Explaining a Dashboard Problem | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Het dashboard heeft een fout, maar ik kan die zonder technische details uitleggen.

   The dashboard has a bug, but I can explain it without technical details.

   dashboard

   dashboard

   heeft

   has

   fout

   bug; error

   ik kan

   I can

   die

   it

   zonder

   without

   technische

   technical

   details

   details

   uitleggen

   explain

   More detail

   dashboard is a Dutch loanword meaning “dashboard.” It is a noun; in this sentence it is the subject of heeft. heeft is the present-tense form of hebben (“to have”) for a singular third-person subject such as het dashboard. The pattern iets heeft ... can express that something has or contains a problem or feature. fout means “bug” here. It is the noun de fout, so the intended meaning is a mistake or malfunction rather than a person’s fault. The indefinite noun phrase een fout means “a bug” or “an error”; een does not by itself state a numerical count. ik kan means “I can.” kan is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb kunnen. A modal is followed by an infinitive: ik kan uitleggen = “I can explain.” die means “it” here and refers back to de fout (“the bug”). As a Dutch demonstrative pronoun, singular die is used with a singular common-gender de-word such as fout; it can also have other demonstrative uses in other contexts. zonder means “without” and introduces what is absent or omitted. The reusable pattern is zonder + noun phrase, as in zonder hulp (“without help”). technische means “technical” here. Its base form is the adjective technisch; before the plural noun details, it has the ending -e: technische details. details is the plural of detail, meaning “details” or “particulars.” The phrase technische details refers to information about the technical aspects, rather than the explanation itself. uitleggen means “to explain.” It is an infinitive, and after kan it stays in the infinitive: ik kan die uitleggen (“I can explain it”). The verb is separable when used as a finite main verb: ik leg die uit also means “I explain it.” Together, Het dashboard heeft een fout says “The dashboard has a bug.” maar adds a contrast, and ik kan die zonder technische details uitleggen says “I can explain it without technical details.” The complete utterance is therefore: “The dashboard has a bug, but I can explain it without technical details.”

2. Graag, want het verkoopteam hoeft alleen de gevolgen te kennen.

   Please do, because the sales team only needs to know the impact.

   Graag

   Please do

   want

   because

   verkoopteam

   sales team

   hoeft … te

   needs to

   alleen

   only

   gevolgen

   impact

   kennen

   know

   More detail

   Graag is an adverb meaning “gladly” or “with pleasure.” As a response to an implied request, it can naturally mean “Please do” or “I’d be happy to.” It is not an imperative verb. Example: Graag. — “Gladly.” want introduces a reason clause and is commonly translated as “because” or “for.” Here it connects the agreeable response with its reason. Dutch uses ordinary main-clause word order after want, unlike a subordinating conjunction such as omdat, which places the finite verb later in the clause. verkoopteam is a compound noun: verkoop refers to sales, and team means team. Together, het verkoopteam means “the sales team.” Het marks this singular neuter noun phrase; verkoopteam itself has no plural ending here. Example: Het team werkt vandaag. — “The team is working today.” hoeft ... te is the Dutch pattern for saying that someone or something does not need to do something, or—as here—that only a specified action is necessary. Hoeft is the present-tense singular form of hoeven, agreeing with het verkoopteam; te is followed by the infinitive kennen. Example: Je hoeft niet te wachten. — “You do not need to wait.” alleen means “only” here. It limits what the sales team needs to know: the sentence presents knowledge of the consequences as sufficient for the stated purpose. It does not itself mean “one” or assert a numerical count. gevolgen means “consequences,” or here, “impact/effects.” It is the plural of gevolg; the singular is gevolg, and the plural uses -en. With the definite article, de gevolgen refers to the relevant consequences in the situation. Example: We bespreken de gevolgen. — “We are discussing the consequences.” kennen is the infinitive meaning “to know” in the sense of being familiar with or having knowledge of something. Here it follows te and concerns the sales team’s knowledge of the effects. Dutch also uses weten for knowing a fact or piece of information; kennen is especially common with people, places, works, or things one is familiar with. In this fixed sentence, the translation supports “know the impact.” Taken together, Graag gives the agreeable response “Please do,” and want introduces the reason. Het verkoopteam is the subject of that reason clause. hoeft alleen ... te kennen says that the team only needs to know de gevolgen; it does not claim that the team has exactly one requirement in every respect. The whole utterance means: “Please do, because the sales team only needs to know the impact.”

3. Sommige grafieken blijven oude cijfers tonen nadat gebruikers het datumfilter veranderen.

   Some charts keep showing old numbers after users change the date filter.

   Sommige

   some

   grafieken

   charts

   blijven

   keep; continue

   oude

   old

   cijfers

   numbers; figures

   tonen

   showing; to show

   nadat

   after

   gebruikers

   users

   het datumfilter

   the date filter

   veranderen

   change

   More detail

   Sommige means “some” here: it presents an unspecified part of a plural group. It is used with a plural noun, as in Sommige rapporten zijn kort. — “Some reports are short.” Unlike alle (“all”), it does not include the whole group. grafieken means “charts” and is the plural of grafiek (“chart”). The plural ending is -en: één grafiek → twee grafieken. blijven is the present-tense plural form of blijven, “to remain” or “to continue,” and it is also the infinitive. With an infinitive, blijven expresses continuation of an action: Ze blijven wachten. — “They keep waiting.” Here it signals that the showing continues. oude means “old” here. Its base form is oud; before this plural noun it has the attributive form oude: oude cijfers. The adjective describes cijfers, not grafieken. cijfers means “numbers” or “figures” in this context and is the plural of cijfer (“number; figure”). The sentence concerns the figures displayed by the charts, not a numerical count of the charts. tonen is the infinitive of tonen, “to show.” After blijven, Dutch uses the infinitive: blijven tonen = “keep showing.” The form tonen itself does not mark the subject’s person or number here; blijven carries the finite present-tense form. nadat means “after” and introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch, the finite verb in this type of subordinate clause comes at the end: nadat gebruikers het datumfilter veranderen — literally, “after users change the date filter.” gebruikers means “users” and is the plural of gebruiker (“user”). It is the subject of the clause introduced by nadat, so these users perform the changing action. het datumfilter means “the date filter.” datumfilter is a compound noun: datum (“date”) + filter (“filter”). In this sentence it is singular and definite, which is why it has het; the article belongs to the whole compound noun. veranderen is the present-tense plural form of veranderen, “to change,” and it is also the infinitive. With the plural subject gebruikers, the present form is gebruikers veranderen. In the subordinate clause, it stands at the end. Together, Sommige grafieken identifies some charts as the subject, and blijven tonen says that they continue to show oude cijfers. The clause nadat gebruikers het datumfilter veranderen specifies when this happens: after users change the date filter. The complete meaning is: “Some charts keep showing old numbers after users change the date filter.”

4. Kunnen gebruikers nog steeds het juiste rapport downloaden?

   Can users still download the correct report?

   Kunnen gebruikers

   can users

   nog steeds

   still

   juiste

   correct; right

   rapport

   report

   downloaden

   download

   More detail

   Kunnen gebruikers combines the present-tense form kunnen with the plural subject gebruikers (“users”). Here kunnen expresses ability or possibility: “can users …?” The infinitive is kunnen; with a singular subject, the present form is kan, as in the example Kan de gebruiker het rapport downloaden? — “Can the user download the report?” nog steeds means that the situation continues: “still.” It modifies the ability expressed by the question, so the question asks whether users continue to have this ability now. This is different from nog, which can simply mean “still/yet” depending on context; nog steeds strongly emphasizes continuation. juiste is an inflected form of the adjective juist, meaning “correct” or “right” here. It has the ending -e because it stands before the definite noun phrase het rapport: het juiste rapport. The adjective itself carries this inflection, not rapport. For comparison, juist can be used without this ending in some other noun phrases, such as een juist rapport (“a correct report”), while het juiste rapport uses juiste. rapport is the noun “report.” Its common plural is rapporten, as in the example De rapporten zijn correct. — “The reports are correct.” In the fixed utterance, het rapport refers to one report as the object of downloading; the definite article identifies it as a particular report, but the article alone does not state a numerical count beyond the singular form of the noun phrase. downloaden is the infinitive “to download.” After a modal such as kunnen, Dutch places the lexical verb in the infinitive: gebruikers kunnen het rapport downloaden — “users can download the report.” In the question, inversion places kunnen before gebruikers, while downloaden remains at the end. Together, Kunnen gebruikers asks about users’ ability, nog steeds adds the idea that this ability may be continuing, and het juiste rapport downloaden means “download the correct report.” The complete utterance therefore asks: “Can users still download the correct report?” It is a question about present continuing possibility, not an assertion that they can or cannot do so.

5. De geëxporteerde rapporten zijn correct, dus ze zijn een goede tijdelijke oplossing.

   The exported reports are correct, so they are a good temporary workaround.

   geëxporteerde

   exported

   rapporten

   reports

   zijn

   are

   correct

   correct

   dus

   so

   ze

   they

   goede

   good

   tijdelijke

   temporary

   oplossing

   solution

   More detail

   geëxporteerde means “exported” here and comes from the verb exporteren (“to export”). It is a past participle used before rapporten; in this attributive position it has the ending -e. The spelling and diaeresis in geëxporteerde are part of the observed form. rapporten is the plural of rapport (“report”): een rapport → rapporten. The sentence therefore refers to multiple reports. Example: De rapporten zijn klaar. — “The reports are ready.” zijn is the finite form of zijn (“to be”) used with the plural subject de geëxporteerde rapporten. Here it links the subject to the adjective correct; it is not an auxiliary introducing another verb. Compare het rapport is correct with de rapporten zijn correct. correct means “correct” or “accurate” in this sentence. It is an adjective that does not take an ending in this predicative position after zijn. Example: De gegevens zijn correct. — “The data are correct.” dus connects the two clauses with the meaning “so” or “therefore”: the second clause is presented as a consequence of the first. It does not itself mark tense or number. ze is the unstressed plural pronoun “they” here. It refers back to the exported reports, as confirmed by the fixed translation. Dutch also uses ze as an unstressed singular feminine subject pronoun; stressed plural “they” is zij. The intended number and referent therefore come from the sentence and context, while the form here is plural. Example: Ze zijn beschikbaar. — “They are available.” goede is the attributive form of the adjective goed (“good”). Before the noun in een goede tijdelijke oplossing, it takes -e. The adjective describes the solution, not the reports. Compare the predicative form in De oplossing is goed. — “The solution is good.” tijdelijke is the attributive form of tijdelijk (“temporary”), also with -e before the noun oplossing. It specifies that the solution is intended for a limited period rather than being permanent. Example: Dit is een tijdelijke maatregel. — “This is a temporary measure.” oplossing means “solution” or, in this context, “workaround.” It is a singular noun: een oplossing; its plural is oplossingen. The indefinite article een introduces an indefinite noun phrase; it should not by itself be treated as a stated numerical count. Together, De geëxporteerde rapporten zijn correct means “The exported reports are correct.” dus then marks the consequence, and ze zijn een goede tijdelijke oplossing means “they are a good temporary workaround.” The whole utterance therefore says that the correct exported reports serve as a good temporary workaround.

6. Hoelang duurt het om het dashboard te repareren?

   How long will it take to fix the dashboard?

   Hoelang

   how long

   duurt het

   does it take

   dashboard

   dashboard

   om … te repareren

   to repair

   More detail

   Hoelang asks about duration: “how long?” It is written as one word in Dutch. Compare hoe laat (“what time?”), which asks for a clock time rather than a length of time. Example: Hoelang duurt de vergadering? — “How long does the meeting last?” duurt het contains the verb duren (“to last, to take [a length of time]”) and het (“it”). The observed form duurt is the present-tense form of duren with a singular subject. Here, het is an impersonal subject referring to the time needed for the action, not to a specifically identified object. Example: Het duurt een uur. — “It takes an hour.” dashboard is a noun meaning “dashboard.” Dutch nouns have grammatical gender, but this English-derived noun keeps the same spelling in the sentence regardless of its grammatical role here. Example: Het dashboard werkt weer. — “The dashboard works again.” om ... te repareren is the Dutch infinitive pattern used here for “to repair.” repareren is the infinitive/base form meaning “to repair”; te marks the infinitive, and om introduces this purpose or goal phrase. The two parts are separated because the object het dashboard comes between them. Example: We bellen om het probleem te bespreken. — “We call to discuss the problem.” Together, Hoelang duurt het asks for the amount of time required, het dashboard identifies what will be repaired, and om ... te repareren expresses the action whose duration is being asked about. The complete meaning is: “How long will it take to fix the dashboard?”

7. We kunnen het probleem reproduceren en een update zou morgen klaar moeten zijn.

   We can reproduce the issue, and an update should be ready tomorrow.

   We kunnen

   we can

   probleem

   issue

   reproduceren

   reproduce

   update

   update

   zou

   should

   morgen

   tomorrow

   klaar

   ready

   moeten zijn

   need to be

   More detail

   We kunnen means “we can.” We is the first-person plural subject, and kunnen is the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with that subject. Dutch modal verbs are followed by an infinitive: We kunnen reproduceren = “We can reproduce.” probleem means “issue” here. It is a noun; the standard form is het probleem, with plural problemen. The sentence refers to the technical issue already understood from the fixed translation. reproduceren means “to reproduce,” in the sense of making the same problem occur again. It is an infinitive after the modal kunnen. Example: We kunnen de fout reproduceren. — “We can reproduce the error.” update means “update.” It is a noun commonly used in technical Dutch; with the indefinite article, een update means “an update.” The noun itself does not express a number beyond the article’s indefinite reference. Example: De update komt morgen. — “The update is coming tomorrow.” zou is a form of zullen (“will, shall”) and, in this construction, helps express an expected or projected result: “should.” It appears with the singular noun phrase een update, so the form is zou, not plural zouden. The construction zou ... moeten is split by morgen and klaar in this sentence. morgen means “tomorrow,” a time word. It specifies when the update is expected to be ready. Example: De reparatie is morgen klaar. — “The repair will be ready tomorrow.” klaar means “ready” here. It is a descriptive adjective functioning as the complement of zijn (“to be”): klaar zijn means “to be ready.” Example: Het rapport is klaar. — “The report is ready.” moeten zijn means “need to be” or, with zou, contributes to “should be.” Moeten is the infinitive of moeten (“must, need to”), and zijn is the infinitive of zijn (“to be”). In Dutch modal constructions, the modal and the other infinitive occur together at the end of the clause: zou ... klaar moeten zijn = “should be ready.” The meaningful structure is We kunnen het probleem reproduceren (“We can reproduce the issue”) plus en een update zou morgen klaar moeten zijn (“and an update should be ready tomorrow”). En joins the two statements. In the second clause, een update is the subject; zou marks the expected projection, morgen gives the time, and klaar moeten zijn describes the expected state. Together, the full utterance means: “We can reproduce the issue, and an update should be ready tomorrow.”

8. Dan kan ik tegen het team zeggen dat ze de geëxporteerde rapporten moeten gebruiken totdat de update klaar is.

   Then I can tell the team to use the exported reports until the update is ready.

   Dan

   Then

   kan ik

   I can

   tegen

   to (someone)

   team

   team

   zeggen

   tell; say

   ze

   they

   geëxporteerde

   exported

   rapporten

   reports

   moeten

   must; are to

   gebruiken

   use

   totdat

   until

   update

   update

   klaar

   ready

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here and links this statement to a possible earlier situation. It can also introduce a consequence: Dan begin ik. — “Then I’ll start.” kan ik combines kan, the first-person singular present form of kunnen (“can, be able to”), with the subject ik (“I”). The initial Dan causes subject–verb inversion, so the order is Dan kan ik, rather than Dan ik kan. After kunnen, the other verb stays in the infinitive. tegen het team zeggen is the reusable pattern tegen iemand zeggen: “tell or say to someone.” tegen marks the person or group addressed; het team is the definite noun phrase “the team.” Example: Ik zeg het tegen mijn collega. — “I tell my colleague.” zeggen is the infinitive of zeggen (“to say, tell”). In this utterance it is the infinitive selected by kan; it is not the finite verb carrying the tense. Its irregular present forms include ik zeg (“I say”) and hij zegt (“he says”). ze is the unstressed plural subject pronoun “they” in this clause. The fixed translation presents the team as the group being told and they as the people who are to use the reports. The following plural form moeten also agrees with this subject reading. Ze can have other grammatical roles in Dutch, but its role here is subject. geëxporteerde means “exported” and describes rapporten. It comes from the past participle geëxporteerd of exporteren; the ending -e is the attributive adjective form used before this noun phrase. The diaeresis in ë preserves the separate vowel pronunciation. Example: de geëxporteerde bestanden — “the exported files.” rapporten is the plural of rapport (“report”). Its plural is formed with -en: rapport → rapporten. Example: Ik lees twee rapporten. — “I am reading two reports.” moeten is the plural present form of the modal verb moeten (“must, have to”). With ze, it expresses the requirement that they use the reports. A modal is followed by an infinitive, here gebruiken, and in this subordinate clause that infinitive comes at the end. gebruiken is the infinitive “to use.” Together with moeten, ze ... moeten gebruiken means “they must use” or “they are to use.” Example: We moeten dit formulier gebruiken. — “We must use this form.” totdat means “until” and introduces the endpoint of a time period. It introduces a subordinate clause, so the finite verb appears at the end: totdat de update klaar is — “until the update is ready.” update is the noun “update.” In this utterance it has the definite article de: de update. The surrounding context also uses an update as something that can become ready, but the noun itself does not state when that happens. klaar is the predicative adjective “ready.” It follows the noun phrase in de update klaar is, with is from zijn (“to be”) linking the update to its state. Example: De versie is klaar. — “The version is ready.” The utterance assembles as Dan kan ik (“Then I can”) + tegen het team zeggen (“tell the team”) + dat (“that”) + ze de geëxporteerde rapporten moeten gebruiken (“they must use the exported reports”) + totdat de update klaar is (“until the update is ready”). The complete meaning is: “Then I can tell the team to use the exported reports until the update is ready.”

9. Een korte notitie met schermafbeeldingen zou moeten helpen.

   A short note with screenshots should help.

   korte

   short

   notitie

   note

   met

   with

   schermafbeeldingen

   screenshots

   zou moeten

   should

   helpen

   help

   More detail

   korte describes notitie as short. Its base form is kort. The -e ending is used here because the adjective comes before the common-gender noun notitie; this is not an inflection of the noun. Compare the neuter singular pattern een kort bericht (“a short message”) with een korte notitie (“a short note”). notitie means “note” here. It is a singular noun, and een introduces it without by itself stating a numerical count. In Dutch, the plural is notities. met is the preposition “with”. It introduces something associated with or included in the note: een notitie met voorbeelden means “a note with examples.” schermafbeeldingen means “screenshots”. It is the plural of schermafbeelding, a compound noun referring to images captured from a screen. The plural ending is -en; the form schermafbeelding is singular. zou moeten is a reusable modal construction meaning “should” in this sentence. zou is a form of zullen, while moeten is the infinitive “to have to / must”; together here they express an expectation or intended likelihood rather than a direct command. The lexical verb after this construction remains an infinitive: zou moeten werken means “should work.” helpen is the infinitive “to help”. It follows zou moeten and means that the note is expected to be useful or effective. A simple example is Dit zou moeten helpen. — “This should help.” The sentence begins with Een korte notitie: “a short note.” met schermafbeeldingen adds the accompanying content, “with screenshots.” The subject is therefore a short note containing screenshots. zou moeten helpen says that this note is expected to help, producing the complete meaning: “A short note with screenshots should help.”

10. Dat maakt de boodschap makkelijker om rustig over te brengen.

    That will make the message easier to deliver calmly.

    Dat

    That

    maakt

    makes

    boodschap

    message

    makkelijker

    easier

    rustig

    calmly

    over te brengen

    to deliver

    More detail

    Dat is the subject meaning “that.” Here it points to the relevant preceding idea or proposed action, rather than naming a new participant. Dutch uses dat for a singular neuter het-word and also for a previously mentioned situation or proposition; the context supports the latter kind of reference here. maakt is the present-tense form of maken (“to make”). With a singular subject such as dat, the form is maakt; the infinitive is maken. In this sentence, maken has the causative pattern “make something [adjective]”: it describes a change in how easy the message is to deliver. boodschap means “message.” Its ordinary plural is boodschappen; the singular indefinite form is een boodschap, while this sentence uses de boodschap because the message is treated as identifiable in the situation. The noun itself is not marked for the comparison expressed later. makkelijker is the comparative of makkelijk (“easy” or “easy to use”). The chain is makkelijk → makkelijker → het makkelijkst (“easiest”). Here makkelijker says that delivering the message will be easier than it otherwise would be; the comparison standard is understood from the situation rather than stated. rustig means “calmly” here. The same form can also be an adjective meaning “calm” or “quiet,” but here it describes the manner of delivering, so it functions adverbially. For example, Lees de boodschap rustig means “Read the message calmly.” over te brengen is the infinitive of the separable verb overbrengen, used here in the sense “to deliver” or “to convey.” In an om ... te infinitive construction, te appears between the separable particle over and the verb form brengen: om ... over te brengen. The particle belongs with brengen; it is not a separate meaning-bearing verb in this phrase. Together, dat maakt gives “that makes,” de boodschap makkelijker gives “the message easier,” and rustig over te brengen gives “to deliver calmly.” The full pattern is iets maakt [object] [comparative adjective] om ... te + verb: something makes it easier to perform an action. Thus the whole utterance means: “That will make the message easier to deliver calmly.” The present form maakt can express a result viewed as applying now or in the relevant future situation; the fixed translation presents that result with “will make.”