Using Example Sentences to Learn New Vocabulary | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik onthoud nieuwe woorden tijdens het studeren.

   I remember new words during study time.

   onthoud

   remember

   nieuwe

   new

   woorden

   words

   tijdens

   during

   het studeren

   studying

   More detail

   onthoud means “remember” here. It is the first-person singular present form of onthouden (“to remember”): ik onthoud = “I remember.” The form is chosen because the subject is ik; Dutch present-tense verbs commonly use the stem for first-person singular. Example: Ik onthoud de naam. — “I remember the name.” nieuwe means “new” and describes woorden. Its base form is nieuw; before this plural noun, the adjective has the form nieuwe. Example: nieuwe boeken — “new books.” woorden means “words.” It is the plural of woord (“word”). Example: Ik leer nieuwe woorden. — “I learn new words.” tijdens means “during” and introduces the period in which something happens. It is a preposition, so it links the action to a time or event: tijdens de les means “during the lesson.” het studeren means “studying” or “study time.” studeren is the infinitive “to study”; with het, it is used as a noun-like activity. This construction names the activity as the time period, rather than naming a specific lesson. Example: Tijdens het studeren luister ik naar muziek. — “During studying, I listen to music.” Together, Ik onthoud nieuwe woorden means “I remember new words.” Adding tijdens het studeren specifies when this happens: “I remember new words during study time.”

2. Maar ik vergeet ze wanneer ik probeer te spreken.

   But I forget them when I try to speak.

   Maar

   but

   vergeet

   forget

   ze

   them

   wanneer

   when

   probeer

   try

   te spreken

   to speak

   More detail

   Maar links this utterance to the preceding idea with contrast: “but.” It is a coordinating conjunction, so it connects the main statement to what came before without changing the word order inside the statement. vergeet means “forget” here. Its base form is vergeten; vergeet is the present-tense form used with ik (“I”). Compare ik vergeet (“I forget”) with wij vergeten (“we forget”). Example: Ik vergeet zijn naam. — “I forget his name.” ze is the unstressed object pronoun meaning “them” in this sentence. The fixed translation and surrounding context support the reading that it refers to the words being discussed. Dutch ze can have other grammatical roles in other contexts, so its exact function here comes from its position as the object of vergeet and from the meaning of the sentence. wanneer introduces a time clause: “when.” In the clause that follows, Dutch places the finite verb later than it would appear in a basic main clause. Example: Ik bel je wanneer ik thuis ben. — “I’ll call you when I’m home.” probeer means “try.” Its base form is proberen; probeer is the present-tense form with ik. A useful pattern is proberen te + infinitive, meaning “try to” do something. Example: Ik probeer te lezen. — “I try to read.” te spreken means “to speak.” spreken is the infinitive, and te marks the infinitive in the construction proberen te spreken. Here, spreken is the action being attempted; te is not a separate object or participant. Example: Zij probeert duidelijk te spreken. — “She tries to speak clearly.” Together, ik vergeet ze means “I forget them,” and wanneer ik probeer te spreken specifies when this happens: “when I try to speak.” The complete utterance is therefore: “But I forget them when I try to speak.”

3. De woorden zijn misschien niet verbonden met situaties waarin je ze echt zou gebruiken.

   The words may not be connected to situations where you would actually use them.

   woorden

   words

   zijn

   are / be

   misschien

   maybe

   verbonden met

   connected with

   situaties

   situations

   waarin

   where / in which

   je

   you

   ze

   them

   echt

   actually

   zou

   would

   gebruiken

   use

   More detail

   woorden is the plural of woord, “word.” The ending -en commonly marks the plural of this noun: één woord = “one word,” twee woorden = “two words.” Here it is the subject of the sentence. zijn is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) used with the plural subject de woorden. The useful present-tense contrast is ik ben (“I am”) but wij/de woorden zijn (“we/the words are”). In this sentence, zijn links the subject to the description verbonden met situaties. misschien means “maybe” or “perhaps.” It marks the statement as uncertain: the speaker says that the connection may not exist, rather than asserting its absence as certain. Example: Misschien komt hij morgen. — “Maybe he will come tomorrow.” verbonden met means “connected with/to.” Verbonden is the past participle of verbinden (“to connect”), used here as a description after zijn; met introduces what something is connected to. Example: Deze twee ideeën zijn met elkaar verbonden. — “These two ideas are connected to each other.” situaties is the plural of situatie, “situation.” The phrase verbonden met situaties means “connected to situations.” Example: We oefenen in verschillende situaties. — “We practise in different situations.” waarin means “in which” and introduces a relative clause describing the situations. It combines the relative element waar with in; the preposition is represented inside this form rather than appearing separately before the relative clause. Example: Dit is de kamer waarin ik werk. — “This is the room in which I work.” je means “you” here and is the subject of zou gebruiken. In Dutch, je can refer to one person or to more than one person; this sentence does not by itself require a number distinction. It can also function as an object pronoun in other sentences, so its grammatical role must be determined from the construction. ze is an object pronoun meaning “them” here. The fixed translation identifies its referent as the words, so ze receives the action of gebruiken; it is not the subject of that verb. Dutch ze can have other uses in other contexts, but this occurrence is plural object “them.” echt means “actually” or “really.” Here it emphasizes the reality of using the words: “actually use them.” Example: Ik wil dit echt begrijpen. — “I really want to understand this.” zou is a finite form of zullen, used with je in je zou ... gebruiken. In this construction it expresses “would” in the imagined situation. The form zou is also used with other singular subjects, while plural subjects use zouden; the form itself does not establish whether je refers to one person or more than one. The following verb stays in the infinitive: zou gebruiken, not a past-tense form of gebruiken. Example: Je zou dit boek kunnen lezen. — “You could read this book.” gebruiken is the infinitive “to use.” With zou, it remains in the infinitive at the end of the relative clause. Its present-tense forms include ik gebruik (“I use”) and je gebruikt (“you use”); after a modal or conditional auxiliary, use gebruiken: je zou ze gebruiken = “you would use them.” The sentence builds as De woorden (“the words”) + zijn misschien niet verbonden met (“may not be connected to”) + situaties (“situations”) + waarin je ze echt zou gebruiken (“in which you would actually use them”). Thus, the words may not be connected to situations in which you would actually use them. The niet negates verbonden, while misschien makes the whole negative claim uncertain.

4. Ik schrijf meestal de vertaling op en bekijk dezelfde lijst later opnieuw.

   I usually write the translation and review the same list later.

   schrijf … op

   write down

   meestal

   usually

   vertaling

   translation

   bekijk

   review; look at

   dezelfde

   same

   lijst

   list

   later

   later

   opnieuw

   again

   More detail

   schrijf ... op is the separable verb opschrijven, “to write down.” In this sentence, schrijf is the present-tense form with ik; the particle op moves to the end of the clause. A useful pattern is ik schrijf ... op = “I write ... down.” Example: Ik schrijf het adres op. — “I write down the address.” meestal means “usually” and describes what happens in most cases, not every time. It commonly appears near the verb: Ik lees meestal 's avonds. — “I usually read in the evening.” vertaling is a noun meaning “translation.” The form in the sentence is singular and takes the article de: de vertaling. Its plural is vertalingen: de vertalingen — “the translations.” bekijk comes from bekijken, “to look at” or “to review.” With ik, the present form is bekijk; with a third-person singular subject, it is also bekijkt. Example: Ik bekijk de foto. — “I look at the photo.” In this sentence, the intended meaning is reviewing the list. dezelfde means “the same.” Before a singular de noun or any plural noun, Dutch uses dezelfde; before a singular het noun, it uses hetzelfde. Thus dezelfde lijst means “the same list,” while hetzelfde boek means “the same book.” lijst is a noun meaning “list.” It is a singular de noun: de lijst; its plural is lijsten: de lijsten — “the lists.” later means “later,” at a time after the relevant earlier action or time. Example: We praten later. — “We will talk later.” opnieuw means “again” or “anew.” It marks repetition: Lees de zin opnieuw. — “Read the sentence again.” The conjunction en joins the two actions. First, Ik schrijf de vertaling op means “I write down the translation,” with op completing the separable verb. Then bekijk dezelfde lijst later opnieuw means “review the same list again later.” Together, the utterance means: “I usually write the translation down and review the same list later.”

5. Probeer voor elk nuttig woord één eenvoudige voorbeeldzin toe te voegen.

   Try adding one simple example sentence for each useful word.

   Probeer

   try

   voor elk

   for each

   nuttig

   useful

   woord

   word

   één

   one

   eenvoudige

   simple

   voorbeeldzin

   example sentence

   toe te voegen

   to add

   More detail

   Probeer is the imperative form of proberen (“to try”). This bare imperative can address one or more people; the form itself does not mark number or formality. The subject is normally omitted in an imperative: Probeer het opnieuw. means “Try it again.” voor elk means “for each.” elk is used with a singular noun to refer to every individual member of a group; it does not itself assert a total number. Compare elk woord (“each word”) with alle woorden (“all words”). nuttig means “useful.” Here it is an adjective placed before woord. In elk nuttig woord, it has the form nuttig, without -e, because woord is a singular neuter noun after elk. A reusable example is Dat is een nuttig boek. — “That is a useful book.” woord means “word.” Its plural is woorden: een woord means “a word,” while woorden means “words.” één is the numeral “one,” with an accent marking the explicit number. It is different from the unstressed article een, which can mean “a/an” without stating a count. Here één eenvoudige voorbeeldzin specifically asks for one sentence. eenvoudige means “simple.” Its base form is eenvoudig; the -e form is used here before the singular common-gender noun voorbeeldzin in this noun phrase. For example, een eenvoudige vraag means “a simple question.” voorbeeldzin is a compound noun meaning “example sentence”: voorbeeld (“example”) + zin (“sentence”). Its plural is voorbeeldzinnen. The compound is one noun, so its plural marking appears at the end. toe te voegen is the infinitive construction of the separable verb toevoegen, “to add.” In this te-infinitive, the parts appear as toe te voegen. In a finite clause, the separable parts can split: Ik voeg een woord toe. — “I add a word.” Together with Probeer, the pattern is Probeer ... toe te voegen (“Try to add ...”). The sentence therefore assembles as: Probeer (“Try”) + voor elk nuttig woord (“for each useful word”) + één eenvoudige voorbeeldzin (“one simple example sentence”) + toe te voegen (“to add”). Its complete meaning is: “Try adding one simple example sentence for each useful word.”

6. Ik kan zinnen schrijven over werk, boodschappen doen of berichten aan vrienden.

   I can write sentences about work, shopping, or messages to friends.

   Ik kan

   I can

   zinnen

   sentences

   schrijven

   write

   werk

   work

   boodschappen doen

   shopping

   berichten

   messages

   vrienden

   friends

   More detail

   Ik kan combines the subject ik (“I”) with kan, the first-person singular present form of kunnen (“can/be able to”). In this sentence it expresses ability. A modal such as kan is followed by an infinitive: Ik kan schrijven = “I can write.” The form kan is also used with hij, zij, or het; the subject identifies who is able to do something. zinnen means “sentences” here. It is the plural of zin (“sentence”). The plural ending is part of the noun: één zin = “one sentence,” twee zinnen = “two sentences.” Example: Ik schrijf korte zinnen. — “I write short sentences.” schrijven is the infinitive “to write.” After kan, it stays in the infinitive rather than changing to a present-tense form. The related first-person present form is ik schrijf (“I write”), but Ik kan schrijven means “I can write.” werk means “work” as a general topic or activity. It is a noun, and after over it is used here without an article: schrijven over werk = “write about work.” Example: We praten over werk. — “We talk about work.” boodschappen doen is a reusable Dutch expression meaning “to do the shopping” or simply “to shop.” doen is the infinitive “to do,” and boodschappen is the plural noun used in this fixed expression. Example: Ik ga boodschappen doen. — “I am going shopping.” berichten means “messages” here. It is the plural of bericht (“message”). The phrase berichten aan vrienden means “messages to friends”: aan marks the recipients. Example: Zij stuurt berichten aan haar vrienden. — “She sends messages to her friends.” vrienden means “friends.” It is the plural of vriend (“friend”). In aan vrienden, it identifies the recipients in a general, non-specific way. Example: Ik schrijf aan mijn vrienden. — “I write to my friends.” The sentence begins with the reusable ability pattern Ik kan and then places the infinitive schrijven after it. The object zinnen tells us what is written. The preposition over introduces the topics, which are coordinated as werk, boodschappen doen, or berichten aan vrienden. Thus the whole utterance means: “I can write sentences about work, shopping, or messages to friends.”

7. Door die situaties kun je de betekenis tijdens een gesprek gemakkelijker onthouden.

   Those situations will make the meaning easier to recall during conversation.

   Door

   through; by means of

   die

   those

   situaties

   situations

   kun je

   you can

   de betekenis

   the meaning

   tijdens

   during

   een gesprek

   a conversation

   gemakkelijker

   easier

   onthouden

   remember; retain

   More detail

   Door means “through” or “by means of” here: it introduces what helps produce the result. For example, Door veel te oefenen leer je sneller. means “By practising a lot, you learn faster.” It is different from voor, which commonly means “for” in a purpose or recipient sense. die means “those” and points to plural entities. In Dutch, die is used with plural nouns, while dit is used with singular het-words and deze with singular de-words or plural nouns. Here, die agrees in number with situaties; its exact reference is supplied by the surrounding meaning rather than by the word alone. situaties is the plural of situatie, “situation.” The plural ending is -s: een situatie becomes situaties. For example, Deze situaties zijn leerzaam. means “These situations are instructive.” kun je combines kunnen (“can, be able to”) with je (“you”). kun is the second-person singular form of kunnen. Because Door die situaties comes first, the finite verb comes before the subject in this declarative clause: kun je. The infinitive that belongs with the modal is placed at the end of the clause. For example, Morgen kun je oefenen. means “Tomorrow you can practise.” de betekenis means “the meaning.” Betekenis is a common-gender noun, so its definite article is de: de betekenis. Its plural is betekenissen, “meanings.” Tijdens means “during” and introduces the time period in which something happens. It is followed here by the noun phrase een gesprek, “a conversation.” For example, Tijdens de les lees ik. means “During the lesson, I read.” een gesprek means “a conversation.” Gesprek is a het-word, so the indefinite article is een and the definite form is het gesprek; een does not itself state a numerical count here. The plural is gesprekken, “conversations.” For example, We hebben een gesprek. means “We have a conversation.” gemakkelijker means “easier.” It is the comparative form of gemakkelijk, “easy,” and compares the difficulty of recalling the meaning with some understood alternative or baseline. The basic chain is gemakkelijk → gemakkelijker → het gemakkelijkst (“easy” → “easier” → “easiest”). For example, Met een voorbeeld is het gemakkelijker. means “With an example, it is easier.” onthouden means “to remember” or “to retain.” It is the infinitive of the inseparable verb onthouden; in this sentence it follows the modal verb kun, because Dutch modal verbs combine with an infinitive at the end of the clause. For example, Ik wil dit woord onthouden. means “I want to remember this word.” Together, Door die situaties identifies the situations as the means, kun je expresses ability or an enabling effect, and de betekenis ... onthouden means “remember the meaning.” Tijdens een gesprek specifies when that remembering happens, while gemakkelijker says that it becomes easier. The complete utterance therefore means: “Those situations will make the meaning easier to recall during conversation.”

8. Ik zou waarschijnlijk minder woorden moeten leren en ze vaker moeten gebruiken.

   I should probably study fewer words and use them more often.

   Ik zou

   I would

   waarschijnlijk

   probably

   minder

   fewer

   woorden

   words

   moeten

   have to / need to

   leren

   learn; study

   ze

   them

   vaker

   more often

   gebruiken

   use

   More detail

   Ik zou means “I would” as a first-person singular conditional form. zou is the relevant form of zullen; here it combines with moeten to make a tentative recommendation. The subject is Ik (“I”), and zou is the finite verb. waarschijnlijk means “probably”. It presents the recommendation as likely or tentative rather than completely certain. minder means “fewer” before the plural count noun woorden. It is the comparative form related to weinig (“few”): weinig → minder → minst (“fewest” or “least”). Example: Ik koop minder boeken. — “I buy fewer books.” woorden means “words” here. Its base form is woord (“word”); woorden is its plural. Example: Nieuwe woorden helpen me. — “New words help me.” moeten means “have to” or “need to” as the modal infinitive in this combination. In zou ... moeten, zou carries the conditional form while moeten remains an infinitive. Together, zou moeten commonly expresses “should” or, in another context, “would have to”. leren means “learn” or, in this context, “study”. It is an infinitive after the modal construction. Example: Ik moet deze regel leren. — “I have to learn this rule.” ze means “them” here: it is the unstressed plural object pronoun for the words mentioned in the sentence. Its exact role is supported by its position and by the fixed translation. The same form can have other grammatical functions in Dutch, so those functions must be determined from context. vaker means “more often”. It is the comparative of vaak (“often”): vaak → vaker → het vaakst (“most often”). Example: Ik oefen vaker. — “I practise more often.” gebruiken means “use”. It is an infinitive coordinated with leren, and ze is its object. Example: Ik wil deze woorden gebruiken. — “I want to use these words.” The sentence combines the tentative form Ik zou ... moeten with waarschijnlijk and two coordinated actions: minder woorden leren (“study fewer words”) and ze vaker gebruiken (“use them more often”). The infinitives make the two actions parallel. Altogether: “I should probably study fewer words and use them more often.”

9. Door de woorden vaak te gebruiken, worden ze onderdeel van je actieve woordenschat.

   Repeated use will help the words become part of your active vocabulary.

   Door … te gebruiken

   by using

   woorden

   words

   vaak

   often

   worden

   become

   onderdeel

   part

   actieve

   active

   woordenschat

   vocabulary

   More detail

   Door and te gebruiken: Together, these form the reusable pattern door te + infinitive, meaning “by doing something.” The infinitive is gebruiken (“to use”); te marks it in this construction. Here, using the words often is presented as the way the result is achieved. Example: Door veel te lezen, leer je nieuwe woorden. — “By reading a lot, you learn new words.” woorden: This is the plural of woord, “word.” Dutch commonly forms the plural with -en here: woord → woorden. In this sentence it is the object of gebruiken, and it is also the noun referred to later by ze (“they/them”). vaak: This adverb means “often” or “frequently.” It modifies the activity te gebruiken, so the sentence concerns using the words frequently, not merely using them once. Example: Ik oefen vaak. — “I practise often.” worden: This is the present-tense plural form of worden, whose base form means “to become” in this use. The plural subject is ze, referring here to de woorden, so Dutch uses worden; with a singular subject, the corresponding present form is wordt, as in Het wordt beter. — “It is becoming better.” Worden can also function in passive constructions, but here it expresses becoming because it is followed by onderdeel van. onderdeel: This noun means “part” or “component.” The reusable pattern onderdeel van means “part of”: Zij is onderdeel van het team. — “She is part of the team.” The preposition van introduces what something belongs to or forms part of. actieve: This is the -e form of the adjective actief, “active,” used before the noun woordenschat. The adjective describes the vocabulary as vocabulary that the learner actively uses, rather than merely recognizes. The form actieve is an adjective inflection; it is not a form of woordenschat. woordenschat: This noun means “vocabulary,” the set of words someone knows or uses. In je actieve woordenschat, je means “your,” and actieve describes this vocabulary. The sentence begins with the method: Door de woorden vaak te gebruiken — “By using the words often.” The main clause is worden ze onderdeel van je actieve woordenschat: literally, “they become part of your active vocabulary.” Ze refers to the words, and worden agrees with this plural subject. Together, the whole utterance means: “Repeated use will help the words become part of your active vocabulary.”

10. Ik zal een kleine groep woorden kiezen en na de les persoonlijke voorbeelden schrijven.

    I will choose a small set and write personal examples after class.

    Ik zal

    I will

    kleine

    small

    groep

    group

    woorden

    words

    kiezen

    choose

    na de les

    after class

    persoonlijke

    personal

    voorbeelden

    examples

    schrijven

    write

    More detail

    Ik zal means “I will.” zal is the first-person singular present form of zullen, used here as a future auxiliary with the infinitives kiezen and schrijven. The subject Ik is “I”, and zal matches that first-person singular subject. Dutch can also use the present tense for a future event when the time is clear, but this sentence explicitly presents the actions with zullen. kleine means “small.” It is the inflected form of klein before groep. In een kleine groep, groep is a singular common-gender noun and the phrase has the indefinite article een; those conditions require the adjective’s -e form. Singularity by itself would not be enough: a singular indefinite neuter noun can take the uninflected adjective, as in een klein huis — “a small house.” The base form is klein; a useful comparison is kleiner “smaller.” Example: een kleine tafel — “a small table.” groep means “group.” Its plural is groepen. Here it is singular, referring to one group. The following woorden specifies what the group consists of: words. woorden means “words.” It is the plural of woord “word.” Dutch plural formation is not always identical across nouns, so learn this pair as woord → woorden. Example: Ik leer nieuwe woorden. — “I learn new words.” kiezen means “choose.” It is an infinitive following the auxiliary zal; the infinitive does not change for the first-person subject in this construction. The simple present has ik kies “I choose”, while kiezen is the dictionary form and infinitive. Example: Ik kies één onderwerp. — “I choose one topic.” na de les means “after class” or “after the lesson.” na places the event after a time or event, and de les is “the class/lesson.” The fixed translation selects the class-related reading here. Example: Na de les drink ik koffie. — “After class, I drink coffee.” persoonlijke means “personal.” It is the -e form of the adjective persoonlijk before the plural noun voorbeelden; attributive adjectives take this form with plural nouns. Example: persoonlijke vragen — “personal questions.” The adjective describes the examples; it does not mean that the examples are necessarily private in every possible context. voorbeelden means “examples.” It is the plural of voorbeeld “example.” The plural ending here is -en: voorbeeld → voorbeelden. Example: Dit zijn goede voorbeelden. — “These are good examples.” schrijven means “write.” Like kiezen, it is an infinitive governed by zal, and it is coordinated with kiezen by en “and”. A useful present-tense form is ik schrijf “I write”; the infinitive is schrijven. Example: Ik schrijf een korte tekst. — “I write a short text.” Putting the parts together, Ik zal introduces the speaker’s future actions. The first action is een kleine groep woorden kiezen, “choose a small group of words”, and en joins it to the second action, na de les persoonlijke voorbeelden schrijven, “write personal examples after class”. Thus the complete utterance means: “I will choose a small set and write personal examples after class.”

11. Die routine zou het oefenen van je woordenschat praktischer moeten maken.

    That routine should make your vocabulary practice more practical.

    Die

    that

    routine

    routine

    zou

    should

    het oefenen

    the practice

    woordenschat

    vocabulary

    praktischer

    more practical

    maken

    make

    More detail

    Die is a demonstrative determiner meaning “that” here. It stands before routine and matches this singular de-word noun. The form die is also used with plural nouns, while dat is used with a singular het-word noun; the choice is therefore not based on singularity alone. routine means “routine.” It is a noun; its plural is routines. In this sentence it is the subject of the clause. zou is a form of zullen. In this construction, zou helps express an expected or intended result, close to “should” in the fixed translation. A useful pattern is zou ... moeten + infinitive: “should / would have to ...”. The subject is die routine, so the singular form zou is used; the form does not change for masculine or feminine noun gender here. het oefenen turns the verb oefenen (“to practise”) into a noun-like activity: “the practice” or “practising.” The article het is part of this nominalized infinitive construction. Compare Ik oefen (“I practise”) with het oefenen (“practising / the practice”). woordenschat means “vocabulary.” In het oefenen van je woordenschat, van introduces what is being practised, and je means “your”; together, the phrase means “practising your vocabulary.” Woordenschat commonly refers to vocabulary as a body of words rather than to one individual word. praktischer is the comparative of praktisch, “practical”: praktisch → praktischer (“more practical”). The ending -er is attached to the adjective itself, not to routine or woordenschat. The comparison here presents the practice as more practical than it was or than another possible way of practising, without specifying the comparison explicitly. maken is the infinitive of maken, “to make.” After moeten, the lexical verb remains an infinitive, as in Je moet oefenen (“You must practise”). Here the full modal sequence is zou ... moeten maken: zou frames the expected result, moeten contributes the “should / have to” relation, and maken expresses causing something to become a certain way. Putting the parts together, Die routine is the subject; zou ... moeten maken says that it should make something become a certain way; and het oefenen van je woordenschat is what becomes praktischer. The whole utterance therefore means: “That routine should make your vocabulary practice more practical.”