Finding an accessible route at a station | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Pardon, is er een toegankelijke route naar het juiste perron?

   Excuse me, is there an accessible way to reach the correct platform?

   Pardon

   Excuse me

   is er

   is there

   toegankelijke

   accessible

   route

   route; way

   juiste

   correct; right

   perron

   platform

   More detail

   Pardon is a polite way to get someone’s attention or begin a request. It corresponds to “Excuse me” here; it is not part of the question’s factual content. is er is the Dutch existential question pattern. The statement pattern is er is ... (“there is ...”); in a yes/no question, the finite verb comes first: is er ...? (“is there ...?”). Here er is a grammatical placeholder for existence, not a named person or object. toegankelijke means “accessible” here. Its base form is toegankelijk. The -e form is used because the adjective comes before the noun phrase een toegankelijke route; Dutch attributive adjectives commonly take -e in this environment. Example: een toegankelijke ingang — “an accessible entrance.” route is a noun meaning a route or way. The phrase een route naar ... presents a path leading to something. The indefinite article een introduces a route without stating a numeric count; it does not by itself mean “one.” juiste means “correct” or “right” in the sense of being the intended or appropriate one. Its base form is juist; juiste is the attributive form before het juiste perron. This is different from rechts, which means “on the right” as a direction or position. Example: de juiste deur — “the correct door.” perron means “platform,” especially a railway platform. Its definite noun phrase is het perron; in this sentence, het juiste perron means “the correct platform.” Together, naar het juiste perron means “to the correct platform.” The existential pattern is er ...? asks whether such a thing exists, and een toegankelijke route specifies that the route should be accessible. With the opening Pardon, the complete utterance is a polite question: “Excuse me, is there an accessible way to reach the correct platform?”

2. De dichtstbijzijnde lift is op dit moment gesloten voor onderhoud.

   The closest elevator is closed for maintenance at the moment.

   dichtstbijzijnde

   closest

   lift

   elevator

   op dit moment

   at the moment

   gesloten

   closed

   onderhoud

   maintenance

   More detail

   dichtstbijzijnde means “closest” here. It is the attributive superlative related to dichtbij (“near”): dichtbij → dichterbij (“nearer”) → het dichtstbij (“nearest”). Before a noun, the superlative commonly has the attributive -e form: de dichtstbijzijnde lift (“the closest elevator”). lift is the Dutch noun for “elevator” or “lift”: de lift, een lift. Here it is singular, and the singular verb is agrees with it. The article de alone does not establish singularity, since plural nouns can also take de. op dit moment is a time expression meaning “at the moment” or “right now.” In this expression, dit is the neuter singular demonstrative associated with het moment. Example: Op dit moment ben ik bezig. — “At the moment, I am busy.” gesloten is the past participle of sluiten (“to close”). With is, as in is gesloten, it describes the elevator’s resulting state: “is closed.” In this predicative use, the participle does not change for the subject’s gender or number. Example: De deur is gesloten. — “The door is closed.” onderhoud means “maintenance.” It is a neuter noun: het onderhoud. In voor onderhoud, voor introduces the purpose or reason: “for maintenance.” The phrase identifies the reason for the closure; it does not by itself say that maintenance is happening at that exact moment. In the source order, De dichtstbijzijnde lift means “the closest elevator,” is ... gesloten means “is ... closed,” op dit moment adds “at the moment,” and voor onderhoud adds “for maintenance.” Together: “The closest elevator is closed for maintenance at the moment.”

3. Dat kan lastig zijn met mijn zware koffer.

   That might be difficult with my heavy suitcase.

   Dat kan

   That might

   lastig

   difficult

   zijn

   be

   met

   with

   mijn

   my

   zware

   heavy

   koffer

   suitcase

   More detail

   Dat kan means “That might” here. kan is the present-tense form of kunnen used with the singular subject dat; in this sentence it expresses possibility. Example: Dat kan gebeuren. — “That can happen.” lastig is an adjective meaning “difficult” or “awkward.” Here it describes the situation as difficult. In kan ... zijn, the modal verb kan is followed by the infinitive zijn. Example: De route kan lastig zijn. — “The route might be difficult.” zijn is the infinitive of zijn, meaning “to be.” It follows kan and completes the verb combination kan ... zijn; zijn itself does not express the possibility. met means “with” and introduces the accompanying circumstance: the difficulty occurs with the speaker’s suitcase. mijn is the possessive determiner “my.” It comes before the noun and identifies the suitcase as belonging to or associated with the speaker: mijn koffer means “my suitcase.” zware is the form of the adjective zwaar (“heavy”) used before koffer. Dutch adjectives commonly take -e before a noun with this type of determiner, giving zware koffer. Example: mijn zware tas — “my heavy bag.” koffer is a noun meaning “suitcase.” Together, mijn zware koffer means “my heavy suitcase.” The complete utterance combines Dat kan lastig zijn (“That might be difficult”) with met mijn zware koffer (“with my heavy suitcase”), giving: “That might be difficult with my heavy suitcase.”

4. Neem de lift bij de noordelijke ingang. U moet dan een klein stukje extra lopen.

   Use the elevator by the north entrance. It adds a short walk.

   Neem

   take; use

   lift

   elevator

   bij

   by; near

   noordelijke

   northern

   ingang

   entrance

   U moet

   you must; you need to

   klein

   small

   stukje

   bit; short stretch

   extra

   extra; additional

   lopen

   walk

   More detail

   Neem is the imperative of nemen (“to take”). In this sentence, nemen means choosing or using transport, not physically carrying something. The imperative addresses the listener directly; for example, Neem de bus. means “Take the bus.” lift means “elevator.” Its plural is liften. The phrase de lift uses the common-gender article de; the noun itself is the thing being recommended for use. bij introduces a nearby location here: “by” or “near.” A reusable pattern is bij + place: bij de ingang means “near the entrance.” noordelijke means “northern” and describes ingang. Its base form is noordelijk; before a definite noun with de, the attributive form is noordelijke. The adjective identifies the entrance’s direction, while ingang is the noun it modifies. ingang means “entrance.” Its plural is ingangen. In de noordelijke ingang, de marks this noun phrase as definite: “the northern entrance.” U moet means “you must” or “you need to.” U is the formal or polite second-person pronoun, and moet is the present-tense form of moeten used with u. A modal such as moet is followed by an infinitive: U moet wachten. means “You must wait.” klein means “small.” Here it describes stukje, so it refers to a small amount or short stretch rather than to the elevator or entrance. Before the indefinite article een and the neuter noun stukje, the adjective remains klein: een klein huis means “a small house.” stukje is a small piece or short stretch. It is the diminutive form of stuk (“piece; stretch”), and in this context it refers to a short distance. Dutch diminutives ending in -je are grammatically neuter, which helps explain een klein stukje. For example, een stukje brood means “a piece of bread.” extra means “additional” or “extra.” Here it modifies the walking described by lopen, so the listener needs to walk an additional short distance. It does not mean that the piece itself is physically added as an object. lopen means “to walk.” It is the infinitive after the modal moet; the sentence does not use a finite form such as loopt here. The pattern moeten + infinitive expresses required action: U moet verder lopen. means “You must walk farther.” Together, Neem de lift bij de noordelijke ingang gives the instruction “Use the elevator by the north entrance.” Dan means “then” and links that choice to the next consequence. U moet dan een klein stukje extra lopen means “You then need to walk a short additional stretch.” Thus the complete intended meaning is: “Use the elevator by the north entrance. It adds a short walk.”

5. Kunt u me de weg wijzen, of zijn de borden makkelijk te volgen?

   Could you point me toward it, or are the signs easy to follow?

   Kunt u

   could you

   me

   me

   de weg

   the way

   wijzen

   point or show

   zijn

   are

   borden

   signs

   makkelijk

   easy

   te volgen

   to follow

   More detail

   Kunt u is a polite way to ask someone to do something: “Could you …?” It uses kunnen (“can, be able to”). In this inverted question, kunt comes before the subject u; u is the formal “you” form. A less formal version uses Kun je …? for one person. me means “me” here and functions as the person who receives the requested help. Dutch object pronouns include me (unstressed) and mij (stressed or contrasted): Kunt u me helpen? means “Could you help me?” de weg means “the way” or, in this setting, “the route.” De is the common definite article used with this noun. The same noun can be used in practical direction phrases such as de weg naar het station (“the way to the station”). wijzen means “to point” or “to show,” especially by indicating a direction. Its base form is wijzen; after kunt, Dutch uses this infinitive without te: Kunt u me de weg wijzen? (“Could you show me the way?”). The construction iemand de weg wijzen is a reusable way to ask or say that someone shows another person the route. zijn means “are” here. It is the plural present form of zijn (“to be”), matching the plural noun borden: de borden zijn ... (“the signs are ...”). The singular forms include is for one thing and ben for ik (“I”): Het bord is duidelijk (“The sign is clear”). borden means “signs” in this context. It is the plural of bord (“sign” here; the noun can have other meanings in other contexts). The definite form is het bord for one sign and de borden for multiple signs. The following context confirms that these are directional signs. makkelijk means “easy.” It describes how readily something can be done or understood. Its comparative is makkelijker (“easier”), and its superlative is het makkelijkst (“the easiest”): Deze route is makkelijker means “This route is easier.” te volgen means “to follow.” Volgen is the base verb “to follow”; te volgen is the infinitive with te, used here after the adjective in the pattern makkelijk te + infinitive. This pattern says that an action is easy or difficult to carry out: De instructies zijn makkelijk te volgen means “The instructions are easy to follow.” Together, Kunt u me de weg wijzen? asks politely whether the addressee can show the speaker the route. Of zijn de borden makkelijk te volgen? offers an alternative: perhaps the directional signs are easy for the speaker to follow instead. The whole utterance therefore means: “Could you point me toward it, or are the signs easy to follow?”

6. Loop langs de kaartjesautomaten en volg daarna de blauwe borden.

   Go past the ticket machines, then follow the blue signs.

   Loop

   go / walk

   langs

   past / along

   kaartjesautomaten

   ticket machines

   volg

   follow

   daarna

   after that / then

   blauwe

   blue

   borden

   signs

   More detail

   Loop is the imperative of lopen, meaning “go” or “walk” here. The imperative addresses one or more people directly and does not show a subject: Loop! = “Go!/Walk!” The same verb can describe movement in other contexts, for example Ik loop naar huis. = “I walk/go home.” langs is a preposition meaning “past” or “along.” In langs de kaartjesautomaten, it marks the route that goes past the ticket machines. The fixed translation supports “go past” here. kaartjesautomaten is the plural of kaartjesautomaat, “ticket machine.” It is a compound: kaartje means “ticket” and automaat means “machine,” while the full compound names the machine that sells or handles tickets. Dutch commonly forms the plural of this compound with -en on its final part: kaartjesautomaat → kaartjesautomaten. volg is the imperative of volgen, “to follow.” It gives the next direct instruction: Volg de borden. = “Follow the signs.” Do not confuse this with loop: loop describes moving along the route, while volg describes using the signs as guidance. daarna means “after that” or “then.” It places the following action after the action already mentioned. Here, it links the two instructions in sequence: first go past the ticket machines, and then follow the signs. blauwe is the form of the adjective blauw, “blue,” used before the plural noun borden. In this position, Dutch uses blauwe: blauwe borden = “blue signs.” The adjective itself supplies the color; the plural marking is on borden, not on blauwe. borden is the plural of bord, “sign” in this directional context. The singular–plural pair is bord → borden. The fixed translation identifies these as signs to follow, rather than, for example, plates or boards. Together, Loop langs de kaartjesautomaten means “Go past the ticket machines.” daarna adds the sequence “then,” and volg de blauwe borden means “follow the blue signs.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Go past the ticket machines, then follow the blue signs.”

7. Zal ik de trein nog halen voordat die vertrekt?

   Will I still reach the train before it leaves?

   Zal ik

   will I? / shall I?

   de trein

   the train

   nog

   still

   halen

   reach / catch

   voordat

   before

   die

   it

   vertrekt

   leaves / departs

   More detail

   Zal ik introduces a yes/no question about the speaker. zal is the present-tense form of zullen used here with ik; with the infinitive later in the sentence, it expresses “will I …?” or “shall I …?” Dutch questions commonly place this finite verb before the subject: Zal ik ...? Compare the statement order Ik zal ... (“I will ...”). de trein means “the train.” Trein is a singular noun, and de is the definite article used with this noun. The article is definite, so the sentence refers to an identifiable train rather than asserting a quantity. nog means “still” here: the speaker is asking whether reaching the train remains possible at this point. Its position before halen connects this time-related meaning to the action. halen is the infinitive of halen, “to reach” or “to catch” in an appropriate transport context. After zal, Dutch uses the infinitive: zal ... halen. The construction de trein halen is a useful way to express managing to catch/reach a train; it is different from de trein nemen, “take the train.” voordat introduces a clause meaning “before ...”. A reusable pattern is voordat + clause, as in Vertrek voordat de winkel sluit. — “Leave before the shop closes.” die means “it” in this sentence and refers to the train identified by de trein. Here it is a third-person singular demonstrative pronoun functioning as the subject of the voordat clause. Its referent is supported by the fixed translation; the form itself can have other functions in Dutch contexts. vertrekt means “leaves” or “departs” here. It is the present-tense third-person singular form of vertrekken: vertrekken → hij/zij/het vertrekt. The present tense can describe a scheduled or imminent departure. The subject is die, so the singular form vertrekt is used. Together, Zal ik ... halen? asks whether the speaker will manage to reach or catch something. Adding nog gives the idea “still manage to,” and voordat die vertrekt sets the deadline: the train’s departure. Thus the whole utterance means, “Will I still reach the train before it leaves?”

8. Als u nu vertrekt, zou u daar ruim op tijd moeten komen.

   If you leave now, you should get there with time to spare.

   Als

   if

   u

   you

   nu

   now

   vertrekt

   leave

   zou u

   you would

   daar

   there

   ruim op tijd

   well in time

   moeten

   have to

   komen

   come

   More detail

   Als introduces a condition: “if.” In a conditional clause, Dutch commonly places the finite verb after the subject, as in Als u nu vertrekt (“If you leave now”). A reusable pattern is Als + clause, .... u is the polite/formal second-person pronoun. It can address one person or more than one person; the form itself does not identify the number. With u, the present-tense form here is vertrekt, not the plural vertrekken used with jullie. Example: U werkt vandaag. — “You are working today.” nu means “now” and locates the action at the present time. Example: Ik vertrek nu. — “I am leaving now.” vertrekt is the present-tense form of vertrekken, “to leave” or “to depart.” With the formal pronoun u, the form is u vertrekt; in the conditional clause, it appears after u: Als u vertrekt — “If you leave.” This is the verb of the condition, while nu specifies when the leaving happens. zou u combines the conditional form zou of zullen with u. In this sentence, zou ... moeten expresses an expectation or recommendation equivalent to “should.” The subject is u, and the infinitive belonging to the conditional construction comes later. Example: U zou eerder moeten vertrekken. — “You should leave earlier.” daar means “there,” referring to a destination or place understood from the situation. It does not itself specify what that place is. In this sentence it marks the place the person is expected to reach. ruim op tijd is a reusable expression meaning “well in time,” “with time to spare,” or “comfortably before the necessary time.” ruim strengthens op tijd: it indicates more than merely arriving just in time. Example: We waren ruim op tijd. — “We were well in time.” moeten is the infinitive of moeten, “must,” “have to,” or, in the construction zou ... moeten, “should.” It follows the subject-related conditional form zou and combines with another infinitive. Here, moeten komen is not a simple present obligation; together with zou it presents the expected result as advice or a likely outcome. komen is the infinitive meaning “to come” or “to get to a place.” In daar ... komen, it describes reaching the place indicated by daar. Example: Zij wil op tijd komen. — “She wants to arrive on time.” The whole sentence has the structure Als u nu vertrekt + zou u daar ruim op tijd moeten komen: “If you leave now, you should get there with time to spare.” The first clause gives the condition. The second clause uses zou ... moeten for the expected result, daar for the destination, and ruim op tijd for arriving comfortably before the relevant deadline.

9. Ik ga nu die kant op.

   I'll head that way now.

   Ik

   I

   ga

   go; head

   nu

   now

   die

   that

   kant

   way; direction

   op

   directional element

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person who is heading somewhere. A reusable contrast is ik “I” versus jij “you,” as in Ik ga — “I am going” and Jij gaat — “You are going.” ga is the first-person singular present form of gaan, “to go.” In this sentence, the present form describes the speaker’s current or intended movement, so “I’ll head” is a natural translation. The useful pattern is ik ga + direction or destination. The form changes with the subject: ik ga, but jij gaat and wij gaan. nu means “now.” It places the heading action at the present time. For example, Ik vertrek nu means “I’m leaving now.” die is the demonstrative meaning “that” here. It modifies the noun kant and has the form used with a singular common-gender noun in Dutch. Compare deze kant — “this way” — with die kant — “that way.” The demonstrative itself does not identify a more specific landmark; the sentence simply points to a direction understood from the situation. kant is a noun meaning “side,” “direction,” or “way.” In die kant op, the relevant meaning is “way/direction.” The noun normally takes the article de: de kant. For example, Welke kant ga je op? means “Which way are you going?” op is a directional element in the construction die kant op. In this construction, it helps express movement in the indicated direction; it is not by itself a standalone replacement for the whole English word “toward.” The same pattern works with another demonstrative: Welke kant op? — “Which way?” Together, die kant op means “that way” or “in that direction.” The sentence assembles as Ik + ga + nu + die kant op: the speaker says that they are heading in the indicated direction now. Thus the complete meaning is “I’ll head that way now.”

10. Vraag het personeel bij de poort om hulp als u onderweg hulp nodig hebt.

    Ask the gate staff if you need help on the way.

    Vraag

    ask

    personeel

    staff

    bij de poort

    at the gate

    om hulp

    for help

    als u

    if you

    onderweg

    on the way

    nodig hebt

    need

    More detail

    Vraag is the imperative of vragen (“to ask”). It addresses the listener directly and gives an instruction: “Ask …”. The imperative is commonly formed with the verb stem: Vraag! = “Ask!” A question form would be different, such as Vraagt u het personeel? = “Are you asking the staff?” personeel means “staff” or “personnel” here. It is a collective noun referring to the staff as a group; the article in the full phrase is het personeel. A useful related noun is medewerker (“staff member” or “employee”), which refers to one person rather than the group. bij de poort means “at the gate”. bij marks a location near or at something, and de poort is “the gate”. The definite article de belongs with this noun; Dutch also has het as the other definite article, but the choice is determined by the noun. om hulp completes the useful pattern iemand vragen om hulp or vragen om ...: “to ask someone for help” or “to ask for ...”. hulp means “help”. In this sentence, om hulp expresses what the staff are being asked for; it does not itself say how much help is involved. als u introduces the condition “if you ...”. u is the formal second-person pronoun, used for one or more people in formal address. In this sentence it is the person who may need help. The conjunction als can introduce a condition: Als u tijd hebt, ... = “If you have time, ...”. onderweg means “on the way” or “while travelling”. It is a single Dutch adverb, not a phrase that needs to be split into separate words. For example, Ik bel u onderweg. means “I’ll call you on the way.” nodig hebt expresses “need” in the pattern iets nodig hebben, literally “to have something needed”. The base verb is hebben (“to have”); with formal u, its present-tense form here is hebt. nodig means “needed” in this fixed expression. Dutch places the finite verb hebt after nodig in this subordinate clause: u hebt hulp nodig is the main-clause order, while als u hulp nodig hebt has the verb at the end. Together, Vraag het personeel bij de poort om hulp means “Ask the staff at the gate for help”. The clause als u onderweg hulp nodig hebt adds the condition “if you need help on the way”. The complete utterance is therefore: “Ask the gate staff if you need help on the way.”