Apologizing for a late cancellation | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Het spijt me echt, maar ik moet onze afspraak voor vanavond afzeggen.

   I'm really sorry, but I need to cancel tonight's plan.

   Het spijt me

   I'm sorry

   echt

   really

   maar

   but

   ik moet

   I need to / I have to

   onze

   our

   afspraak

   appointment / plan

   voor

   for

   vanavond

   tonight

   afzeggen

   cancel

   More detail

   Het spijt me is the standard Dutch way to say “I’m sorry.” The fixed form is an idiomatic construction: het is the grammatical subject, while me refers to the speaker. In this sentence, spijt is the present-tense form of spijten; the construction expresses the speaker’s regret. echt means “really” here and strengthens the apology. It can also modify other adjectives or adverbs, as in echt mooi (“really beautiful”). maar connects the apology with the contrasting information: “but.” ik moet means “I need to” or “I have to.” moet is the singular present form of moeten with ik; the other present forms include moet with jij/hij/zij and moeten with wij/jullie/zij. As a modal verb, moet is followed here by the infinitive afzeggen. onze means “our.” Dutch uses onze before plural nouns and before singular common-gender nouns, while ons is used before a singular neuter noun. Afspraak is a common-gender noun (de afspraak), so onze afspraak is the relevant form here. Onze expresses possession; it does not by itself state how many people are included in “our.” afspraak means an agreed appointment, arrangement, or plan. Its plural is afspraken. In this sentence, the translation identifies it as the plan being cancelled. voor means “for” in the time expression voor vanavond; it links the arrangement to the intended time. Vanavond means “tonight” and is written as one word. For example, Ik werk vanavond means “I’m working tonight.” afzeggen means “to cancel” an appointment or arrangement. It is a separable verb: in a main-clause present-tense sentence, the parts separate, as in Ik zeg de afspraak af (“I cancel the appointment”). After the modal moet, the infinitive remains together at the end: ik moet ... afzeggen. Together, Het spijt me echt gives the sincere apology, maar introduces the contrast, and ik moet onze afspraak voor vanavond afzeggen says that the speaker has to cancel their shared arrangement planned for tonight. The whole utterance is therefore: “I’m really sorry, but I need to cancel tonight’s plan.”

2. Dat valt tegen. Is er iets dringends gebeurd?

   That's disappointing. Did something urgent happen?

   Dat

   that

   valt tegen

   is disappointing

   Is er

   is there

   iets

   something

   dringends

   urgent

   gebeurd

   happened

   More detail

   Dat is a Dutch demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It refers to the situation understood in the exchange; its exact grammatical form is not a statement that a particular noun has been mentioned. Compare dit (“this”) for a nearer or more directly indicated referent. valt tegen is the separable Dutch verb expression tegenvallen, meaning “to be disappointing” or “to disappoint” in this use. The observed form valt is the present-tense third-person singular form of vallen; tegen is separated and placed after it. The literal parts should not be translated independently here: Dat valt tegen. means “That’s disappointing.” Is er introduces an existence or occurrence question. is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”), and er is the Dutch existential/expletive element used in patterns such as Er is ... (“There is ...”). In a question, inversion gives Is er ...?, equivalent here to “Did ... happen?” once the later verb is included. iets is the indefinite pronoun “something” (also “anything” in some question or negative contexts). It does not identify what the thing is. A reusable pattern is iets + adjective, as in iets nieuws (“something new”). dringends means “urgent” here and describes the unspecified thing in iets dringends, “something urgent.” After the indefinite pronoun iets, a descriptive adjective commonly takes the ending -s in this substantively used pattern. The adjective’s base form is dringend; dringends is the form used in this construction, not a form of iets. gebeurd is the past participle of gebeuren (“to happen”). Dutch forms the completed past of this verb with zijn: is gebeurd (“has happened” / “happened”). In the question, gebeurd therefore works with the earlier is; it is not itself the whole past-tense verb. Together, Is er iets dringends gebeurd? asks whether something urgent has happened, naturally translated here as “Did something urgent happen?” The first sentence, Dat valt tegen., expresses disappointment about the situation, and the following question asks whether an urgent event has occurred.】【。>}'

3. Er is iets met mijn familie aan de hand en ik kan niet van huis.

   A family issue came up, and I can't leave home.

   Er is

   there is

   iets

   something

   met

   with

   mijn

   my

   familie

   family

   aan de hand

   going on; the matter

   ik kan

   I can

   niet

   not

   van huis

   from home

   More detail

   Er is is the Dutch existential pattern meaning “there is/are.” Er is a grammatical existence marker here, while is is the present-tense singular form of zijn (“to be”). The singular form agrees with iets, not with the following noun familie. iets means “something.” It is an indefinite pronoun used when the exact thing is not specified. A useful contrast is iets “something” versus niets “nothing.” met introduces the person or thing connected with an issue: iets met mijn familie means “something involving my family” or, naturally here, “a family issue.” This is the same preposition seen in patterns such as Wat is er met hem? — “What is wrong with him?” mijn means “my” and marks possession. It does not change for the gender or number of the possessed noun: for example, mijn familie and mijn vrienden both use mijn. The informal shortened form m'n also occurs in speech, but mijn is the form in the sentence. familie means “family.” It is grammatically singular in this sentence, even though a family can consist of several people. Its plural is families. aan de hand is part of the fixed expression aan de hand zijn, literally “to be at hand” but idiomatically “to be going on” or “to be the matter.” In iets met mijn familie aan de hand, it describes an issue involving the speaker’s family. The expression is discontinuous in the full pattern when another phrase comes between its parts: Er is iets aan de hand means “Something is going on.” ik kan contains ik “I” and kan, the first-person singular present form of kunnen, “can/be able to.” Kunnen is a modal verb; with an expressed following infinitive, it normally places that infinitive at the end, as in Ik kan komen — “I can come.” Here van huis kunnen is the relevant ability/possibility pattern: Ik kan van huis means that the speaker can leave or be away from home in the relevant situation. niet negates the ability expressed by kan: ik kan niet means “I cannot” or “I’m unable to.” Dutch commonly places niet after the modal verb in this pattern, before the remaining phrase. van huis is a fixed prepositional expression meaning “from home” or “away from home.” In this sentence, niet van huis kunnen conveys being unable to leave home. The phrase uses huis without an article in this expression; this is not the same as the more specific noun phrase van het huis (“from the house”). Taken together, Er is iets met mijn familie aan de hand says that something is going on involving the speaker’s family. En (“and”) links that statement to ik kan niet van huis, which says that the speaker cannot leave home. The complete meaning is: “A family issue came up, and I can’t leave home.”

4. Ik begrijp het, maar ik had het graag eerder geweten.

   I understand, but I wish I had known earlier.

   begrijp

   understand

   graag

   gladly; with pleasure

   eerder

   earlier

   geweten

   known

   More detail

   begrijp is the present-tense form of begrijpen (“to understand”). With ik, it means “I understand”; the stem changes in this form: ik begrijp, but wij begrijpen. Example: Ik begrijp het. — “I understand it.” Here, het refers to the situation being discussed, without identifying it more specifically. graag usually means “gladly” or “with pleasure”, but after had in had ... graag ... it helps express a wish about the past: “would have liked to” or “wish ... had”. Thus ik had het graag geweten is not simply “I had known it gladly”; it means “I wish I had known it” or “I would have liked to have known it.” Example: Ik had graag meegegaan. — “I would have liked to go along.” eerder is the comparative form related to vroeg (“early”): vroeg = “early”, eerder = “earlier” or “sooner”. It compares the relevant knowing time with a later time that actually occurred or was expected. Do not confuse it with vroeger, which often means “formerly” or “in the past”. Example: Bel me eerder. — “Call me earlier.” geweten is the past participle of weten (“to know” in the sense of having information or knowledge). The form had ... geweten is a pluperfect construction: the auxiliary had plus the past participle geweten. In this sentence, it places the desired knowing before the relevant later moment. Weten differs from kennen: weten is knowing a fact or information, while kennen is being familiar with a person, place, or thing. Example: Ik had dat niet geweten. — “I would not have known that.” The sentence first states Ik begrijp het (“I understand it”). Maar then introduces a contrast. In ik had het graag eerder geweten, had ... geweten presents an unrealized past situation, graag marks the speaker’s wish, and eerder says that the knowledge would have come sooner. Together, the utterance means: “I understand it, but I wish I had known earlier.”

5. Je hebt gelijk. Ik had het je moeten vertellen zodra ik het wist.

   You're right. I should have told you as soon as I knew.

   Je hebt gelijk

   You're right

   had … moeten vertellen

   should have told

   zodra … ik het wist

   as soon as I knew

   More detail

   Je hebt gelijk is the reusable Dutch way to say “You’re right.” hebt is the present-tense form of hebben with je as subject; gelijk means “right” or “correct” in this expression. For example: Je hebt gelijk. — “You’re right.” had is the singular past form of hebben. Here it is the auxiliary in a past modal construction: ik had ... moeten ... expresses something the speaker should have done. Compare singular had with plural hadden. moeten vertellen combines moeten (“must/should”) with vertellen (“to tell”). In this perfect modal construction, had is followed by the two infinitives moeten vertellen; this combination gives the past meaning “should have told.” The form vertellen is the infinitive, not a past-tense form. For example: Ik had het moeten zeggen. — “I should have said it.” zodra ik het wist means “as soon as I knew.” zodra introduces a time clause. wist is the singular past form of weten (“to know”); its plural past form is wisten. In ik het wist, the finite verb comes at the end, as is normal in this Dutch subordinate clause. het is an object pronoun meaning “it” here; the sentence does not identify what “it” refers to. In the complete utterance, Je hebt gelijk states agreement with the listener. Ik had het je moeten vertellen means “I should have told you”: het is the thing told and je is the recipient, while the modal construction expresses the past obligation. The time clause zodra ik het wist sets the timing: “as soon as I knew.” Together: “You’re right. I should have told you as soon as I knew.”

6. Dat waardeer ik. Ik was me al aan het klaarmaken.

   I appreciate that. I had already started getting ready.

   Dat

   that

   waardeer

   appreciate

   ik

   I

   was

   was

   me

   myself

   al

   already

   aan het klaarmaken

   getting ready

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here as a demonstrative pronoun referring to an understood fact or situation. Its exact referent is not specified in the supplied sentence. In other contexts, dat can also refer to a singular neuter noun or introduce a clause; do not treat it as a general equivalent of every English “that.” waardeer is the first-person singular present form of waarderen, “to appreciate.” The form chain is waarderen → ik waardeer. With ik, the present-tense verb has no extra -t: ik waardeer, not ik waardeert. Example: Ik waardeer je hulp. — “I appreciate your help.” ik is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” In Dat waardeer ik, the object-like element Dat comes first, and the finite verb waardeer remains in the second position; the subject ik follows it. This is a common Dutch word-order pattern when something other than the subject starts the clause. was is the first-person singular past form of zijn, “to be.” Here it functions as the finite auxiliary in a past progressive construction. The form is ik was; the present counterpart is ik ben. The past form places the getting-ready activity in progress at an earlier time. me is the reflexive pronoun used with ik, meaning “myself” in this construction. The reflexive agrees with the subject’s person, not with the noun involved in the activity: ik ... me, jij ... je, and hij/zij ... zich. Here it is part of the expression “get myself ready,” not a separate claim about a named object. al means “already.” It marks the activity as having begun or being established by the relevant past time. Example: Ik was al thuis. — “I was already at home.” aan het klaarmaken is the Dutch progressive pattern aan het + infinitive, expressing an activity in progress. Klaarmaken is the infinitive and means “to get ready” in this reflexive use; without the reflexive or with another object, it can also mean “to prepare” something. The relevant verb is the compound klaarmaken, not a form derived from maken alone. Example: Zij is zich aan het klaarmaken. — “She is getting ready.” Together, was ... aan het klaarmaken says that the speaker was in the process of getting ready, while al adds that this process was already under way. The complete utterance is therefore: Dat waardeer ik. — “I appreciate that.” Then Ik was me al aan het klaarmaken. conveys “I had already started getting ready,” as in the fixed translation. The two sentences keep the appreciative response separate from the explanation about the speaker’s earlier ongoing preparation.

7. Laat me het goedmaken door een andere datum te kiezen die jou uitkomt.

   Let me make it up to you by choosing another date that works for you.

   Laat me

   let me

   het goedmaken

   make it up

   andere

   another, different

   datum

   date

   door … te kiezen

   by choosing

   die jou uitkomt

   that works for you

   More detail

   Laat me begins with laat, the imperative of laten (“to let”); with the pronoun me, laat me + infinitive is the reusable pattern “let me …”. Example: Laat me helpen. — “Let me help.” het goedmaken uses the compound verb goedmaken, “to make right” or “to make amends.” In this sentence, het refers to what is being put right; the fixed translation renders the whole expression as “make it up.” The infinitive is written as one word here, but in a finite clause the parts separate: Ik maak het goed. — “I make it right.” The past participle is goedgemaakt. andere means “another” or “different” here. Its -e form is used with datum, which is a de-word, in een andere datum. Compare een ander ... with a singular het-word: een ander moment — “another moment.” Andere is also used with plural nouns. datum means “date,” especially a calendar date. Its plural can be data or datums; the singular form here is datum. door te kiezen expresses the means: “by choosing.” Dutch uses door + te + infinitive for an action through which something is achieved. The infinitive is kiezen (“to choose”); useful forms include ik kies, ik koos, and gekozen. Example: Zij leert door veel te oefenen. — “She learns by practicing a lot.” die jou uitkomt is a relative clause meaning “that works for you” or “that suits you.” Die refers here to datum: because datum is a de-word, the relative pronoun is die; a singular het-word would use dat. Uitkomt comes from the separable verb uitkomen, which has the figurative meaning “to suit” or “to be convenient” here. It is present tense, third-person singular because die is the subject. Jou identifies the person for whom the date is convenient. Example: Deze tijd komt me goed uit. — “This time works well for me.” Together, Laat me het goedmaken means “Let me make it up,” and door een andere datum te kiezen says how: “by choosing another date.” The relative clause die jou uitkomt specifies which date: one that works for you. The complete meaning is therefore: “Let me make it up to you by choosing another date that works for you.”

8. We kunnen een nieuwe afspraak maken, maar bevestig het alsjeblieft zodra alles wat rustiger is.

   We can reschedule, but please confirm once things are calmer.

   We kunnen

   we can

   een

   a

   nieuwe

   new

   afspraak

   appointment

   maken

   make

   maar

   but

   bevestig

   confirm

   het

   it

   alsjeblieft

   please

   zodra

   as soon as

   alles

   everything

   wat

   somewhat

   rustiger

   calmer

   More detail

   We kunnen combines we with kunnen, whose form here means “can” or “are able to.” Kunnen is a modal verb; the other verb in the clause stays in the infinitive and comes later: We kunnen ... maken = “We can ... make.” The subject is explicitly plural “we.” een is an indefinite article. It presents afspraak as a non-specific appointment or arrangement; by itself, it does not assert a numerical count. The article form is the same as the word for “one,” but this sentence uses it as an article. nieuwe means “new” here. Its base form is nieuw; the -e form occurs before this noun phrase in een nieuwe afspraak. The adjective describes the appointment, not the verb maken. afspraak is a noun meaning an appointment or arrangement. The reusable expression een afspraak maken means “make an appointment” or “arrange an appointment.” In this sentence, the surrounding translation supports the intended idea of arranging a different date or rescheduling, rather than merely physically making something. maken is the infinitive “to make” and completes the modal construction after kunnen. A useful contrast is maken “make” versus kiezen “choose”: We kunnen een datum kiezen means “We can choose a date.” maar links the first possibility to a contrasting request: “but.” It does not itself add a time, certainty, or command meaning; those come from the neighboring parts. bevestig means “confirm” here. It is an imperative form of bevestigen, “to confirm”: Bevestig de afspraak = “Confirm the appointment.” Dutch imperative forms do not by themselves specify whether the addressee is one person, several people, or a formal u addressee; that information must come from context. Here the form expresses the request “confirm.” het is a singular neuter object pronoun meaning “it.” The fixed translation supports the meaning “confirm it,” but the pronoun’s form alone does not identify a more specific antecedent. Its grammatical form is neuter singular. alsjeblieft adds “please” to the request. It makes the imperative more courteous. In this sentence it belongs to the request as a whole, not specifically to the object het. zodra introduces the time condition “as soon as.” It is a conjunction: zodra X means “as soon as X.” For example, Ik bel je zodra ik tijd heb means “I’ll call you as soon as I have time.” alles means “everything” or, in this context, “things as a whole.” It is the subject of the time clause. The fixed translation uses the natural English plural-like expression “things,” but the Dutch form itself is a singular neuter pronoun. wat modifies the following comparative here and means “somewhat” or “a little.” In the combination wat rustiger, it softens the comparison rather than introducing a relative clause: “somewhat calmer.” rustiger is the comparative form of rustig, “calm” or “quiet”: rustig → rustiger = “calm” → “calmer.” It describes a state that is calmer than the current or understood reference state. The form belongs to the adjective rustig, not to alles; alles is the subject whose state is described. Together, een nieuwe afspraak maken means “make a new appointment” or “arrange a new appointment.” We kunnen ... maken makes that an available possibility: “We can arrange a new appointment.” Maar bevestig het alsjeblieft then gives the contrasting request “but please confirm it.” Finally, zodra alles wat rustiger is sets the time: “as soon as things are somewhat calmer.” The complete meaning is therefore: “We can reschedule, but please confirm once things are calmer.”

9. Ik stuur je een bericht zodra ik meer weet.

   I'll message you when I know more.

   Ik

   I

   stuur

   send

   je

   you

   bericht

   message

   zodra

   as soon as

   ik

   I

   weet

   know

   meer

   more

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person who sends the message. The same form appears again before weet, where it identifies the person who knows more. stuur is the first-person singular present form of sturen, “to send.” The present-tense pattern is ik stuur, jij stuurt, hij/zij stuurt; the final -t in the latter forms is part of the inflection. Here the present form refers to a future action in the fixed English translation. Example: Ik stuur je de foto. — “I’ll send you the photo.” je means “you” here and functions as the recipient of the sending. Dutch je can be used for both singular and plural “you”; this sentence does not specify which number is intended. It is also the unstressed form associated with jij, but the form in the utterance is exactly je. bericht is the noun “message.” Its plural is berichten, so the form here is singular; the indefinite article een before it does not by itself need to be treated as a numerical count in the English translation. Example: Ik stuur een bericht. — “I’m sending a message.” zodra is a conjunction meaning “as soon as” or “once.” It introduces the condition in time for the main action. In the following subordinate clause, ik meer weet, the finite verb comes at the end, which is why weet follows meer. The second ik again means “I.” It is the subject of the subordinate clause, not a new participant introduced by the sentence. weet is the first-person singular present form of weten, “to know.” Its present-tense forms include ik weet, jij weet, and hij/zij weet; unlike stuur, the singular forms shown here do not add a final -t. Example: Ik weet het. — “I know it.” meer means “more” here: the speaker will know more than at the relevant earlier point. It is the comparative form associated with veel (“much” or “a lot”); the superlative is meest (“most”). The sentence leaves the information understood rather than naming it. Example: Later weet ik meer. — “Later I’ll know more.” Together, Ik stuur je een bericht means “I’ll send you a message,” and zodra ik meer weet means “as soon as I know more.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I’ll message you when I know more.” The pattern Ik [present-tense verb] ... zodra ik ... can be reused for a future action linked to a condition in time.

10. Ik weet dat deze late wijziging je avond heeft verstoord.

    I know the late change disrupted your evening.

    weet

    know

    deze

    this

    late

    late

    wijziging

    change

    je

    your

    avond

    evening

    verstoord

    disrupted

    More detail

    weet is the present-tense form of weten (“to know”) used with first-person singular ik: ik weet = “I know.” The vowel changes from weten to weet in this form; this is an inflection of the verb, not a separate word. Example: Ik weet het. — “I know it.” deze means “this” and points to one nearby or contextually identified noun. Here it agrees with singular deze late wijziging; deze is used with a singular de-word, while dit is the corresponding form with a singular het-word. The demonstrative itself does not identify any additional referent beyond the change expressed in this sentence. late means “late” here, describing wijziging. Its base form is laat; before this singular de-word it appears as late. Example: een late trein — “a late train.” wijziging means “change” or “alteration.” It is a noun related to the verb wijzigen (“to change”); the noun names the change itself. The article de identifies its Dutch noun class, but does not by itself state a numerical count. je means “your” here and marks possession of avond: je avond = “your evening.” In this possessive use, je is the unstressed form and does not change for the possessor’s gender or number. The same spelling can have other grammatical roles in Dutch, so its role here comes from its position before the noun and the intended meaning. avond means “evening.” It is a common-gender de-noun: de avond. Example: De avond is rustig. — “The evening is quiet.” verstoord means “disrupted” in this sentence. It is the past participle of verstoren (“to disrupt”): verstoren → verstoord. Together with heeft, which appears between avond and verstoord, it forms the Dutch perfect heeft verstoord, literally “has disrupted.” The perfect presents the disruption as a completed event relevant to the statement; the fixed translation expresses it as “disrupted.” The sentence begins with Ik weet (“I know”) and then gives the content of that knowledge with dat: Ik weet dat ... (“I know that ...”). Inside the dat-clause, deze late wijziging is the subject, je avond is the affected object, and heeft verstoord expresses the completed disruption. Together, the utterance means: “I know the late change disrupted your evening.”

11. Ik hoop dat alles goed gaat met je familie.

    I hope everything is all right with your family.

    Ik

    I

    hoop

    hope

    alles

    everything

    goed

    all right; well

    gaat

    goes; is going

    je

    your

    familie

    family

    More detail

    Ik is the first-person singular pronoun “I”. It is used for the speaker. Example: Ik leer Nederlands. — “I am learning Dutch.” hoop is the present-tense form of hopen, “to hope”, with ik. The pattern ik hoop dat ... introduces something the speaker hopes is true. After dat, Dutch places the finite verb at the end of the subordinate clause. alles means “everything” and is an indefinite pronoun. Although it refers to multiple things in meaning, it is grammatically singular here, so the clause uses singular gaat. goed means “well” or “all right” here. In goed gaan, it describes how a situation is progressing: Het gaat goed. — “It is going well.” This is different from the literal motion meaning of gaan. gaat is the third-person singular present form of gaan, “to go”. In the expression goed gaan met ..., it means that someone or something is doing well or that things are going well. The subject here is alles, not familie. je before a noun is the unstressed possessive determiner “your”: je familie means “your family”. The same form can have other roles in Dutch, so its position before familie identifies its possessive use here. familie is the noun “family”. It is singular in form. The preposition met connects it to the situation being evaluated: goed gaan met je familie means that things are all right with your family. The connective dat links the hope to its content. Combining the parts gives Ik hoop (“I hope”) + dat alles goed gaat met je familie (“that everything is all right with your family”). The complete utterance therefore means: “I hope everything is all right with your family.”