Report a Missing Wallet Safely | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden en ik had hem voor het laatst in het café.

   I can't find my wallet, and I last had it at the cafe.

   Ik kan

   I can

   mijn

   my

   portemonnee

   wallet

   niet

   not

   vinden

   find

   had

   had

   hem

   it

   voor het laatst

   last

   café

   cafe

   More detail

   Ik kan is a reusable way to say “I can” or “I am able to.” kan is the present-tense singular form of kunnen; with ik, use ik kan. A modal verb is followed by an infinitive: Ik kan ... vinden means “I can find ...” or, with negation, “I can’t find ...”. mijn means “my” and normally comes before the noun it specifies. mijn does not change for the gender or number of the noun: mijn portemonnee and mijn sleutels. portemonnee means “wallet.” It is a singular de-word: de portemonnee. Its plural is portemonnees. In the supplied sentence, mijn portemonnee identifies the speaker’s wallet; the following context also refers to that wallet. niet supplies the negation. Here it negates the ability expressed by kan ... vinden, so the meaning is “cannot find.” Dutch negation placement depends on the structure, and this sentence places niet before the infinitive vinden. vinden is the infinitive “to find.” The useful pattern is kan + infinitive: Ik kan mijn sleutels vinden means “I can find my keys.” With niet, Ik kan mijn sleutels niet vinden means “I can’t find my keys.” had is the singular past-tense form of hebben, “to have.” The form chain is hebben (infinitive) → had (past singular) → hadden (past plural). In ik had hem, it describes having the wallet at an earlier time; it does not by itself mean that the speaker still had it later. hem is a singular object pronoun. Here the fixed translation identifies it as “it,” referring to the wallet. In this sentence, hem is the Dutch object form used for that reference. Pronoun choice is not determined by English’s “him” versus “it”; Dutch object pronouns can reflect the grammatical gender and conventional treatment of the noun, so the form should be learned with its supported referent and context rather than from de-word status alone. Example: Ik zie de tas. Ik zie hem. means “I see the bag. I see it.” voor het laatst is a fixed time expression meaning “last” or “most recently.” It locates the earlier possession at the latest occasion on which it occurred. Example: Ik zag haar voor het laatst gisteren means “I last saw her yesterday.” café means “café” or “coffee shop.” It is a singular het-word: het café. In the full phrase in het café, in means “in” and het is the matching definite article; the supplied quote contains only café, so its gloss concerns the place noun itself. Together, Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden means “I can’t find my wallet.” The conjunction en links this with ik had hem voor het laatst in het café: “I last had it at the café.” The whole utterance therefore says that the speaker cannot currently find their wallet and identifies the café as the most recent place where they had it.

2. Maak voordat je belt een beschrijving van hoe de portemonnee eruitziet.

   Before you call, prepare a description of what the wallet looks like.

   Maak

   prepare; make

   voordat je belt

   before you call

   een beschrijving

   a description

   hoe … eruitziet

   what ... looks like

   de portemonnee

   the wallet

   More detail

   Maak is the imperative of maken (“to make”). In this sentence, the intended result makes “prepare” a natural translation: make or prepare something. The imperative gives a direct instruction, but Maak by itself does not show whether the addressee is one person or more than one. Example: Maak een lijst. — “Make a list.” voordat je belt means “before you call.” voordat introduces a time clause, and je belt means “you call”: belt is the present-tense form of bellen for je. Example: Bel me voordat je vertrekt. — “Call me before you leave.” The time clause comes before the main instruction here. een beschrijving is “a description.” beschrijving is a noun related to beschrijven, “to describe”; the noun names an account of what something is like. een is the Dutch indefinite article, used here with this singular count noun; it does not by itself add a separate numerical emphasis. Example: Geef een korte beschrijving. — “Give a short description.” hoe ... eruitziet is the construction “what ... looks like.” The parts are separated in the source because the wallet is placed between them. eruitziet is the subordinate-clause form of the separable verb eruitzien, meaning “to look” or “to appear” here. In the main clause, the corresponding order is De portemonnee ziet eruit. — “The wallet looks [a certain way].” In the subordinate clause introduced by hoe, the verb appears at the end: hoe de portemonnee eruitziet — “what the wallet looks like.” de portemonnee means “the wallet.” portemonnee is a common-gender singular noun, so its definite article is de. The article identifies the wallet intended in the supplied context. Example: Waar is de portemonnee? — “Where is the wallet?” Together, Maak gives the instruction, voordat je belt sets the deadline, een beschrijving names what should be prepared, and hoe de portemonnee eruitziet specifies its content. The complete meaning is: “Before you call, prepare a description of what the wallet looks like.”

3. Het is een kleine zwarte portemonnee met een versleten hoek.

   It's a small black wallet with a worn corner.

   Het is

   It is

   kleine

   small

   zwarte

   black

   portemonnee

   wallet

   met

   with

   versleten

   worn

   hoek

   corner

   More detail

   Het is combines het (“it”) with the present-tense singular form is of zijn (“to be”). In this sentence, the construction identifies or describes the item: “It is …”. A reusable pattern is Het is een [noun] (“It is a [noun]”). kleine means “small” here. Its base form is klein; before a noun, the adjective normally takes -e in this phrase: een kleine portemonnee. The adjective describes the wallet, not the corner. Compare klein when used without this attributive ending in suitable contexts, such as Het is klein (“It is small”). zwarte means “black”. Its base form is zwart, and the attributive form here is zwarte, again with -e before the noun: een zwarte portemonnee. The two adjectives occur together, with kleine describing size and zwarte describing color. portemonnee means “wallet”. It is a singular noun; its usual plural is portemonnees (“wallets”). In the sentence, een is an indefinite article introducing one unspecified wallet, but the article itself does not add a separate numerical claim. met means “with” and introduces an accompanying feature or part. The reusable pattern X met Y means “X with Y”. For example, een jas met een kap means “a coat with a hood”. versleten means “worn” here. It is related to the verb verslijten (“to wear out”), but in this sentence it functions as an adjective describing the corner. The form versleten can also be used with other nouns, as in versleten schoenen (“worn shoes”). hoek means “corner”. It is a singular noun; its plural is hoeken (“corners”). Here it is the part associated with the wallet through met: een versleten hoek means “a worn corner”. Together, een kleine zwarte portemonnee means “a small black wallet”. The phrase met een versleten hoek adds that this wallet has a worn corner. Thus the complete utterance means: “It’s a small black wallet with a worn corner.”

4. Zo kan het personeel controleren zonder naar privégegevens te vragen.

   That should help the staff check without asking for private details.

   Zo

   that way

   kan

   can

   het personeel

   the staff

   controleren

   check

   zonder

   without

   privégegevens

   private details

   vragen

   ask

   More detail

   Zo means “in this way” or “that way” here. It points to the method or result being discussed; it is not the English demonstrative pronoun “that” by itself. Dutch can also use zo in other contexts for “so” or “like this,” depending on what it modifies. kan is the present-tense form of kunnen for ik, jij/je, and hij/zij/het; it can mean “can” or “is able to.” Here it expresses that the staff should be able to perform the check. After a modal such as kunnen, the other verb stays in the infinitive: kan controleren. het personeel means “the staff.” Personeel is a collective noun referring to staff members as a group, and het is the definite article used with this noun. The article identifies the group; it does not itself state a numerical count. In this sentence, the group is the actor of kan controleren. controleren is the infinitive “to check” or “to verify.” With kan, it names the action that is possible: kan controleren = “can check.” For example, De medewerker kan het nummer controleren. — “The employee can check the number.” zonder introduces an excluded action and means “without.” A useful reusable pattern is zonder ... te + infinitive: zonder te wachten means “without waiting.” In this sentence, the material between zonder and te vragen specifies what is not done. privégegevens means “private details” or “private data.” It is a compound noun: privé specifies the kind of gegevens; the observed form is plural. The fixed sentence uses it as the information being requested, after naar: naar privégegevens vragen means “ask for private details.” vragen is the infinitive “to ask.” In the expression naar iets vragen, naar marks the information or thing being asked for: naar privégegevens vragen = “ask for private details.” After zonder, Dutch uses te before this infinitive: zonder naar privégegevens te vragen = “without asking for private details.” For example, Ze helpt zonder veel vragen te stellen. — “She helps without asking many questions.” Together, Zo kan het personeel controleren means “That way, the staff can check.” The construction zonder naar privégegevens te vragen adds the condition that this checking happens without asking for private details. The complete utterance therefore means: “That should help the staff check without asking for private details.”

5. Ik bel en leg uit wanneer ik merkte dat hij weg was.

   I'll call and explain when I noticed it was missing.

   Ik

   I

   bel

   call

   leg … uit

   explain

   wanneer

   when

   merkte

   noticed

   hij

   it

   weg

   gone; missing

   was

   was

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun “I.” It is the shared subject of both coordinated verbs, so it is not repeated before leg. bel is the present-tense first-person singular form of bellen, “to call.” Ik bel can mean “I call” or, as fixed by the translation here, “I’ll call”; Dutch present forms can refer to a planned future action when the context supplies that reading. leg ... uit is the separable verb uitleggen, “to explain.” In a main clause, leg is the finite part and uit appears separately: Ik leg het uit. — “I explain it.” In the supplied sentence, leg and uit are adjacent; the following wanneer-clause comes after the complete construction. wanneer means “when” and introduces a clause giving the time of the calling and explaining, with the intended scope fixed by the translation. Dutch subordinate clauses use verb-final ordering patterns. Here, merkte is followed by its dat-clause, while the embedded clause itself ends with was. merkte is the singular past-tense form of merken, “to notice.” The useful chain is merken → merkte (past). Example: Ik merkte het te laat. — “I noticed it too late.” hij is a third-person singular pronoun. In this fixed translation, it is rendered as “it”; the translation identifies the intended English reference without specifying the noun involved. Dutch hij can refer to a masculine person or to a common-gender noun, so its grammatical form does not by itself require translating it as “he.” weg means “gone” or “missing” in weg zijn. It describes the state of the referenced entity; it is not inflected here. was is the singular past-tense form of zijn, “to be.” The useful contrast is is (present) → was (past). hij was weg means “it was gone/missing” with the intended reading supplied by the translation. Together, Ik bel en leg ... uit gives “I’ll call and explain.” The subordinate clause wanneer ik merkte dat hij weg was adds “when I noticed it was missing.” The complete meaning is: “I’ll call and explain when I noticed it was missing.”

6. Noem een paar spullen die erin zitten, maar deel geen gegevens uit persoonlijke documenten.

   Mention a few items inside, but don't share details from personal documents.

   Noem

   mention

   een paar

   a few

   spullen

   items

   erin zitten

   be inside

   deel

   share

   gegevens

   details

   persoonlijke

   personal

   documenten

   documents

   More detail

   Noem is the imperative of noemen, “to mention/name.” In this sentence it addresses one or more people with a direct request. The present-tense form for “you mention” is also noemt, but the imperative is noem. een paar is a reusable quantity expression meaning “a few” or “a couple of.” It indicates a small, non-specific number, without requiring an exact count. Example: een paar vragen — “a few questions.” spullen means “items” or “things,” especially belongings or concrete objects. It is the plural of spul; the plural form spullen is the natural choice when referring to multiple objects. Example: Mijn spullen liggen hier. — “My things are here.” erin zitten means “be inside it/them” in this context. erin combines er with in and refers to being inside something already understood; zitten is the verb used here for being located inside. The form zitten is plural in this clause, matching spullen. Example: Er zitten drie boeken in. — “There are three books inside.” deel is the imperative of delen, “to share.” Here it introduces a second direct request. The construction iets delen means “share something”; for example, Deel de foto niet. — “Don’t share the photo.” gegevens means “data” or “details,” especially information recorded or stored. Here it is the plural form of gegeven (“piece of data” or “given fact”); Dutch also uses gegevens as a fixed plural-like information term, but it is not a plural-only form. Example: Bewaar deze gegevens goed. — “Keep these details safe.” persoonlijke means “personal.” It is the form of the adjective persoonlijk used before the plural noun documenten; the -e ending is required here by this attributive position and noun phrase, not by the adjective’s meaning alone. Example: persoonlijke informatie — “personal information.” documenten means “documents.” It is the plural of document. In persoonlijke documenten, the adjective comes before and describes the documents. The first part, Noem een paar spullen die erin zitten, asks the listener to mention a small number of items that are inside the relevant container or place. The relative clause die erin zitten identifies which items are meant. maar contrasts this request with the second one. deel geen gegevens uit persoonlijke documenten means “don’t share details from personal documents”: geen negates the noun phrase, and uit marks the source “from.” Together, the utterance requests a limited description of the contents while prohibiting sharing information taken from personal documents.

7. Er zitten een foto en een opgevouwen briefje in.

   It has a photo and a folded note inside.

   Er zitten

   there are / are located

   foto

   photo

   opgevouwen

   folded

   briefje

   note

   in

   inside

   More detail

   Er zitten introduces items that are located somewhere. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies that place as inside it. Zitten literally means “sit,” but Dutch also uses it for something being located or contained in a place. The plural subject here is een foto en een opgevouwen briefje, so the verb is zitten, not singular zit. Example: Er zitten twee boeken in de tas. — “There are two books in the bag.” foto means “photo.” Its plural is foto’s. Example: Ik zie een foto. — “I see a photo.” opgevouwen means “folded” here. It is the past participle of opvouwen (“to fold up”) and is used adjectivally before briefje. In een opgevouwen briefje, the adjective has no -e: an indefinite singular neuter noun such as het briefje takes this form. This form describes the note’s state; it does not say who folded it or when. Example: Ik heb een opgevouwen kaart. — “I have a folded map.” briefje means “note” or “small note.” It is a diminutive of brief (“letter”), and diminutives in Dutch are neuter: het briefje. The diminutive ending also conveys smallness or informality, so it is not the same as the general noun brief in every context. Example: Het briefje ligt op tafel. — “The note is on the table.” in means “inside” in this sentence. At the end of Er zitten ... in, it helps express that the listed things are inside the relevant object. Dutch can also combine this preposition with a pronoun, as in erin (“in it”), but the fixed sentence uses the separate form in. Together, een foto en een opgevouwen briefje is the plural subject: “a photo and a folded note.” The pattern Er zitten [items] in. means that those items are inside it. Thus the whole utterance means: “It has a photo and a folded note inside.”

8. Die details zouden genoeg moeten zijn om hem veilig te identificeren.

   Those details should be enough to identify it safely.

   Die

   those

   details

   details

   zouden

   should

   genoeg

   enough

   moeten

   must; should

   zijn

   be

   hem

   it

   veilig

   safely

   identificeren

   identify

   More detail

   Die points to the relevant plural noun: details. Dutch uses die with plural nouns, while dit and dat are used with singular nouns. Example: Die boeken zijn interessant. — “Those books are interesting.” details is the plural of detail, meaning pieces of information or features that help distinguish something. The plural form is useful when several such features are meant. zouden is the form of zullen used here to express an expected or qualified result: “should” or “would be expected to.” In this sentence, it is not simply a past-time statement. The combination with moeten gives the meaning “should be.” genoeg means “enough” or “sufficient.” It can stand before an infinitive phrase to show that something is sufficient for an action: Dat is genoeg om te beginnen. — “That is enough to start.” moeten is the infinitive of moeten, “must” or “have to.” With zouden, as in zouden ... moeten, it expresses expectation or a recommended/likely result rather than a direct command. The separated form is completed by zijn: zouden genoeg moeten zijn — “should be enough.” zijn is the infinitive of wezen/zijn, “to be.” Here it links the subject, Die details, with the description genoeg: the details are expected to be sufficient. hem is the object form of the singular pronoun hij in Dutch. In the supplied meaning it refers to the item to be identified, rendered as “it” in English; Dutch pronoun choice follows the item's grammatical gender and noun class, not English’s usual inanimate “it.” Example: Ik zie hem. — “I see it.” veilig normally means “safe,” but here it functions with the following action and means “safely”: the identification is to be carried out without compromising the item or situation. Dutch can use the same form for an adjective and an adverb in contexts like this. identificeren is the infinitive “to identify.” The pattern om ... te identificeren expresses purpose: om + an infinitive clause with te. The object of the action is hem, placed before the infinitive phrase. Together, Die details zouden genoeg moeten zijn means “Those details should be enough.” om hem veilig te identificeren adds the purpose, “to identify it safely.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Those details should be enough to identify it safely.”

9. Als ze hem hebben, kan ik een tijd afspreken om hem op te halen.

   If they have it, I can arrange a time to pick it up.

   Als

   if

   ze

   they

   hem

   it

   hebben

   have

   kan ik

   I can

   tijd

   time

   afspreken

   arrange

   om … op te halen

   to pick up

   More detail

   Als introduces a condition: “if.” The reusable pattern is Als ... , ... for a condition and its result. Here it starts the condition rather than expressing a time meaning such as “when.” ze is the subject pronoun “they” here. It is plural, which is why the verb is hebben, not the singular form heeft. The fixed translation identifies this group as the holders of the item; the pronoun itself does not specify who they are. hem is the object pronoun referring here to the item translated as “it.” In Dutch, hem is used for a masculine singular or common-gender singular referent, including an inanimate item when the noun’s grammatical gender permits it. Its role here is the thing they have, not the subject of the clause. hebben is the present-tense plural form of hebben, “to have.” In the conditional clause, ze hebben means “they have.” For comparison, singular third-person hij/zij heeft uses heeft, while plural zij hebben uses hebben. kan ik means “I can.” kan is the present-tense first-person singular form of kunnen, “can / to be able to.” Dutch main-clause questions and conditional-result clauses can place the finite verb before the subject, giving kan ik rather than the ordinary statement order ik kan; this order does not by itself make the sentence a question. tijd means “time.” In een tijd, it refers to a time or time slot that can be arranged. The indefinite article een does not by itself assert a numerical count; it introduces an unspecified time slot here. afspreken means “to arrange” in this context, specifically to arrange a time. The same verb can also be used for agreeing to meet, so its exact meaning comes from what follows and from the context. Example: We spreken een tijd af. — “We arrange a time.” om ... op te halen is an infinitive construction meaning “to pick up.” om introduces the purpose or intended action, and ophalen is the separable verb “to pick up.” With te, its parts appear as op te halen: op comes before te halen. Example: Ik kom het pakket ophalen. — “I am coming to pick up the package.” Together, Als ze hem hebben gives the condition “if they have it.” kan ik een tijd afspreken gives the result “I can arrange a time,” and om hem op te halen states the purpose of that arrangement: “to pick it up.” The whole utterance therefore means: “If they have it, I can arrange a time to pick it up.”

10. Bel nu, en ik kijk je tas nog een keer na terwijl je wacht.

    Call now, and I'll check your bag again while you wait.

    Bel

    call

    nu

    now

    ik

    I

    kijk … na

    check

    je

    your

    tas

    bag

    nog een keer

    again

    terwijl

    while

    wacht

    wait

    More detail

    Bel is the imperative of bellen, “to call.” It addresses one person directly: Bel! means “Call!” The present-tense form for “I call” is ik bel, so the imperative here is not marked by a separate subject. nu means “now” and places the call at the current time. It can be reused in a direct instruction such as Kom nu. — “Come now.” ik is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” Dutch uses ik for the speaker regardless of the speaker’s gender. kijk ... na is the separable verb nakijken, meaning “to check” or “to inspect” here. In a main clause, the conjugated part comes in the finite-verb position and na moves to the end: Ik kijk de tas na. — “I check the bag.” The form kijk is present tense with ik; the base form is nakijken. je before tas is the unstressed possessive form “your,” so je tas means “your bag.” Je can also be an object or subject pronoun in other structures, but its position before a noun gives it the possessive function here. Dutch possessives do not change form for the gender of the possessed noun in this pattern. tas is a noun meaning “bag.” Its plural is tassen: twee tassen — “two bags.” nog een keer is a reusable expression meaning “again” or literally “one more time.” Kun je het nog een keer zeggen? means “Can you say it again?” In the fixed utterance, it modifies the checking action, saying that the bag will be checked another time. terwijl introduces a simultaneous subordinate clause, “while.” It connects an action with something happening at the same time. In terwijl je wacht, the subject is je and the clause means “while you wait.” wacht is the present-tense form of wachten, “to wait,” with je as the subject: je wacht, “you wait.” The same form is also used with hij, zij, or het in the present tense; the pronoun identifies the subject. Together, Bel nu gives the direct instruction “Call now.” After en, ik kijk je tas nog een keer na says that the speaker will check the listener’s bag again; Dutch uses the present form kijk in this coordinated utterance, while the fixed translation conveys the intended future-oriented promise as “I’ll check.” Finally, terwijl je wacht specifies that this checking happens while the listener waits. The complete meaning is: “Call now, and I’ll check your bag again while you wait.”