Timing dinner while hosting | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. De gasten kunnen aankomen terwijl het hoofdgerecht nog kookt.

   The guests may arrive while the main course is still cooking.

   gasten

   guests

   kunnen

   may; can

   aankomen

   arrive

   terwijl

   while

   hoofdgerecht

   main course

   nog

   still

   kookt

   is cooking

   More detail

   gasten means “guests” here. Its base form is gast; gasten is the plural. Dutch uses de with this plural noun: De gasten komen aan. — “The guests arrive.” kunnen is the present-tense plural form of kunnen. With the infinitive aankomen, it presents the guests’ arrival as possible: “may arrive.” In other contexts, kunnen can express ability (“can”), but the fixed translation supports possibility here. The modal is followed by the infinitive: De gasten kunnen komen. — “The guests may be coming / can come.” aankomen means “to arrive.” It is a separable verb: in a finite main clause, its parts separate, as in De trein komt aan. — “The train arrives.” After a modal such as kunnen, the infinitive remains together: kunnen aankomen. terwijl introduces a time clause meaning “while,” linking two situations that occur at the same time. It makes the following clause subordinate, so the finite verb comes at the end: Ik lees terwijl zij kookt. — “I read while she cooks.” hoofdgerecht means “main course.” It is a singular neuter noun, so the definite form is het hoofdgerecht; its plural is hoofdgerechten. Het hoofdgerecht is klaar. — “The main course is ready.” nog means “still” here: the cooking is continuing at the relevant time. It does not itself identify how long the cooking has continued. For example, Het eten kookt nog. means “The food is still cooking.” kookt is the present-tense third-person singular form of koken, “to cook” or “to boil.” The singular subject here is het hoofdgerecht, so the verb has the singular ending. Dutch present tense can describe an action in progress; together with nog, kookt describes the main course as still cooking. De soep kookt. — “The soup is boiling/cooking.” The sentence combines De gasten kunnen aankomen (“The guests may arrive”) with terwijl het hoofdgerecht nog kookt (“while the main course is still cooking”). The complete meaning is: “The guests may arrive while the main course is still cooking.”

2. Serveer dan een eenvoudig voorgerecht, zodat iedereen rustig kan gaan zitten.

   Then serve a simple starter so people can settle in.

   Serveer

   serve

   dan

   then

   eenvoudig

   simple

   voorgerecht

   starter

   iedereen

   everyone

   rustig

   calmly

   kan

   can

   gaan zitten

   sit down

   More detail

   Serveer is the imperative of serveren (“to serve”). Dutch commonly forms this singular imperative from the verb stem: Serveren → Serveer. It gives a direct instruction; the subject is understood rather than stated. dan means “then” here, linking this instruction to the situation or sequence already established. It does not mean “than,” which is dan in comparisons only in contexts such as groter dan (“bigger than”). eenvoudig means “simple” here. It is an adjective modifying voorgerecht. The form has no -e because this is an indefinite singular neuter noun phrase: een eenvoudig voorgerecht. With a definite noun, the adjective would normally be het eenvoudige voorgerecht (“the simple starter”). The noun’s neuter gender, not the mere presence of een, is relevant to this form. voorgerecht means “starter” or “appetizer,” the course served before the main course. It is a neuter noun: het voorgerecht. A useful contrast is het hoofdgerecht, “the main course.” iedereen means “everyone” or “everybody.” Although it refers to people collectively, it is grammatically singular, so the sentence uses singular kan, not plural kunnen. It is a pronoun, and the fixed translation supports the general reading “everyone” without identifying a more specific individual referent. rustig means “calmly” or “peacefully” in this sentence. The same form can also be the adjective “calm” in a phrase such as een rustige avond (“a calm evening”); here it describes how the sitting down happens, so it functions adverbially. kan is the present-tense form of the modal verb kunnen for a singular subject such as iedereen: iedereen kan (“everyone can”). Kunnen expresses ability or possibility; in this sentence, the subordinate clause presents settling in as what the starter makes possible or facilitates. In the plural, for example, de gasten kunnen zitten means “the guests can sit.” gaan zitten is a two-verb construction meaning “sit down” or “go and sit.” Gaan is followed by the infinitive zitten; the first verb carries the finite form, while zitten remains unchanged. This construction focuses on beginning the action of sitting, rather than simply being seated. The connector zodat means “so that.” It introduces the subordinate clause zodat iedereen rustig kan gaan zitten. In that clause, iedereen is the subject, kan is the finite modal verb, and the infinitive group gaan zitten comes at the end, as is normal for a Dutch subordinate clause. Together, Serveer dan een eenvoudig voorgerecht means “Then serve a simple starter.” The zodat clause gives the intended effect or purpose: iedereen rustig kan gaan zitten, “everyone can settle in calmly.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Then serve a simple starter so people can settle in.”

3. Ik kan de salade en het brood klaar hebben voordat ze aankomen.

   I can have salad and bread ready before they get here.

   Ik kan

   I can

   salade

   salad

   brood

   bread

   klaar

   ready

   hebben

   have

   voordat

   before

   ze

   they

   aankomen

   arrive / get here

   More detail

   Ik kan introduces the speaker’s ability or possibility: “I can.” kan is the present-tense form of kunnen for ik; with a modal verb, the other verb remains an infinitive and comes later. Example: Ik kan koken. — “I can cook.” salade means “salad” here. It is a noun; in the sentence it appears with the definite article de: de salade. Example: De salade is vers. — “The salad is fresh.” brood means “bread.” It is a mass noun here and appears with the definite article het: het brood. The choice between de and het is a property of the Dutch noun, not a statement about quantity. Example: Het brood is klaar. — “The bread is ready.” klaar means “ready.” In klaar hebben, it describes something that has been prepared and is available for use. Example: Ik heb het eten klaar. — “I have the food ready.” hebben is the infinitive “to have.” After kan, it stays in the infinitive. Together, klaar hebben gives the reusable pattern iets klaar hebben: “to have something ready.” Here the items being ready are de salade en het brood. voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. Dutch places the finite verb at the end of this clause: voordat ze aankomen — “before they arrive.” Example: Bel me voordat je vertrekt. — “Call me before you leave.” ze means “they” in this sentence, matching the fixed translation. It is the unstressed third-person plural pronoun; this form does not identify the people by itself. aankomen means “to arrive” or, in this context, “to get here.” It is the infinitive of the separable verb aankomen. In the subordinate clause, the plural present form is also written aankomen; in a main clause, the parts separate: Ze komen aan. — “They arrive.” With a singular subject, the form is Hij komt aan. — “He arrives.” The sentence assembles as Ik kan + de salade en het brood klaar hebben + voordat ze aankomen: “I can have the salad and the bread ready before they arrive.” It describes the speaker’s ability to complete the preparation by that time; kunnen supplies the modal meaning, while hebben remains the infinitive.

4. Dat geeft het hoofdgerecht wat extra tijd, zonder dat het lijkt alsof het diner vertraging oploopt.

   That gives the main course a little extra time without making dinner seem delayed.

   Dat

   That

   geeft

   gives

   hoofdgerecht

   main course

   wat

   a little

   extra

   extra

   tijd

   time

   zonder dat

   without …

   lijkt

   seems

   alsof

   as if

   diner

   dinner

   vertraging

   delay

   oploopt

   incurs a delay

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here as a demonstrative pronoun. It points to the situation referred to in the conversation, rather than naming a particular noun. Dutch demonstratives include dit and dat; this sentence uses dat for the intended “that.” geeft is the present-tense third-person singular form of geven, “to give.” The form matches the singular subject Dat: ik geef, jij geeft, hij/zij/het geeft. Example: Dat geeft me tijd. — “That gives me time.” hoofdgerecht means “main course.” It is a compound noun, hoofd + gerecht, but it functions as one noun. In this sentence, het hoofdgerecht is the beneficiary that gets extra time. The article het is outside the selected quote. wat can mean “some” or “a little” when it indicates a modest, non-specific amount. Here, wat extra tijd means “a little extra time” or “some extra time.” It is not the question word “what” here. extra means “extra” or “additional.” It describes tijd in wat extra tijd. Example: We hebben extra tijd. — “We have extra time.” tijd means “time.” Useful combinations include extra tijd (“extra time”) and genoeg tijd (“enough time”). Example: Ik heb geen tijd. — “I have no time.” zonder dat introduces a finite subordinate clause and commonly corresponds to “without …ing” in English. Example: Hij vertrekt zonder dat hij iets zegt. — “He leaves without saying anything.” lijkt is the third-person singular present form of lijken, “to seem” or “to appear.” In het lijkt alsof ..., het is an impersonal subject; it does not need to refer to a specific noun. Example: Het lijkt goed. — “It seems good.” alsof means “as if” and introduces an apparent or imagined situation. het lijkt alsof ... is a reusable pattern meaning “it seems as if ...”. diner means “dinner,” here the meal. With its article, het diner is a singular noun phrase. Example: Het diner begint om zeven uur. — “Dinner starts at seven o’clock.” vertraging means “delay.” The combination vertraging oplopen means “to incur a delay” or “to become delayed.” Example: De trein loopt vertraging op. — “The train is delayed.” oploopt is the third-person singular present form of the separable verb oplopen. In a main clause, the parts can separate: De trein loopt vertraging op. In the subordinate clause here, they remain together as oploopt: het diner vertraging oploopt. With vertraging, this means “incurs a delay,” not that the dinner physically runs into something. Together, Dat geeft het hoofdgerecht wat extra tijd means “That gives the main course a little extra time.” The following zonder dat het lijkt alsof het diner vertraging oploopt means “without making it seem as if dinner is delayed.” The whole utterance therefore means: “That gives the main course a little extra time without making dinner seem delayed.”

5. Zal ik de groenten koken zodra iedereen is aangekomen?

   Should I cook the vegetables once everyone has arrived?

   Zal ik

   Should I

   groenten

   vegetables

   koken

   cook

   zodra

   once; as soon as

   iedereen

   everyone

   aangekomen

   arrived

   More detail

   Zal ik is a reusable Dutch way to ask whether the speaker should or may do something. It uses zal, the first-person singular form of zullen, followed by the subject ik; this verb–subject order marks a yes/no question. The lexical verb comes afterward in the infinitive: Zal ik koken? means “Should I cook?” or “Shall I cook?” in the relevant context. groenten means “vegetables” here. Its singular form is groente; groenten is the plural. The phrase de groenten refers to the vegetables as the object of koken. koken is the infinitive “to cook.” In this sentence it follows the modal-like auxiliary zal, so it remains in the infinitive rather than taking a personal ending. Example: Ik kook de groenten. — “I cook the vegetables.” zodra introduces a time clause meaning “as soon as” or “once.” It connects the cooking with the point at which the other event has happened. In a subordinate clause introduced by zodra, the verb group comes at the end: zodra iedereen is aangekomen. iedereen means “everyone” and refers to all the relevant people as one grammatical singular subject. That is why the clause uses singular is, not a plural form. Example: Iedereen is klaar. — “Everyone is ready.” aangekomen is the past participle of aankomen, “to arrive.” With is, it forms the perfect: is aangekomen means “has arrived.” Dutch uses zijn as the auxiliary with aankomen, reflecting arrival or a change of location. The participle itself does not show the person here; is carries the singular present-tense form. Together, Zal ik de groenten koken? asks whether the speaker should cook the vegetables. zodra iedereen is aangekomen sets the time condition: the cooking should happen once everyone has arrived. The whole utterance therefore means, “Should I cook the vegetables once everyone has arrived?”

6. Ze smaken beter als ze vers zijn bereid, dus wacht tot je bijna gaat serveren.

   They taste better freshly cooked, so wait until you are close to serving.

   Ze

   they

   smaken

   taste

   beter

   better

   als

   when

   vers

   freshly

   zijn bereid

   are prepared

   dus

   so

   wacht

   wait

   tot

   until

   je

   you

   bijna

   almost

   gaat serveren

   are going to serve

   More detail

   Ze is the third-person plural pronoun they here. The supplied sentence does not uniquely identify what it refers to, but the form marks plural in this use rather than identifying the referent by gender. smaken is the present-tense plural form of smaken, “to taste.” With ze, it describes how the referent tastes. Example: De appels smaken zoet. — “The apples taste sweet.” beter is the comparative form of goed (“good”): goed → beter → best (“best”). It says that the taste is better than at a relevant comparison point, even though that comparison is not stated explicitly. als introduces the condition or time at which the better taste applies. Here it is best understood as “when”: the better taste applies when the referent is freshly prepared. In other contexts, als can introduce an “if” condition. vers means “freshly” here. It modifies the preparation expressed by bereid in vers bereid, together meaning “freshly prepared.” Unlike the attributive adjective in verse groenten (“fresh vegetables”), this use is uninflected because it functions adverbially. zijn bereid contains zijn, the present plural form of zijn (“to be”), and bereid, the past participle of bereiden (“to prepare”). In this sentence, the combination describes the referent as prepared. Bereid is not derived from zijn: zijn carries the finite verb form, while bereid carries the preparation meaning. dus connects the preceding observation with its consequence: “so” or “therefore.” wacht is the imperative of wachten (“to wait”). It gives a direct instruction to the addressee. The imperative does not need an expressed subject: Wacht even. — “Wait a moment.” tot introduces the endpoint of the waiting period: “until.” The clause after it states what should be reached before the waiting stops. je is the second-person pronoun “you.” In this utterance it identifies the addressee of wacht and is the subject of gaat serveren; Dutch je is commonly singular informal, while the translation does not state a participant count beyond addressing “you.” bijna means “almost.” It places the serving action close to its expected starting point, but not at that point yet. gaat serveren uses gaan plus the infinitive serveren (“to serve”). This construction commonly expresses an action that someone is about to perform or intends to perform: Ik ga koken. — “I am going to cook.” Here gaat is the present form used with je, and serveren remains the infinitive. Together, als ze vers zijn bereid gives the condition “when they are freshly prepared,” and ze smaken beter gives the result “they taste better.” Dus wacht tot je bijna gaat serveren then gives the consequence and endpoint: “so wait until you are close to serving.” The whole utterance advises waiting until serving is near because the referent tastes better when freshly prepared.

7. Gasten ontvangen voelt stressvol, omdat het moeilijker is om alles op tijd te regelen dan om te koken.

   Hosting feels stressful because timing everything is harder than cooking.

   Gasten

   guests

   ontvangen

   hosting

   voelt

   feels

   stressvol

   stressful

   alles

   everything

   op tijd

   on time

   regelen

   arrange

   moeilijker

   harder

   koken

   cooking

   More detail

   Gasten means “guests.” It is the plural of gast (“guest”). In Gasten ontvangen, it is the object of ontvangen, not the doer: the phrase means “receiving or hosting guests.” Example: De gasten komen om acht uur. — “The guests arrive at eight o’clock.” ontvangen means “to receive” and, in this sentence, “to host” guests. It is the infinitive, the dictionary form. Dutch can use an infinitive phrase as the subject: Gasten ontvangen means “hosting guests” or literally “receiving guests.” This form is different from the finite forms ontvang and ontvangt, which express person and tense with an explicit subject. voelt means “feels” here. It is the third-person singular present form of voelen (“to feel”). The subject is the whole activity Gasten ontvangen, treated as one situation, so the verb is singular. Example: Dat voelt vreemd. — “That feels strange.” stressvol means “stressful.” It is a descriptive adjective. In het voelt stressvol, it describes the activity as stressful; it is not an inflected verb. Example: De voorbereiding is stressvol. — “The preparation is stressful.” alles means “everything” or “all the things involved.” It refers here to the things that must be arranged for hosting, without listing them individually. Example: Alles is klaar. — “Everything is ready.” op tijd means “on time” or “in time.” It is an adverbial expression about meeting the required timing. In alles op tijd regelen, it modifies the arranging: arranging everything by the needed time. Example: We moeten op tijd vertrekken. — “We have to leave on time.” regelen means “to arrange,” “organize,” or “take care of.” It is the infinitive of regelen. The phrase alles regelen means “arrange everything”; with om ... te regelen, it is the infinitive construction expressing what is difficult to do. Example: Ik regel de drankjes. — “I’ll arrange the drinks.” moeilijker means “harder” or “more difficult.” It is the comparative form of moeilijk (“difficult”): moeilijk → moeilijker → het moeilijkst (“the most difficult”). The ending -er marks comparison here. The pattern moeilijker ... dan compares two activities. koken means “cooking” in this comparison, or “to cook” as an infinitive. It is the infinitive of koken. In dan om te koken, cooking is the second activity in the comparison. Example: Ik vind koken leuk. — “I like cooking.” The sentence first makes Gasten ontvangen (“hosting guests”) the subject: that activity voelt stressvol (“feels stressful”). The clause introduced by omdat gives the reason. In het is moeilijker om alles op tijd te regelen dan om te koken, het is the grammatical subject of the impersonal comparison; the two om ... te phrases identify the activities being compared. The complete meaning is: “Hosting feels stressful because timing everything is harder than cooking.”

8. Maak een eenvoudig plan voor het serveren: drankjes, een voorgerecht en daarna het hoofdgerecht.

   Make a simple serving plan: drinks, starter, then the main course.

   Maak

   make

   eenvoudig

   simple

   plan

   plan

   voor het serveren

   for serving

   drankjes

   drinks

   voorgerecht

   starter

   daarna

   then

   hoofdgerecht

   main course

   More detail

   Maak is the imperative of maken (“to make”). In this sentence it gives a direct instruction, with the subject understood rather than stated. The same verb appears in other forms such as ik maak (“I make”) and ik maakte (“I made”). eenvoudig means “simple” here. It is an adjective modifying plan. In een eenvoudig plan, the adjective has no -e because plan is a neuter noun used with the indefinite article een; compare het eenvoudige plan (“the simple plan”) when the noun phrase is definite. This is a useful pattern, not a claim that every adjective has the same form in every context. plan is the noun “plan”. It can be reused in combinations such as een plan maken (“make a plan”) and het plan uitvoeren (“carry out the plan”). voor het serveren means “for serving”. voor is a preposition, and het serveren uses the infinitive serveren as a noun-like activity: literally, “the serving”. Compare voor het koken (“for cooking”) in the same type of construction. drankjes means “drinks” or “beverages” here. Its singular is drankje; drankjes is the plural. The ending -je marks a diminutive in the singular, although the plural refers naturally to drinks as items being planned or served. een voorgerecht means “a starter” or “a first course”. voorgerecht is a compound noun: voor indicates something placed before, and gerecht means “course” or “dish”. Its plural is voorgerechten. daarna means “then” or “after that”. It marks the next step in the sequence. For example, Eerst drinken we koffie, daarna eten we. means “First we drink coffee, then we eat.” het hoofdgerecht means “the main course”. hoofdgerecht is a compound noun in which hoofd identifies the principal or main course; the definite article is het. Its plural is hoofdgerechten. Together, Maak een eenvoudig plan gives the instruction “Make a simple plan”. voor het serveren specifies what the plan is for. The colon introduces the items in that plan: drankjes, een voorgerecht, and, daarna, het hoofdgerecht. Thus the whole utterance means: “Make a simple serving plan: drinks, a starter, then the main course.” The list presents the serving order, with the main course explicitly placed after the starter.

9. Ik kan die checklist bij het fornuis leggen.

   I can keep that checklist near the stove.

   Ik kan

   I can

   die

   that

   checklist

   checklist

   bij

   near

   fornuis

   stove

   leggen

   put or place

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can.” Ik is the first-person singular subject (“I”), and kan is the present form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with ik. After a modal such as kan, the other verb normally stays in the infinitive: Ik kan … leggen = “I can put/place …”. die means “that” here and points to the checklist identified in the fixed translation. In Dutch, die is used with a singular de-word or with plural nouns; checklist is a singular de-word, so die checklist is the matching demonstrative-noun combination. The related form dat is used with a singular het-word, as in dat fornuis. checklist means “checklist.” It is the direct object: it is the thing that can be placed. The plural is checklists. bij means “near” or “by” in this sentence. It introduces the location of the checklist. For example, De tas staat bij de deur. means “The bag is by the door.” fornuis means “stove.” In het fornuis, the noun is singular and takes the article het; bij het fornuis therefore means “near the stove.” leggen means “to put/place” and is the infinitive required after kan. It commonly describes putting something down or laying it in a position; zetten is often used instead when an object is put upright. Here, leggen presents the checklist as something to place near the stove. Putting the parts together, Ik kan die checklist bij het fornuis leggen means “I can place or leave that checklist near the stove.” The modal kan expresses ability or possibility, die checklist is the object, and bij het fornuis gives its intended location.

10. Dat zou je moeten helpen gefocust te blijven terwijl de gasten aankomen.

    It should help you stay focused while people arrive.

    Dat

    that; it

    zou je moeten

    you should

    helpen

    help

    gefocust

    focused

    blijven

    stay; remain

    terwijl

    while

    gasten

    guests

    aankomen

    arrive

    More detail

    Dat is the subject pronoun meaning “it” or “that” here. It is a neuter singular demonstrative form; its specific antecedent is understood from the surrounding context. Dutch also uses dit for “this” and dat for “that” when the relevant contrast is distance or discourse reference. zou je moeten expresses “you should” in this sentence. zou is a form of zullen used here in a modal, non-past recommendation or expectation, not as a simple past-tense statement. moeten is the infinitive “must/need to”; after this modal, the following verb remains an infinitive. je is the informal singular “you” and is the person being helped. For example: Je zou meer moeten slapen. — “You should sleep more.” helpen means “to help.” In this construction, helpen takes je as the person helped and introduces what that person is helped to do: iemand helpen om ... te ... or, as here, iemand helpen ... te .... The infinitive blijven completes that action pattern. gefocust is an adjective meaning “focused.” It describes the state that je is helped to maintain. It is related to the verb focussen, but gefocust here functions as an adjective rather than as a finite verb. Example: Zij blijft gefocust. — “She stays focused.” blijven means “to stay” or “to remain.” It is an infinitive after helpen and occurs in the pattern helpen ... te blijven (“help ... to stay/remain”). The te belongs to the infinitive construction, while blijven carries the lexical meaning “stay.” Example: Ik probeer rustig te blijven. — “I try to stay calm.” terwijl is a subordinating conjunction meaning “while.” It introduces a clause describing an event occurring during the relevant time. Unlike a simple coordination, it makes the second clause dependent on the first. gasten means “guests.” Its singular base form is gast; gasten is the plural. The preceding article de marks the noun phrase de gasten as “the guests.” aankomen means “to arrive.” In de gasten aankomen, it is the present-tense verb in the subordinate clause, with plural subject de gasten; Dutch plural present forms commonly have the same shape as the infinitive. The separable-verb base form is aankomen, built from aan and komen, but it stays together here because it is in a subordinate clause. In a main clause, the parts can separate: De gasten komen aan. — “The guests arrive.” Together, Dat zou je moeten helpen means “It should help you.” The complement gefocust te blijven specifies what the help enables you to do: “to stay focused.” Finally, terwijl de gasten aankomen adds the time relation “while the guests arrive.” The complete meaning is: “It should help you stay focused while the guests arrive.”