Catching up after missed classes | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik heb onlangs een paar lessen gemist en loop achter.

   I missed some classes recently and feel behind.

   Ik heb

   I have

   onlangs

   recently

   een paar

   a few; some

   lessen

   classes

   gemist

   missed

   loop achter

   am behind

   More detail

   Ik heb is the first-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”). Here it is the auxiliary in the Dutch perfect: ik heb + a past participle. For example, Ik heb gewerkt means “I have worked” or “I worked,” depending on context. onlangs means “recently” and places the missed event in the recent past. It is a useful time adverb and does not itself mark the verb tense. een paar means “a few” or, as in the fixed translation, “some.” It is a compact quantity expression used before a plural noun: een paar vragen means “a few questions.” The article een here is part of the expression; the phrase does not by itself require an exact numerical count in the translation. lessen is the plural of les, “class” or “lesson.” The plural ending is -en: een les is “a class/lesson,” while lessen is “classes/lessons.” gemist is the past participle of missen, “to miss.” In this sentence it means not attending the classes, not failing to notice them. With the auxiliary hebben, the perfect is heb gemist: Ik heb de les gemist means “I missed the class.” loop achter combines the first-person singular present form loop of lopen (“walk” or “run”) with achter (“behind”). Together, in this context, achterlopen is an idiomatic separable verb meaning “to be behind” in progress. The present form is split here: Ik loop achter. This is different from the physical use in Ik loop achter hem, “I walk behind him.” The whole utterance follows this pattern: Ik heb + time expression + quantity and plural noun + past participle, then en (“and”) + loop achter. Thus Ik heb onlangs een paar lessen gemist means “I missed some classes recently,” and loop achter adds that the speaker is now behind in progress. The complete meaning is: “I missed some classes recently and feel behind.”

2. Je kunt de achterstand inhalen.

   You can catch up.

   Je kunt

   you can

   achterstand

   backlog; deficit

   inhalen

   catch up; make up lost ground

   More detail

   Je kunt means “you can” here: je is the informal singular “you,” and kunt is the present form of kunnen used with je. Kunnen expresses ability or possibility. After a modal verb such as kunnen, the other verb normally stays in the infinitive and comes later in the clause. Example: Je kunt beginnen. — “You can begin.” de achterstand refers here to the state or amount of being behind, matching the earlier context about missed lessons. Achterstand is a de-word noun; its useful opposite is voorsprong (“lead” or “advantage”). Example: De achterstand wordt kleiner. — “The gap is becoming smaller.” inhalen means “to catch up” or “to make up lost ground.” It is the infinitive of the separable verb inhalen; in this sentence it remains together because it follows the modal kunt. In a main clause without a modal, the parts can separate: Je haalt de achterstand in. — “You catch up.” Together, Je kunt de achterstand inhalen says that you have the ability or possibility to catch up on the amount by which you are behind. The complete meaning is: “You can catch up.”

3. Maar als je alles tegelijk probeert te leren, wordt het moeilijker.

   But trying to learn everything at once will make it harder.

   Maar

   but

   als je

   if you

   alles

   everything

   tegelijk

   at once

   probeert

   tries

   te leren

   to learn

   wordt

   becomes

   het

   it

   moeilijker

   harder

   More detail

   Maar means “but” and links this sentence to something contrasting or qualifying what came before. als je introduces a condition: als means “if” here, and je is the informal singular subject “you.” Dutch als can also mean “when” in suitable contexts, but this sentence presents a condition. alles is the pronoun “everything.” Here it refers to the complete set of things being learned, without naming those things individually. A useful contrast is iets (“something”) versus alles (“everything”). tegelijk means “at the same time.” Together, alles tegelijk means “everything at once.” probeert is the present-tense form of proberen (“to try”) with the subject je: je probeert means “you try” or “you are trying.” The pattern proberen te + infinitive expresses trying to do something. Example: Ik probeer te slapen. — “I am trying to sleep.” te leren contains te plus the infinitive leren (“to learn”). After proberen, the action being attempted is expressed with te and an infinitive: proberen te leren means “to try to learn.” wordt is the third-person singular present form of worden (“to become”). It appears with the subject het: het wordt means “it becomes” or, in this conditional context, “it will become.” het is the pronoun “it.” Its exact referent is not separately identified here; it functions as the subject whose degree of difficulty changes. Dutch het can also be the neuter definite article (“the”), but that is not its role here. moeilijker is the comparative form of the adjective moeilijk (“difficult”): moeilijk → moeilijker, “difficult” → “more difficult” or “harder.” The ending -er marks the comparative. Example: Deze oefening is moeilijker. — “This exercise is harder.” As a whole, als je alles tegelijk probeert te leren forms the condition, “if you try to learn everything at once.” The main clause wordt het moeilijker gives the consequence, “it will become harder.” Together with Maar, the complete meaning is: “But trying to learn everything at once will make it harder.”

4. Kun je me vertellen welke opdracht ik eerst moet doen?

   Could you tell me which assignment I should handle first?

   Kun je

   could you

   vertellen

   tell

   welke

   which

   opdracht

   assignment

   eerst

   first

   moet

   should

   doen

   do or handle

   More detail

   Kun je combines kunnen (“can/be able to”) with je (“you”). kun is the present-tense form used with je when the verb comes before the subject, as in a question: Kun je ...? This is a common, polite way to ask whether someone can do something, and often functions like “Could you ...?” in English. Compare the non-inverted order Je kunt ... (“You can ...”). vertellen is the infinitive “to tell”. After a modal verb such as kunnen, the other verb normally remains in the infinitive: Kun je me helpen? = “Can you help me?” The short form me means “me” here. welke means “which” and asks the listener to identify one choice from a relevant set. It is used with a noun: welke opdracht = “which assignment”. It is not the same as wat (“what”), which is commonly used without this kind of noun directly after it. opdracht is a noun meaning “assignment” here. Its plural is opdrachten: twee opdrachten = “two assignments”. The form welke opdracht refers to the assignment to be selected, without itself stating how many assignments there are in total. eerst is the adverb “first”. It marks priority or order: Doe dit eerst. = “Do this first.” In this sentence, it asks which assignment should be handled before the others. moet comes from moeten, “must/need to”. Here it is the present form with the subject ik (“I”): ik moet. In this question, the fixed translation appropriately renders it as “should”, because the speaker is asking about the task the speaker is expected to handle. With jij/je, the corresponding form is moet as well: Je moet beginnen. = “You must start.” doen is the infinitive “to do”; with an assignment, it can naturally mean “to do” or “to handle”. The combination een opdracht doen describes carrying out the assignment, while doen by itself has many broader uses depending on its object. The meaningful structure is Kun je me vertellen ...? (“Could you tell me ...?”) followed by the embedded question welke opdracht ik eerst moet doen (“which assignment I should handle first”). In that embedded clause, ik is the subject of moet doen, and the finite verb moet appears before the infinitive doen, while the verb group comes at the end of the clause. Together, the utterance asks the other person to identify the assignment that the speaker should handle first.

5. De mondelinge samenvatting moet binnenkort worden ingeleverd, en het werkblad kan wachten tot later.

   The speaking summary is due soon, and the worksheet can wait until later.

   mondelinge

   spoken; oral

   samenvatting

   summary

   moet

   must; needs to

   binnenkort

   soon

   worden ingeleverd

   be submitted

   werkblad

   worksheet

   kan wachten

   can wait

   tot later

   until later

   More detail

   mondelinge describes the summary as oral or spoken. Its base form is mondeling; before a singular noun with de, the attributive adjective has the -e form: de mondelinge samenvatting. Example: een mondelinge opdracht means “an oral assignment.” samenvatting means “summary.” It is a noun formed from samenvatten (“to summarize”), but learn the noun as the item that presents the main points briefly. Example: Ik schrijf een samenvatting. — “I am writing a summary.” moet is the present-tense form of moeten for ik, jij/je, and hij/zij/het in the relevant singular uses. Here it expresses obligation: the summary is required to be submitted. With a plural subject, the corresponding present form is moeten: De opdrachten moeten worden ingeleverd. — “The assignments must be submitted.” binnenkort means “soon,” referring to a near future time. It is different from later, which places something at a time after now without specifying that it is near. Example: De les begint binnenkort. — “The lesson starts soon.” worden ingeleverd is part of a passive construction meaning “be submitted” or “be handed in.” In this sentence, worden is the infinitive of worden, required after the modal moet; ingeleverd is the past participle of inleveren (“to submit” or “hand in”). The thing being submitted appears as the grammatical subject: Het formulier wordt morgen ingeleverd. — “The form will be submitted tomorrow.” Together, moet ... worden ingeleverd says that something is required to undergo submission; the person who submits it is not stated. Thus De mondelinge samenvatting moet binnenkort worden ingeleverd means “The oral summary must be submitted soon.” werkblad means “worksheet,” a sheet or document used for an exercise or task. It is a noun, and its plural is werkbladen. Example: Het werkblad ligt op tafel. — “The worksheet is on the table.” kan wachten means “can wait.” kan is the singular present form of kunnen (“can, be able to”), while wachten is the infinitive “to wait.” Here kan expresses that postponing the worksheet is possible or acceptable, not physical ability. Example: De afspraak kan wachten. — “The appointment can wait.” tot later means “until later.” tot marks the endpoint of the waiting period, and later means “later.” The comparative form later is related to laat (“late”); in this time expression it means a later time. Example: Dat bewaren we tot later. — “We will save that for later.” The full utterance joins two clauses with en (“and”): De mondelinge samenvatting moet binnenkort worden ingeleverd states that the oral summary must be submitted soon, while het werkblad kan wachten tot later states that the worksheet may be postponed until a later time. The complete meaning is: “The speaking summary is due soon, and the worksheet can wait until later.”

6. Dan moet ik met de spreekopdracht beginnen.

   Then I should start with the speaking task.

   Dan

   then

   moet ik

   I should

   spreekopdracht

   speaking task

   beginnen

   to start

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here: it links this action to the situation already established. In other contexts it can refer to a later time, but here it marks the next step. moet ik combines the finite form moet of moeten with ik, “I”. The fixed translation gives the intended meaning “should” here; moeten can also express stronger necessity in other contexts. With Dan at the start, Dutch places the finite verb before the subject: Dan moet ik .... The form is moet with ik, jij, and hij/zij; it is moeten with wij, jullie, and zij when plural. Example: Wij moeten beginnen. — “We have to start.” spreekopdracht means “speaking task”. It is a compound noun related to speaking, and opdracht means “task” or “assignment”. In this sentence it appears with the article de: de spreekopdracht. Example: De spreekopdracht is kort. — “The speaking task is short.” beginnen is the infinitive “to start” or “to begin”. A useful pattern is beginnen met + a noun, meaning “to start with” something. Here, met de spreekopdracht beginnen means “to start with the speaking task”. After the modal verb moet, the lexical verb remains in the infinitive. Together, Dan moet ik met de spreekopdracht beginnen. means “Then I should start with the speaking task.” Dan marks the sequence, moet ik expresses the speaker’s intended necessity or recommendation in this context, and met de spreekopdracht beginnen identifies what the speaker starts with.

7. Begin daarmee en vraag de docent om aantekeningen van de lessen die je hebt gemist.

   Start there, and ask the teacher for notes from the classes you missed.

   Begin

   start; begin

   daarmee

   with that; with it

   vraag … om

   ask for

   docent

   teacher

   aantekeningen

   notes

   lessen

   lessons; classes

   gemist

   missed

   More detail

   Begin is the imperative of beginnen (“to start, begin”). The imperative has the same form for singular and plural: Begin! can address one person or more than one. Example: Begin met de oefening. — “Start the exercise.” daarmee means “with that” or “with it.” It is a Dutch pronominal adverb: daar (“there/that”) combines with mee (“with”). The form refers to something identifiable from the situation; it does not itself specify the referent. A useful pattern is beginnen met iets / beginnen daarmee: “to start with something / to start with that.” vraag ... om is the reusable construction “ask for ...”. Vraag is the imperative of vragen (“to ask”), and om introduces what is requested. Example: Vraag om hulp. — “Ask for help.” This construction is different from simply asking someone a question, which commonly uses iemand iets vragen (“ask someone something”). docent means “teacher” or “instructor,” especially in an educational setting. It is a singular noun; its plural is docenten. In vraag de docent, de marks the specific teacher intended in this situation. aantekeningen means “notes.” It is the plural of aantekening (“note”). Dutch uses the plural here because the requested material consists of notes, without the sentence specifying an exact number. Example: Ik maak aantekeningen. — “I take notes.” lessen means “lessons” or “classes.” It is the plural of les; the definite form is de lessen. The phrase aantekeningen van de lessen means “notes from the classes,” with van linking the notes to the lessons they concern. gemist is the past participle of missen (“to miss”). In die je hebt gemist, the auxiliary hebt and participle gemist form the perfect: “that you have missed.” Die introduces the relative clause and refers here to de lessen, while je is the second-person pronoun “you.” The pattern iets missen means “to miss something”: Ik heb de les gemist. — “I missed the class.” Together, Begin daarmee gives the imperative “Start with that.” Then vraag de docent om aantekeningen means “ask the teacher for notes.” Finally, van de lessen die je hebt gemist specifies which notes: they are from the classes that you missed. The complete utterance therefore means: “Start there, and ask the teacher for notes from the classes you missed.”

8. Ik voel me minder zeker omdat de anderen samen hebben geoefend.

   I feel less confident because the others practiced together.

   Ik voel me

   I feel

   minder zeker

   less confident

   omdat

   because

   de anderen

   the others

   samen

   together

   hebben geoefend

   have practiced

   More detail

   Ik voel me means “I feel” here. voelen is the verb “to feel”; voel is its present-tense form with ik (“I”). me is the unstressed first-person reflexive pronoun, referring back to the speaker. A useful pattern is ik voel me + adjective: Ik voel me moe. — “I feel tired.” minder zeker describes a lower degree of confidence. zeker means “confident” in this context, while minder means “less” and modifies the adjective. The adjective remains zeker; the comparison is expressed with minder, not by changing the adjective itself. zeker can also mean “certain” in other contexts, but the fixed translation supports the confidence-related meaning here. Example: Zij voelt zich minder zeker. — “She feels less confident.” omdat introduces the reason for the feeling and means “because.” In Dutch, an omdat clause normally places its finite verb toward the end of the clause. This makes it different from a main clause such as De anderen hebben samen geoefend. — “The others practiced together.” de anderen means “the others.” anderen is a plural noun-like form meaning other people in this use, and de is the definite article used with this plural form. The phrase identifies the people intended by the context, but the supplied sentence does not specify their individual identities. samen means “together” and describes joint action. It can be used with different subjects: We oefenen samen. — “We practice together.” hebben geoefend expresses the completed practice action. hebben is the present-tense plural form of hebben (“to have”) and functions here as the auxiliary; geoefend is the past participle of oefenen (“to practice”). In the omdat clause, the auxiliary and participle occur at the end, with the participle before hebben: omdat de anderen samen hebben geoefend. This construction corresponds here to the English past “practiced,” although its form is literally a perfect construction. Together, Ik voel me minder zeker says “I feel less confident,” and omdat de anderen samen hebben geoefend gives the reason: “because the others practiced together.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I feel less confident because the others practiced together.”

9. We kunnen de opdracht na de les samen doornemen.

   We can run through the task after class.

   We kunnen

   we can

   opdracht

   task; assignment

   na

   after

   les

   class; lesson

   samen

   together

   doornemen

   go through; review

   More detail

   We kunnen combines we with kunnen, the infinitive of the modal verb meaning “can” or “be able to.” Here it expresses possibility or ability. With a modal verb in a main clause, the other verb normally remains an infinitive at the end. Example: We kunnen morgen oefenen. — “We can practise tomorrow.” opdracht is a noun meaning a task or assignment. Its plural is opdrachten: Dutch adds -en to the noun without doubling the final consonant here. Example: Ik maak de opdracht. — “I am doing the assignment.” na is a preposition meaning “after” when it introduces a later time. In na de les, it introduces the time expression “after class.” The opposite time relation is commonly expressed with voor, “before.” les means a class or lesson. Here de les refers to the class as a time period; de is the definite article used with this noun. Its plural is lessen. Example: De les begint om negen uur. — “The lesson starts at nine o’clock.” samen means “together”: it describes people carrying out an action jointly. Example: We werken samen. — “We work together.” It does not itself identify how many people are involved. doornemen means to go through or review something. It is a separable verb: in a finite main clause, its parts separate, as in We nemen de opdracht door. — “We go through the assignment.” After a modal verb, the infinitive remains together at the end, as in the supplied sentence. Together, We kunnen expresses the possibility, de opdracht is what will be reviewed, na de les sets the time, and samen says that the participants will do it jointly. The complete meaning is: “We can run through the task after class.”

10. Dan weet je wat je kunt verwachten.

    So you know what to expect.

    Dan

    So / then

    weet

    know

    wat

    what

    kunt

    can / are able to

    verwachten

    expect

    More detail

    Dan means “so” here and links this sentence to what was just established. It can also mean “then” when referring to time or sequence. Example: Dan beginnen we. — “Then we’ll start.” weet is the present-tense form of weten (“to know”) for je (“you”): je weet. The form is irregular compared with the infinitive: weten → weet in the singular present. Example: Je weet het antwoord. — “You know the answer.” wat means “what” here and introduces the content of knowing: “what …”. In this sentence it begins the embedded clause wat je kunt verwachten, rather than asking a separate direct question. Example: Ik begrijp wat je bedoelt. — “I understand what you mean.” kunt is the present-tense form of the modal verb kunnen (“can, be able to”) with je: je kunt. It expresses ability or possibility. After kunnen, the other verb normally remains an infinitive, as in kunt verwachten. Example: Je kunt morgen komen. — “You can come tomorrow.” verwachten is the infinitive “to expect”. In this sentence it follows the modal kunt, so it does not take a personal ending. Example: We verwachten goed nieuws. — “We expect good news.” Together, je weet means “you know”, and wat je kunt verwachten means “what you can expect”. With Dan linking this conclusion to the preceding information, the whole utterance means: “So you know what to expect.”

11. Daardoor voelt de volgende stap haalbaarder.

    That would make the next step feel more manageable.

    Daardoor

    As a result

    voelt

    feels

    volgende

    next

    stap

    step

    haalbaarder

    more manageable

    More detail

    Daardoor means “as a result” or “because of that.” It points back to an earlier situation or action and presents the current statement as its consequence. The related connector daarom means “that is why,” usually expressing a reason for a later action or conclusion. voelt comes from voelen, “to feel.” In this sentence it is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject: de volgende stap voelt (“the next step feels”). The subject is not a person here; a thing or situation can also be described as feeling a certain way in Dutch. For example: De taak voelt zwaar. — “The task feels difficult.” volgende means “next” here. Before a definite singular noun with de, this adjective has the -e form: de volgende stap. The base form is volgend; the form in the sentence agrees with the noun phrase rather than carrying the sentence’s tense. stap means “step.” It is a common noun for one stage or action in a process. Its plural is stappen: de volgende stappen — “the next steps.” haalbaarder means “more manageable” here. It is the comparative form of haalbaar, meaning “manageable,” “feasible,” or “achievable”: haalbaar → haalbaarder (“more manageable”). The comparative presents the next step as more feasible than it would otherwise seem; the sentence does not state an explicit comparison object. For example: Deze aanpak is haalbaarder. — “This approach is more manageable.” Together, Daardoor links the sentence to a preceding cause, voelt describes how something seems, and de volgende stap identifies what is being evaluated. Thus Daardoor voelt de volgende stap haalbaarder. means “That would make the next step feel more manageable.” The Dutch present form voelt states the resulting perception directly; the English translation uses “would make” to express the intended consequence in its context.

12. Eén gerichte oefensessie is beter dan het werk uit de weg gaan.

    One focused practice session is better than avoiding the work.

    Eén

    one

    gerichte

    focused

    oefensessie

    practice session

    beter

    better

    werk

    work

    uit de weg gaan

    avoid

    More detail

    Eén means “one” here and presents a single practice session. It is a numeral, not merely an indefinite article. In Dutch, the noun after it is singular: één sessie means “one session.” The accent in Eén distinguishes the numeral from the unstressed article een (“a/an”) when needed in writing. gerichte means “focused” here. Its base form is gericht. The adjective comes before oefensessie and has the attributive -e ending in this noun phrase: een gerichte oefensessie. This ending is part of the adjective, not of the noun. Example: een rustige dag means “a calm day.” oefensessie means “practice session.” It is a Dutch compound noun: oefen relates to practicing, and sessie means “session.” The observed form is singular. Example: De oefensessie begint vroeg. — “The practice session starts early.” beter means “better.” It is the comparative form associated with goed (“good”): goed → beter → best. Dutch commonly uses beter dan for a comparison, as in Dit is beter dan dat. — “This is better than that.” werk means “work” in het werk, the work being referred to. The noun is singular and takes the neuter definite article het in this phrase. Example: Het werk is klaar. — “The work is finished.” uit de weg gaan is a fixed verb phrase meaning “to avoid” in this sentence. Literally, it contains the idea of going out of the way, but here it describes not dealing with the work. The phrase can be reused with another object: Zij gaat moeilijke gesprekken uit de weg. — “She avoids difficult conversations.” The linking verb is connects the subject Eén gerichte oefensessie with the comparison. dan introduces the other side of the comparison, and het werk uit de weg gaan is an infinitive phrase functioning as that comparison: “avoiding the work.” Together, the sentence means: “One focused practice session is better than avoiding the work.”