt niet: “Our cleaning routine is not working.” It then adds en de keuken blijft rommelig worden: “and the kitchen keeps getting messy.” Thus the complete meaning is: “Our cleaning routine is not working, and the kitchen keeps getting messy.”

2. Ik denk niet dat een van ons beiden dit expres doet.

   I do not think either of us is doing it on purpose.

   Ik denk niet

   I don't think

   een van ons beiden

   either one of us

   dit

   this

   expres

   on purpose

   doet

   does

   More detail

   Ik denk niet expresses “I do not think.” The verb is denken (“to think”); denk is its present-tense form with ik. The negation niet makes the speaker reject the thought that follows. With dat, Dutch normally places the finite verb of the subordinate clause at the end: Ik denk niet dat ... doet. een van ons beiden means “either one of us” in this sentence. een van introduces one member of a group, while ons means “us” and beiden indicates the two members of that group. The phrase functions as the subject of the following clause, so the verb is singular: Een van ons beiden doet ... (“One of us does ...”). dit means “this” or, as in the fixed translation, “it.” It is a demonstrative pronoun referring to the relevant situation or action, without naming that situation again. Dutch also has dat for “that”; the choice between dit and dat depends on the demonstrative distinction being made, not on the verb doen. expres means “on purpose” or “deliberately.” It is an adverb describing the manner or intention of the action. For example: Zij deed het expres. — “She did it on purpose.” doet is the present-tense third-person singular form of doen, “to do.” The subject here is singular in form and meaning: een van ons beiden, not ons alone. The useful present-tense contrast is ik doe (“I do”) but hij/zij doet (“he/she does”). Together, Ik denk niet dat introduces the speaker’s rejected belief, een van ons beiden identifies one member of the two-person group as the subject, dit refers to the relevant action or situation, and expres doet says that this person does it intentionally. The complete meaning is: “I do not think either of us is doing it on purpose.”

3. Misschien hebben we een duidelijkere standaard nodig, vooral voor de afwas en het fornuis.

   Maybe we need a clearer standard, especially for dishes and the stove.

   Misschien

   maybe

   hebben … nodig

   need

   duidelijkere

   clearer

   standaard

   standard

   vooral

   especially

   voor

   for

   afwas

   dishes; washing-up

   fornuis

   stove

   More detail

   Misschien means “maybe” and presents the proposition as possible rather than certain. It often appears at the beginning of a sentence, as here. hebben ... nodig is the Dutch construction for “to need”: hebben (“have”) combines with nodig (“necessary/needed”). The two parts can be separated by the thing needed: We hebben meer tijd nodig. — “We need more time.” Here hebben is the present-tense form used with we, and een duidelijkere standaard is what is needed. duidelijkere is the comparative form of the adjective duidelijk (“clear”). A useful comparison chain is duidelijk → duidelijker → het duidelijkst (“clear” → “clearer” → “the clearest”). In this sentence, the attributive adjective has the ending -e before the singular common-gender noun standaard: een duidelijkere standaard. The -e is not caused by the indefinite article alone. standaard means “standard” or “criterion”: a level used to judge how something should be done. In een duidelijkere standaard, it is a singular count noun with the indefinite article een; that article presents a standard as the relevant item but does not by itself assert a numerical count. vooral means “especially” and gives particular emphasis to the following specification. Here the standard is needed generally, with special relevance to the washing-up and the stove. voor means “for” here. It links the standard to the areas named afterward. afwas refers here to the dishes or washing-up. In this use it is commonly a mass-like noun: de afwas doen means “do the dishes.” Example: Ik doe vanavond de afwas. — “I am doing the dishes tonight.” fornuis means “stove” or “cooker.” Here it appears in the neuter definite noun phrase het fornuis; fornuis itself is the lexical noun, while het is the article. Together, Misschien hebben we een duidelijkere standaard nodig means “Maybe we need a clearer standard.” vooral voor de afwas en het fornuis adds the areas receiving particular emphasis: “especially for the dishes and the stove.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Maybe we need a clearer standard, especially for dishes and the stove.”

4. We kunnen de taken wekelijks afwisselen, zodat niet steeds dezelfde persoon dweilt.

   We could rotate tasks weekly, so the same person does not always mop.

   We kunnen

   we could

   taken

   tasks

   wekelijks

   weekly

   afwisselen

   alternate

   zodat

   so that

   niet steeds

   not always

   dezelfde

   the same

   persoon

   person

   dweilt

   mops

   More detail

   We kunnen introduces a possibility or suggestion here: “we could.” kunnen is the present-tense form used with we; after this modal, the following verb appears as an infinitive. Dutch kunnen can also express ability, but the fixed translation supports a proposed arrangement here. taken means “tasks.” Its singular base form is taak, and taken is its plural. The definite article with this plural is de, as in de taken. wekelijks means “weekly” as an adverb here: it describes how often the tasks are alternated. The related adjective has the inflected form wekelijkse before a noun, as in the example een wekelijkse afspraak (“a weekly appointment”). Do not treat wekelijkse as the observed form in this sentence; the observed form is the adverb wekelijks. afwisselen means “to alternate” or “to rotate.” It is the infinitive after kunnen: We kunnen taken afwisselen means “We could alternate tasks.” In this sentence, the rotation concerns which task is done by whom, rather than changing the tasks into different objects. zodat introduces the intended result: “so that.” It begins a subordinate clause. Here the finite verb dweilt appears at the end of that clause: zodat ... dweilt. niet steeds means “not always” in this context. niet supplies the negation, while steeds describes a situation that keeps recurring. Together, they say that the same arrangement should not happen every time. dezelfde means “the same.” Before a singular de-word, Dutch uses dezelfde; before a singular het-word, it uses hetzelfde, as in hetzelfde probleem (“the same problem”). Here, dezelfde modifies persoon. persoon means “person.” Its plural is personen. The singular form in dezelfde persoon refers to the same individual on the repeated occasions described by the sentence, without identifying that individual by name. dweilt means “mops” here. It is the present-tense third-person singular form of dweilen (“to mop”): ik dweil, hij/zij dweilt. The subject here is dezelfde persoon, so the third-person singular form is used. In this subordinate clause, dweilt is placed at the end. Together, We kunnen de taken wekelijks afwisselen means “We could rotate the tasks weekly.” zodat niet steeds dezelfde persoon dweilt adds the intended result: “so that the same person does not always mop.” The complete utterance proposes changing the task distribution from week to week so that mopping does not repeatedly fall to the same person.

5. Dat klinkt eerlijk, hoewel ik liever de vuilnis buitenzet dan de badkamer schoonmaak.

   That sounds fair, although I prefer taking out the trash to cleaning the bathroom.

   Dat

   that

   klinkt

   sounds

   eerlijk

   fair

   hoewel

   although

   liever

   rather; preferably

   vuilnis

   trash

   buitenzet

   takes out

   dan

   than

   badkamer

   bathroom

   schoonmaak

   clean

   More detail

   Dat is a neuter singular demonstrative meaning “that.” Here it refers to the preceding proposal or idea in the conversation, not to a newly named object. Dutch demonstratives include dit for a nearby neuter singular referent and dat for a more distant one; in this sentence, dat is the subject of klinkt. klinkt is the present-tense third-person singular form of klinken (“to sound”). The form matches singular dat: dat klinkt = “that sounds.” In other uses, klinken can refer literally to producing a sound, but here it describes how something comes across. Eerlijk means “fair” here. It is a descriptive word used after klinken to characterize the subject: Dat klinkt eerlijk = “That sounds fair.” The same form can also mean “honest” in a different context, but the translation and surrounding discussion support “fair” here. Hoewel introduces a subordinate clause meaning “although.” Dutch places the finite verb toward the end of this type of clause. Thus hoewel ik ... buitenzet means “although I ... take out,” with buitenzet later in the clause. Liever expresses preference: “rather” or “preferably.” It is the comparative form associated with graag (“gladly; with pleasure”): graag → liever → het liefst (“most preferably”). The reusable pattern liever X dan Y means “prefer X to Y” or “rather X than Y.” Vuilnis is a noun meaning “trash” or “garbage.” In de vuilnis, the definite article presents the trash as the relevant material or collection of waste; it does not by itself state a numeric count. The noun is used here as the object of the verb. Buitenzet comes from the separable verb buitenzetten, “to put outside; to take outside,” used here for taking out the trash. In a main clause, the parts normally separate: Ik zet de vuilnis buiten. In this subordinate clause, they stay together at the end: ik ... buitenzet. The form is present tense, first-person singular, agreeing with ik. Dan connects the two sides of the preference comparison and means “than” here. In liever X dan Y, it introduces the less-preferred alternative. Badkamer is the noun “bathroom.” With de, de badkamer is the definite noun phrase serving as the object of the second verb. The noun itself does not express any comparison; the preference comparison comes from the surrounding liever ... dan ... pattern. Schoonmaak comes from the separable verb schoonmaken, “to clean.” As with buitenzet, its parts are joined at the end of this subordinate clause: ik ... schoonmaak. This is the present-tense first-person singular form, with the subject ik understood from the first clause. The object is de badkamer, so this means “clean the bathroom.” Together, hoewel ik liever de vuilnis buitenzet dan de badkamer schoonmaak means “although I prefer taking out the trash to cleaning the bathroom.” The shared subject ik applies to both activities. The first activity is expressed with de vuilnis buitenzet, and the second with de badkamer schoonmaak; liever ... dan ... compares the speaker’s preferences. The complete utterance is therefore “That sounds fair, although I prefer taking out the trash to cleaning the bathroom.”

6. Voorkeuren zijn prima, maar de vervelende klussen moeten nog steeds worden verdeeld.

   Preferences are fine, but the unpleasant jobs still need to be shared.

   Voorkeuren

   preferences

   prima

   fine

   vervelende

   unpleasant

   klussen

   jobs or chores

   moeten

   need to

   nog steeds

   still

   worden verdeeld

   be divided or shared

   More detail

   Voorkeuren means “preferences” here. It is the plural of voorkeur (“preference”), formed with -en. Example: Iedereen heeft andere voorkeuren. — “Everyone has different preferences.” prima means “fine” or “okay.” It is the predicate adjective after zijn in Voorkeuren zijn prima; zijn is the verb corresponding here to “are.” Example: Dat is prima. — “That is fine.” vervelende means “unpleasant” here. Its base form is vervelend; the -e form occurs before the definite plural noun klussen. In other contexts, vervelend can also mean “annoying.” Example: Dat is een vervelende taak. — “That is an unpleasant task.” klussen means “jobs” or “chores” here. It is the plural of klus (“job” or “task”). Example: We hebben vandaag veel klussen. — “We have many jobs today.” moeten expresses necessity: the jobs need to be dealt with in the required way. Here it is the present-tense form used with the plural subject de vervelende klussen; its infinitive is also moeten. Example: De taken moeten vandaag klaar zijn. — “The tasks need to be finished today.” nog steeds means “still,” showing that the situation continues to hold. Example: Hij werkt nog steeds hier. — “He still works here.” worden verdeeld means “be divided” or “be shared.” In this modal construction, worden is the infinitive of worden, used with moeten to form the passive; verdeeld is the past participle of verdelen (“to divide” or “distribute”). Together, moeten worden verdeeld means “need to be divided/shared.” The passive does not name who performs the dividing. Example: De taken worden verdeeld. — “The tasks are being divided.” The first clause, Voorkeuren zijn prima, says that preferences are acceptable. maar contrasts this with the practical requirement in de vervelende klussen moeten nog steeds worden verdeeld: the unpleasant jobs still need to be divided or shared. Together, the utterance means: “Preferences are fine, but the unpleasant jobs still need to be shared.”

7. Als we het opschrijven, kunnen we voorkomen dat er later wrevel ontstaat.

   If we write it down, we can keep resentment from building up later.

   Als

   if

   opschrijven

   write down

   kunnen we

   we can

   voorkomen

   prevent

   later

   later

   wrevel

   resentment

   ontstaat

   arises

   More detail

   Als introduces a condition: if. In Dutch, the finite verb in an als-clause normally moves to the end. Here the clause is Als we het opschrijven — “If we write it down.” opschrijven means “to write down.” It is the separable verb opschrijven; in a subordinate clause its parts stay together. In this sentence, opschrijven is the present-tense form used with plural we, not an infinitive, even though it has the same written form as the infinitive. Compare: We schrijven het op. — “We write it down.” kunnen we expresses ability or possibility: “we can.” kunnen is the present form for we; the following verb remains an infinitive: kunnen voorkomen, “can prevent.” The inversion kunnen we occurs because the conditional clause comes first. Without that fronted clause, the order is we kunnen voorkomen — “we can prevent.” voorkomen means “to prevent” here. The reusable pattern is voorkomen dat ...: “prevent ... from happening.” The dat-clause states the event being prevented. later means “later,” referring to a later time. Example: We bespreken het later. — “We will discuss it later.” wrevel is a noun meaning resentment or lingering irritation. It refers here to the negative feeling that may develop, not to a specific person’s explicitly identified feeling. Example: Onduidelijkheid kan wrevel veroorzaken. — “Lack of clarity can cause resentment.” ontstaat means “arises” or “develops” here. Its base form is ontstaan; ontstaat is the present-tense singular form. The subject of this verb is wrevel, which is singular. In the subordinate dat-clause, the verb appears at the end: dat er later wrevel ontstaat — “that resentment arises later.” er is an existential grammatical element in this construction; it does not necessarily refer to a physical place. Example: Er ontstaat een probleem. — “A problem arises.” Together, Als we het opschrijven gives the condition “If we write it down,” and kunnen we voorkomen dat er later wrevel ontstaat gives the result “we can prevent resentment from developing later.” The complete meaning is: “If we write it down, we can keep resentment from building up later.”

8. Laten we een eenvoudig schema maken en het bekijken nadat we het een tijdje hebben geprobeerd.

   Let's make a simple chart and review it after we try it for a while.

   Laten we

   let’s

   eenvoudig

   simple

   schema

   chart

   maken

   make

   bekijken

   review

   nadat

   after

   tijdje

   short while

   geprobeerd

   tried

   More detail

   Laten we introduces a proposal involving the speaker and at least one other person: “let’s …”. It is a reusable Dutch pattern followed by an infinitive, as in Laten we beginnen (“Let’s begin”). Here it combines with maken, rather than carrying the meaning of the whole verb phrase by itself. eenvoudig means “simple” here. Its base form is eenvoudig; in een eenvoudig schema, it has no -e because it modifies a singular neuter noun after the indefinite article een. Compare het eenvoudige schema (“the simple chart”) and een eenvoudige tabel (“a simple table”): the adjective form depends on the noun phrase conditions, not on schema being plural. schema is the noun intended here as “chart.” Its definite form is het schema, and its plural is schema’s (“charts”). The following pronoun het refers back to this chart, as confirmed by the fixed translation’s “it.” maken is the infinitive “to make.” After Laten we, Dutch uses the infinitive: Laten we een plan maken means “Let’s make a plan.” In this sentence, maken expresses the proposed creation of the chart; it does not itself express past or future time. bekijken is the infinitive “to look at” or “to review.” The prefix-like element be- belongs to this verb, so bekijken should be learned as a whole rather than treated as kijken plus a freely separate word. A reusable example is We bekijken het plan — “We review the plan.” Here it is coordinated with maken after Laten we, so the proposal includes both making the chart and reviewing it. nadat is the conjunction “after.” It introduces a subordinate clause describing the time of the review. In Dutch, the finite verb in this kind of subordinate clause normally comes at the end, which is why geprobeerd appears at the end of the clause nadat we het een tijdje hebben geprobeerd. tijdje is a noun meaning “short while” or “little while.” With the indefinite article, een tijdje means “for a while,” without stating an exact duration or numerical count. The expression is useful in sentences such as Wacht een tijdje — “Wait for a while.” geprobeerd is the past participle of proberen, “to try.” The form chain is proberen → probeerde (simple past, singular) → geprobeerd (past participle). With hebben, as in we hebben geprobeerd, it forms the perfect construction “we have tried” or, in this time sequence, “we try/tried.” The object het is the thing being tried: the chart or proposed arrangement, according to the fixed translation’s “it.” Taken together, Laten we een eenvoudig schema maken means “Let’s make a simple chart.” The coordinated infinitive bekijken adds “and review it,” while nadat we het een tijdje hebben geprobeerd places that review after the group has tried it for a while. The complete utterance therefore means: “Let’s make a simple chart and review it after we try it for a while.”

9. Als het te streng voelt, kunnen we het aanpassen in plaats van ruzie te maken.

   If it feels too strict, we can adjust it instead of arguing.

   Als

   if

   te streng

   too strict

   voelt

   feels

   kunnen we

   we can

   aanpassen

   adjust

   in plaats van

   instead of

   ruzie te maken

   arguing

   More detail

   Als introduces a condition: “if.” It is reusable at the start of a subordinate clause, as in Als het regent, ... (“If it rains, ...”). In this sentence, the condition is that something feels too strict. te streng means “too strict.” streng is the adjective “strict”; te marks an excessive degree, so the phrase says that the strictness goes beyond what is acceptable here. Compare streng (“strict”) with te streng (“too strict”). Example: De regel is te streng. — “The rule is too strict.” voelt is the present-tense form of voelen (“to feel”) for a third-person singular subject. Here het is the subject and functions as a neuter “it”; the supplied sentence does not uniquely identify a particular noun as its referent. te streng describes how this unspecified thing seems or feels. The form voelt is not the English-style “feels” for every subject: ik voel is “I feel,” while het voelt is “it feels.” kunnen we combines kunnen (“can, be able to”) with we (“we”). In the main clause, the finite verb comes before the subject because the conditional clause comes first: Als ..., kunnen we ... (“If ..., we can ...”). After a modal such as kunnen, the other verb stays in the infinitive. Example: We kunnen het veranderen. — “We can change it.” aanpassen is the infinitive of the separable verb aanpassen (“to adjust, adapt”). With kunnen, it remains as the complete infinitive rather than splitting: We kunnen het aanpassen. — “We can adjust it.” The object het is “it” here, referring to the thing being adjusted without the fixed sentence uniquely specifying that thing. in plaats van is the fixed construction “instead of.” It introduces an alternative action or choice. Example: In plaats van te wachten, gaan we. — “Instead of waiting, we go.” ruzie te maken is the infinitive construction “arguing” or, more literally, “making a quarrel.” ruzie maken is a common Dutch expression meaning “to argue” or “to quarrel”; with te, it functions after in plaats van: in plaats van ruzie te maken (“instead of arguing”). The te belongs to the infinitive construction, not to ruzie. Together, Als het te streng voelt means “If it feels too strict.” kunnen we het aanpassen says “we can adjust it,” and in plaats van ruzie te maken contrasts that adjustment with arguing. The complete utterance therefore means: “If it feels too strict, we can adjust it instead of arguing.”

10. Het doel is een schoner huis, niet een perfect systeem.

    The goal is a cleaner home, not a perfect system.

    Het doel

    the goal

    is

    is

    schoner

    cleaner

    huis

    home; house

    niet

    not

    perfect

    perfect

    systeem

    system

    More detail

    Het doel means “the goal” here. doel is the noun “goal”; its plural is doelen. The form het is the definite article used with this noun in the singular. A reusable pattern is Het doel is ... (“The goal is ...”), followed here by what the goal is. is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular subject such as het doel. It links the subject to the intended result: Het doel is .... schoner means “cleaner” here. It is the comparative form of schoon (“clean”): schoon → schoner (“clean” → “cleaner”). In een schoner huis, the comparison presents the home as cleaner, without specifying what it is being compared with. Because huis is a neuter singular noun and the phrase has the indefinite article een, the attributive adjective has no final -e here. With a definite phrase, compare het schonere huis (“the cleaner house”). huis means “house” or, in this translation, “home.” It is a neuter noun: het huis; its plural is huizen. The noun itself identifies the place being described as cleaner. niet means “not.” It negates the following contrastive part, so niet een perfect systeem means “not a perfect system.” It does not negate Het doel is; the sentence still states what the goal is and contrasts that goal with the rejected description. perfect means “perfect.” In een perfect systeem, it describes the system as having no relevant shortcomings. Like schoner, it has no final -e here because it modifies the neuter singular noun systeem after indefinite een; compare het perfecte systeem (“the perfect system”) in a definite phrase. systeem means “system.” It is a neuter noun: het systeem; its plural is systemen. Together, Het doel is een schoner huis says that the goal is a cleaner home. niet een perfect systeem adds a contrast: the goal is not a perfect system. The complete meaning is therefore: “The goal is a cleaner home, not a perfect system.”