Checking stock and arranging home delivery | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik vind dit bureau mooi, maar ik kan het niet alleen naar huis dragen.

   I like this desk, but I can't carry it home by myself.

   Ik

   I

   vind

   like; find appealing

   dit

   this

   bureau

   desk

   mooi

   beautiful; attractive

   maar

   but

   ik kan

   I can

   het

   it

   niet

   not

   alleen

   by myself; alone

   naar huis

   homeward; to home

   dragen

   carry

   More detail

   Ik means “I” here, the first-person singular subject. The same form is used as the subject regardless of the speaker’s gender. Example: Ik ben thuis. — “I am at home.” vind is the present-tense first-person singular form of vinden, “to find.” With an adjective such as mooi, vinden can express an evaluation: “find appealing,” naturally “like.” The present forms include ik vind and jij vindt; the -t in vindt belongs to the second-person form, not to ik vind. dit means “this.” It is the demonstrative used with a singular neuter noun, as in dit bureau. Dutch also has deze for singular common-gender nouns and for plural nouns; the choice is based on the noun’s grammatical class and number, not simply on physical distance. bureau means “desk” in this sentence. It is a neuter noun, which is why the phrase uses dit bureau. Example: Dit bureau is groot. — “This desk is large.” mooi means “beautiful” or “attractive.” In vind ... mooi, it describes the speaker’s evaluation of the desk. The adjective has the same basic form here whether the thing evaluated is singular or plural; attributive uses can have an added -e, as in een mooie tafel (“a beautiful table”). maar means “but” and connects the positive evaluation with the contrasting statement that follows. ik kan means “I can.” kan is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb kunnen. A modal such as kan is followed by an infinitive; here that infinitive appears later as dragen. Compare Ik kan lopen. — “I can walk.” het means “it” here and refers to the desk identified by dit bureau, as confirmed by the fixed translation. This is the neuter singular object form. Dutch het can also be an article in other contexts, but here it is a pronoun because it stands for the already mentioned object. niet means “not.” Together with kan, it makes the ability negative: ik kan ... niet means “I cannot ...” In this sentence, niet combines with alleen so that the speaker cannot perform the carrying alone. alleen means “alone” or “by myself” in this use. The phrase niet alleen says that the speaker cannot carry the desk without assistance. Alleen can also mean “only” in other contexts, so its meaning is determined by how it functions in this sentence. naar huis means “home” or “to home.” naar marks movement toward a destination, while huis is used without an article in this fixed destination expression. Example: We gaan naar huis. — “We are going home.” dragen is the infinitive of “carry.” It follows the modal kan; Dutch places this infinitive at the end of this clause. The pattern is ik kan + object + niet + manner expression + dragen. The first part, Ik vind dit bureau mooi, literally presents the speaker as finding this desk attractive, which naturally gives “I like this desk.” After maar, ik kan het niet alleen naar huis dragen says that the speaker cannot carry that desk home by themselves. Together: “I like this desk, but I can’t carry it home by myself.”

2. We kunnen bezorging regelen als het nog op voorraad is.

   We can arrange delivery if it's still in stock.

   We kunnen

   we can

   bezorging

   delivery

   regelen

   arrange

   als

   if

   nog op voorraad

   still in stock

   More detail

   We kunnen means “we can.” We is the subject pronoun “we”; it does not identify more specific individuals by itself. Kunnen is the present-tense form of kunnen used with we. It expresses ability or possibility here. In Dutch, a modal verb such as kunnen is followed by an infinitive, and that infinitive goes to the end of the clause. Bezorging means “delivery.” It is a noun for the service or act of delivering something. Related vocabulary includes bezorgen (“to deliver”), but the fixed sentence uses the noun bezorging, not the verb. Regelen means “to arrange” or “organize.” It is an infinitive here because it follows kunnen. Compare the reusable pattern We kunnen X regelen — “We can arrange X.” Als introduces a condition and means “if” here. The condition comes after the main clause in this sentence. In a sentence such as Als het regent, blijven we binnen, it means “If it rains, we stay inside.” Nog means “still” here: the condition holds if the item remains available. Op voorraad is the fixed expression “in stock,” used for goods that are currently available for purchase or delivery. Together, nog op voorraad means “still in stock.” The sentence combines these parts as We kunnen bezorging regelen (“We can arrange delivery”) plus als het nog op voorraad is (“if it is still in stock”). The pronoun het refers to the relevant item in the situation; the supplied sentence and translation do not identify that item more specifically. The whole utterance therefore means: “We can arrange delivery if it’s still in stock.”

3. Kunt u controleren of er in het magazijn nog een beschikbaar is?

   Could you check whether the warehouse has one available?

   Kunt u

   could you

   controleren

   check

   of

   whether

   er

   there

   in

   in

   magazijn

   warehouse

   nog

   still

   beschikbaar

   available

   More detail

   Kunt u is a polite request pattern meaning “could you…?” Here kunt is the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with formal u (“you”). The modal is followed by an infinitive: Kunt u helpen? — “Could you help?” controleren means “to check” or “to verify”. It is the infinitive after kunt; the modal carries the finite verb position, while controleren names the requested action. The related noun is controle, but it is not the form used here. Example: Ik controleer het bestand. — “I check the file.” of introduces an indirect yes/no question and means “whether” here. In a subordinate clause introduced by of, the finite verb comes at the end: of het beschikbaar is — “whether it is available.” This differs from of meaning “or” when it connects alternatives, as in thee of koffie — “tea or coffee.” er is an existential placeholder in this sentence. Together with een ... is, it presents the existence or availability of an unspecified item; it is not the location word “there” in this use. A reusable pattern is Er is een probleem. — “There is a problem.” in marks location and means “in” or “inside”. It combines with a place expression: in het magazijn — “in the warehouse.” magazijn is the noun “warehouse” here. Its definite form is het magazijn; Dutch uses the article het with this noun. Example: Het magazijn is gesloten. — “The warehouse is closed.” nog means “still” here: the question concerns availability that may continue to hold. It can also mean “yet” in suitable negative or question contexts, but “still” is the intended meaning in this utterance. beschikbaar is an adjective meaning “available”. It remains unchanged in this predicate position: Het product is beschikbaar. — “The product is available.” The phrase nog beschikbaar means “still available”; niet beschikbaar means “not available.” The full structure is Kunt u + controleren (“Could you check”) followed by the indirect yes/no question of er in het magazijn nog een beschikbaar is (“whether there is still one available in the warehouse”). een refers to an unspecified item understood from the surrounding discussion, and the noun is omitted because it is recoverable from that context. The whole utterance therefore asks the listener to check whether the warehouse has an available item.

4. Ik controleer nu het voorraadbestand.

   I'll check the stock record now.

   Ik

   I

   controleer

   check

   nu

   now

   voorraadbestand

   stock record

   More detail

   Ik means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out the action. Dutch subject pronouns include ik (“I”), jij/je (“you,” singular), and wij/we (“we”). controleer means “check” here. It is the present-tense first-person singular form of controleren (“to check”): ik controleer. In Dutch, the present-tense verb form with ik commonly has the stem form; the infinitive ending in controleren is not retained in this form. Example: Ik controleer de lijst. — “I check the list.” nu means “now.” It places the checking at the current time. Example: Ik bel nu. — “I am calling now.” voorraadbestand means “stock record” or “inventory file.” It is a compound noun referring here to the record containing stock information. The noun is built from voorraad (“stock” or “inventory”) and bestand (“file” or “record” in this kind of context). Dutch compounds are written as one word, so the complete noun is voorraadbestand. Together, Ik controleer nu het voorraadbestand. means “I’ll check the stock record now.” The structure is subject + present-tense verb + time expression + object: Ik + controleer + nu + het voorraadbestand. The present tense describes the speaker’s immediate intended action in this context, while het marks the noun phrase as a definite “the” phrase.

5. Als het beschikbaar is, welke bezorgopties bieden jullie aan?

   If it is available, what delivery options do you offer?

   Als het beschikbaar is

   if it is available

   welke

   which; what

   bezorgopties

   delivery options

   bieden jullie aan

   do you offer

   More detail

   Als het beschikbaar is is the conditional clause “if it is available.” Als introduces a condition. In this clause, het is a singular neuter pronoun meaning “it”; the sentence does not identify exactly what it refers to. Beschikbaar means “available” and is an adjective. The verb is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for het. In an als clause, the finite verb commonly comes at the end: Als het beschikbaar is. Welke asks “which” or, with a plural noun such as bezorgopties, “what ... options.” It is used here to request a selection from possible options, not to assert a particular number. Compare the reusable pattern Welke + noun ...? — “Which/what ...?” Bezorgopties means “delivery options.” It is a compound noun: bezorg- relates to delivery, and opties is the plural of optie (“option”). The plural form fits the question because the speaker asks about options in general. An example is Welke bezorgoptie kiest u? — “Which delivery option do you choose?” Bieden jullie aan means “do you offer.” The base verb is the separable verb aanbieden (“to offer”): in the present-tense question, bieden is the finite verb and aan appears at the end. Jullie is the second-person plural subject, “you” when addressing more than one person or a group. The subject-verb pattern is bieden jullie ... aan? — “do you offer ...?” Together, the conditional clause Als het beschikbaar is sets the condition, while welke bezorgopties bieden jullie aan? asks which delivery options the addressee offers. The complete meaning is: “If it is available, what delivery options do you offer?”

6. Bij standaardbezorging wordt het bij u thuis bezorgd.

   Standard delivery would bring it to your home.

   standaardbezorging

   standard delivery

   wordt … bezorgd

   is delivered

   bij u thuis

   at your home

   More detail

   standaardbezorging means “standard delivery.” It is a compound noun: standaard describes the type of bezorging (delivery). Dutch commonly joins such noun compounds into one word. bezorging is related to the verb bezorgen (“to deliver”), but the observed form is the noun, not the verb. wordt ... bezorgd is a passive construction. bezorgd is the past participle of bezorgen; wordt is the third-person singular present form of worden (“to become/be”), used here as the passive auxiliary. The thing delivered is the grammatical subject, while the deliverer is not stated. A reusable pattern is wordt + past participle: Het pakket wordt morgen bezorgd. — “The package will be delivered tomorrow.” bij u thuis gives the destination: “at your home.” u is the formal or polite second-person pronoun “you”; thuis means “at home.” In this expression, bij marks the place associated with the person, and thuis specifies that place as home. A useful contrast is bij mij thuis (“at my home”) versus bij u thuis (“at your home”). Together, the delivery type is placed first, and the passive clause says that the item is delivered at the listener’s home. The full meaning is: with standard delivery, it is delivered to your home. The passive keeps the delivery service or person in the background and focuses on the item and its destination.

7. Is montage daarbij inbegrepen, of alleen bezorging tot aan de deur?

   Does that include assembly, or only delivery to the door?

   Is

   is

   montage

   assembly

   daarbij

   in that / in this

   inbegrepen

   included

   alleen

   only

   bezorging

   delivery

   tot aan

   up to / as far as

   deur

   door

   More detail

   Is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular subject. In this question, the verb comes before the subject phrase: Is montage ...? is the Dutch question pattern corresponding to “Is assembly ...?” The same form appears in statements with a singular subject, for example: De bezorging is inbegrepen. — “The delivery is included.” montage means “assembly” here: putting the delivered item together or installing it. It is a noun, so it can be the subject or topic of a question. Example: Montage kost extra. — “Assembly costs extra.” daarbij refers to the service or arrangement already under discussion and means roughly “with that” or “as part of that.” In this sentence it connects assembly with the previously mentioned offer or delivery arrangement, rather than identifying a new object. Example: Is garantie daarbij inbegrepen? — “Is the warranty included with that?” inbegrepen means “included.” It is the past participle of inbegrijpen and is used here with zijn in the construction zijn inbegrepen (“to be included”). In this sentence it describes whether assembly is part of the offer. Example: De installatie is inbegrepen. — “The installation is included.” alleen means “only” and restricts what follows. Here it limits the alternative to bezorging: the question asks whether the offer includes assembly, or merely delivery. Example: Is ophalen alleen mogelijk? — “Is pickup the only possibility?” bezorging is the noun “delivery,” referring here to the delivery service rather than to the item being delivered. A useful related verb is bezorgen, “to deliver,” but bezorging is the noun needed in this sentence. Example: De bezorging is morgen. — “The delivery is tomorrow.” tot aan marks an endpoint or boundary, “up to” or “as far as.” In tot aan de deur, it specifies how far the delivery reaches. This phrase does not by itself say that the item is carried beyond that point. Example: We leveren tot aan de ingang. — “We deliver as far as the entrance.” deur means “door.” With the article in de deur, it names the endpoint of the delivery route. De is the definite article used with this noun. Example: Het pakket staat bij de deur. — “The package is by the door.” Together, Is montage daarbij inbegrepen asks whether assembly is part of the arrangement. After of alleen, the alternative is bezorging tot aan de deur: delivery limited to the door. Thus the whole utterance means: “Does that include assembly, or only delivery to the door?”

8. Montage is een apart verzoek, maar het naar boven brengen is inbegrepen.

   Assembly is a separate request, but carrying it upstairs is included.

   Montage

   assembly

   apart

   separate

   verzoek

   request

   het naar boven brengen

   carrying it upstairs

   inbegrepen

   included

   More detail

   Montage means assembly here: putting the item together. It is a noun, and the sentence uses it as the subject of is. Dutch also uses montage in the service context for assembly as an added service. Example: Montage kost extra. — “Assembly costs extra.” apart means separate or distinct in this sentence. In een apart verzoek, it describes verzoek; the ending stays -t because Dutch attributive adjectives after an indefinite een with a neuter noun such as verzoek commonly have this form. Here it does not mean “strange.” verzoek means request. The phrase een apart verzoek is therefore “a separate request”: een introduces a non-specific request, without by itself stating a numerical count. Example: Dat is een apart verzoek. — “That is a separate request.” het naar boven brengen means carrying or bringing it upstairs. In this phrase, het is the object pronoun referring to the item being carried; it is not an indefinite article. brengen is the infinitive “to bring,” and naar boven expresses movement upward or upstairs. A useful contrast is brengen for bringing something to a destination versus halen for fetching or going to get something. Example: Ik kan het naar boven brengen. — “I can carry it upstairs.” inbegrepen means included. It is the past participle of inbegrijpen (“to include”) and is used here as a predicate after is: is inbegrepen means “is included.” This form describes what is covered by the offer or arrangement; it does not itself say who performs the carrying. Example: De bezorging is inbegrepen. — “Delivery is included.” The first clause, Montage is een apart verzoek, states that assembly is separate from what is already included. The second clause, maar het naar boven brengen is inbegrepen, contrasts this with carrying the item upstairs, which is included. Together: “Assembly is a separate request, but carrying it upstairs is included.”

9. Voeg de bezorging alstublieft toe. Ik kan het zelf monteren.

   Please add delivery. I can assemble it myself.

   Voeg … toe

   add

   bezorging

   delivery

   alstublieft

   please

   Ik kan

   I can

   het

   it

   zelf

   myself

   monteren

   assemble

   More detail

   Voeg ... toe is the reusable Dutch pattern for “add ...”. It comes from the separable verb toevoegen (“to add”): in this imperative, voeg is the command form and toe appears separately at the end. The object is placed between the two parts. Example: Voeg de saus toe. — “Add the sauce.” bezorging means “delivery” here. It is a noun used as the thing being added. The related verb bezorgen means “to deliver,” while bezorging names the delivery service or arrangement. Example: De bezorging is inbegrepen. — “Delivery is included.” alstublieft makes the command polite: “please.” It is a polite functional expression, not part of the verb toevoegen. Ik kan means “I can.” kan is the present form of the modal verb kunnen for ik; the infinitive that follows remains unchanged. A useful pattern is Ik kan + infinitive, as in Ik kan helpen. — “I can help.” het means “it” in this sentence and is the object of monteren. Its specific referent is not identified by the sentence itself. In Dutch, het can also serve other grammatical functions in other contexts, so its role here is determined by its position as the thing being assembled. zelf adds “myself,” emphasizing that the speaker will do the action personally. It does not change the person or number marking of the verb. Example: Ik doe het zelf. — “I’ll do it myself.” monteren means “to assemble” here. It is the infinitive after the modal kan; Dutch uses the infinitive rather than a separately conjugated verb in this pattern. Example: Wij kunnen de kast monteren. — “We can assemble the cabinet.” Together, Voeg de bezorging alstublieft toe politely asks the listener to add delivery, using the split form of toevoegen. Ik kan het zelf monteren says that the speaker can assemble the item personally. The complete meaning is: “Please add delivery. I can assemble it myself.”

10. Ik bevestig dat het bureau op voorraad is en voeg het bezorgverzoek toe voordat ik de bestelling verwerk.

    I'll confirm the stock and add the delivery request before processing the order.

    bevestig

    confirm

    bureau

    desk; office

    op voorraad

    in stock

    voeg … toe

    add

    bezorgverzoek

    delivery request

    voordat

    before

    bestelling

    order

    verwerk

    process

    More detail

    bevestig is the first-person singular present form of bevestigen (“to confirm”). With the subject ik, it means “I confirm.” Example: Ik bevestig de afspraak. — “I confirm the appointment.” bureau is a noun meaning “desk” or “office,” depending on context. Here, het bureau is the noun phrase whose availability is being confirmed; the fixed translation and context do not require choosing between those noun senses. Bureau is a het-word, so the definite article is het. op voorraad is a reusable expression meaning that an item is currently available in stock. It describes the state of het bureau; it is not the same as simply saying that something exists. Example: De stoel is op voorraad. — “The chair is in stock.” The clause dat het bureau op voorraad is means “that the desk/office is in stock.” In this subordinate clause, is (“is”) comes at the end, a common Dutch pattern for a clause introduced by dat. voeg ... toe is the separable verb toevoegen, “to add.” In the sentence, voeg is the first-person singular present form, while toe appears separately after the object. The reusable pattern is ik voeg X toe — “I add X.” Example: Ik voeg een naam toe. — “I add a name.” bezorgverzoek is a compound noun meaning “delivery request”: bezorg relates to delivery and verzoek means request. In het bezorgverzoek, the compound is treated as a het-word. The phrase is the object being added. voordat means “before” and introduces the event that sets the time reference for the main action. Here it introduces ik de bestelling verwerk: the adding happens before the speaker processes the order. Example: Bel me voordat je vertrekt. — “Call me before you leave.” bestelling means “order,” such as an order for goods. In de bestelling, it is a de-word and is the object of verwerk. verwerk is the first-person singular present form of verwerken, “to process.” With ik, ik verwerk means “I process.” Example: Ik verwerk de aanvraag vandaag. — “I process the application today.” Together, Ik bevestig dat het bureau op voorraad is says “I confirm that the desk/office is in stock.” The coordinated clause en voeg het bezorgverzoek toe adds “and I add the delivery request”; the subject ik is shared, and the separable verb is split around its object. Finally, voordat ik de bestelling verwerk means “before I process the order,” giving the time relationship for the preceding action. The complete meaning is: “I’ll confirm that the desk/office is in stock and add the delivery request before processing the order.”