Fixing a Stuck Print Job | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Mijn document blijft in de printerwachtrij hangen en er komt niets uit.

   My document is stuck in the printer queue, and nothing is coming out.

   Mijn

   my

   document

   document

   blijft … hangen

   stays stuck

   printerwachtrij

   printer queue

   komt … uit

   comes out

   niets

   nothing

   More detail

   Mijn means “my” and is a possessive form placed before the possessed noun. It does not show the owner’s gender or number; the form here is mijn. The first-person plural possessive is ons or onze, chosen according to the type of noun that follows: ons document (“our document”) but onze printer (“our printer”). document means “document”. Dutch uses this noun for a written or digital file or record. In Mijn document, it is the thing whose status is described. blijft hangen combines blijft, the present-tense third-person singular form of blijven (“to remain/stay”), with the infinitive hangen (“to hang”). Together here, the construction means that something remains stuck rather than moving on. The subject is singular, so blijft is used; with a plural subject, Dutch uses blijven: De documenten blijven hangen (“The documents remain stuck”). printerwachtrij is a compound noun: printer + wachtrij (“queue/line”), meaning “printer queue”. Dutch commonly forms compounds by joining nouns into one written word. Here it identifies where the document remains stuck. komt uit is the separated form of the separable verb uitkomen, literally “come out”. komt is the present-tense third-person singular form of komen (“to come”), while uit appears later in the clause as the separable particle. In er komt niets uit, the construction says that nothing comes out. With a plural subject, komen ... uit is used: Er komen geen pagina's uit (“No pages come out”). niets means “nothing”. It expresses the absence of any output in this clause; it is not a specific object. A related but different form is iets (“something”), as in Er komt iets uit (“Something comes out”). The whole utterance is assembled as Mijn document (“my document”) + blijft ... hangen (“remains stuck”) + in de printerwachtrij (“in the printer queue”), followed by en (“and”) + er komt niets uit (“nothing comes out”). The result is: “My document is stuck in the printer queue, and nothing is coming out.”

2. Laten we het scherm controleren voordat we de opdracht opnieuw versturen.

   Let's check the screen before sending the job again.

   Laten we

   let’s

   scherm

   screen

   controleren

   check

   voordat

   before

   opdracht

   job; task

   opnieuw

   again

   versturen

   send

   More detail

   Laten we is the reusable Dutch pattern for “let’s”: laten is followed by we and an infinitive, here controleren. It expresses a proposal for joint action, not a statement that the action has already happened. scherm means “screen” or “display.” It is a neuter noun, so the definite form is het scherm; the article is visible in the sentence even though the selected phrase is only scherm. controleren is an infinitive meaning “to check” or “to inspect.” After Laten we, it names the proposed action. Example: Laten we de instellingen controleren. — “Let’s check the settings.” voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch, the finite verb commonly moves toward the end of this clause: voordat we ... versturen. opdracht can mean a task, assignment, or job. Here, the fixed translation supports “job.” It is a common-gender noun, so the definite form is de opdracht. opnieuw is an adverb meaning “again” or “anew.” It modifies the sending action, indicating that the job is to be sent another time. versturen is an infinitive meaning “to send” or “to dispatch,” often for a document, message, or order. In de opdracht opnieuw versturen, it is the verb of the voordat clause; we is its subject. Example: We versturen het document opnieuw. — “We send the document again.” Together, Laten we het scherm controleren means “Let’s check the screen.” The subordinate clause voordat we de opdracht opnieuw versturen means “before we send the job again.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Let’s check the screen before sending the job again.”

3. Ik heb dubbelzijdig afdrukken gekozen, maar op het scherm staat een foutmelding.

   I chose double-sided printing, but the display shows an error.

   Ik heb

   I have

   dubbelzijdig

   double-sided

   afdrukken

   printing

   gekozen

   chosen

   maar

   but

   scherm

   screen

   staat

   appears; is displayed

   foutmelding

   error message

   More detail

   Ik heb is the first-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”). Here it is the auxiliary in the Dutch perfect: hebben + a past participle. The subject is ik (“I”), and heb agrees with that subject. In other persons, the auxiliary changes: jij hebt, hij/zij heeft, wij hebben. dubbelzijdig means “double-sided” or “on both sides.” Here it describes the printing option. It functions as one adjective. Example: dubbelzijdig papier means “double-sided paper.” afdrukken means “printing” here: the activity or option of producing printed pages. The same form can also be the infinitive “to print”; context determines the use. Example: Ik wil het document afdrukken. — “I want to print the document.” gekozen is the past participle of kiezen, “to choose.” The useful form chain is kiezen – koos – gekozen (“choose” – “chose” – “chosen”). With heb, this gives the perfect meaning “have chosen.” The participle does not itself show that the subject is first-person singular; heb carries that information here. maar means “but” and introduces a contrasting clause. It links the selected option with the situation shown afterward. scherm means “screen” or “display.” In the utterance it appears in the noun phrase het scherm, “the screen”; het is the definite article, while scherm is the noun. Example: Het scherm is helder. — “The screen is bright.” staat is the third-person singular present form of staan, “to stand.” With information or a message on a display, Dutch can use staan for something that is shown or appears. Here staat is singular because its subject is een foutmelding, not het scherm. Example: De naam staat op het scherm. — “The name is displayed on the screen.” foutmelding means “error message.” It is a compound noun: fout means “error” or “fault,” and melding means “message” or “notification.” Dutch compounds are written as one word, and this compound is a de-word: de foutmelding. Example: Ik zie een foutmelding. — “I see an error message.” Together, the first part says that the speaker has selected double-sided printing. maar contrasts that completed choice with the following situation: an error message appears on the screen. The perfect construction presents the choice as completed, while staat presents the message as currently visible. The utterance states the display and the error message but does not specify the cause.

4. Er kan een papierstoring zijn, dus raak de knoppen voorlopig niet aan.

   There may be a paper jam, so leave the controls alone for now.

   Er kan … zijn

   there may be …

   papierstoring

   paper jam

   dus

   so

   raak … niet aan

   do not touch

   knoppen

   buttons; controls

   voorlopig

   for now

   More detail

   Er kan … zijn expresses possibility: “there may be …”. Here er is the Dutch existential element, kan is the present-tense form of kunnen used for a singular subject in this construction, and zijn is the infinitive of “to be” placed at the end. The indefinite article een introduces a possible instance without asserting a numerical count. Example: Er kan een probleem zijn. — “There may be a problem.” papierstoring is a compound noun: papier means “paper” and storing means “malfunction” or “disruption”; together here they mean “paper jam”. Dutch compounds are written as one word. The noun is singular here; its plural is papierstoringen. dus connects a situation to its consequence and means “so” or “therefore”. Here it links the possible paper jam to the instruction that follows. Example: Het regent, dus ik blijf binnen. — “It is raining, so I am staying inside.” raak … niet aan is the negative imperative of aanraken, “to touch”. This is a separable verb: in a main clause, its parts can appear as raakt … aan, while the imperative uses raak … aan. niet makes the instruction negative, so the construction means “do not touch”. Example: Raak dat niet aan. — “Do not touch that.” knoppen is the plural of knop, “button”. In this sentence, it refers to the buttons or controls mentioned in the fixed translation. The plural is formed with -en: een knop means “a button”, while de knoppen means “the buttons”. voorlopig means “for now” or “for the time being”. It limits the instruction in time: the buttons should be left untouched temporarily, not necessarily forever. Example: Wacht voorlopig hier. — “Wait here for now.” Together, the sentence says that a paper jam may be present; therefore, for the time being, the listener is instructed not to touch the buttons or controls. The wording is a direct practical instruction.

5. Ik wil het niet opnieuw versturen en geen nieuwe opdracht aan de wachtrij toevoegen.

   I do not want to resend it and add another job to the queue.

   Ik wil

   I want to

   het

   it

   niet

   not

   opnieuw

   again

   versturen

   send

   geen

   no

   nieuwe

   new

   opdracht

   job

   aan … toevoegen

   add to

   de wachtrij

   the queue

   More detail

   Ik wil uses the first-person singular present form of willen (“to want”): ik wil. The infinitive normally follows it, as in Ik wil vertrekken (“I want to leave”). Here it introduces both coordinated actions that the speaker does not want. het is an object pronoun meaning “it” here. Its grammatical form is a singular neuter object form; the fixed translation identifies its intended meaning as “it,” but does not identify the specific thing independently. niet is the negator “not.” In this sentence it negates the speaker’s wanting of the coordinated actions: the speaker does not want to resend the item or add a new job to the queue. Dutch commonly places niet before the following verbal material in this type of construction. opnieuw means “again” or “anew.” With versturen, opnieuw versturen is the reusable pattern “to resend.” Example: We moeten het opnieuw versturen. — “We have to resend it.” versturen is the infinitive “to send” or “to dispatch,” and here it means “to resend” because opnieuw modifies it. After wil, Dutch uses the infinitive: Ik wil het versturen means “I want to send it.” geen negates an indefinite noun phrase. Before nieuwe opdracht, it gives the meaning “no new job,” rather than asserting a numerical count. A positive counterpart is een nieuwe opdracht (“a new job”); the choice between geen and een changes the polarity of the noun phrase. nieuwe is the attributive form of nieuw (“new”). It appears before opdracht; in this phrase, the adjective has the regular -e ending used with this noun phrase. The base form is nieuw, the comparative is nieuwer (“newer”), and the superlative is nieuwst (“newest”). opdracht is a noun meaning “job” here, in the context of an item handled in a queue. It can have other context-dependent meanings, including “assignment,” but “job” is the intended sense in the fixed translation. The noun is used here as a common-gender de-word: de opdracht. aan ... toevoegen is the construction “add ... to ...”; the two parts are separated here because the object comes between the verb and the prepositional phrase. toevoegen is the infinitive “to add,” and aan introduces what receives the addition. Example: Voeg de naam aan de lijst toe. — “Add the name to the list.” de wachtrij means “the queue.” wachtrij is a compound noun referring to a line or sequence waiting to be processed, and de is its definite article. In this sentence, aan de wachtrij toevoegen means “add to the queue.” Together, Ik wil het niet opnieuw versturen means “I do not want to resend it,” and geen nieuwe opdracht aan de wachtrij toevoegen means “add no new job to the queue.” The conjunction en coordinates these two actions, producing the full meaning: “I do not want to resend it and add another job to the queue.”

6. Ik kan de mislukte afdrukopdracht annuleren voordat u het opnieuw probeert.

   I can cancel the failed job before you try again.

   Ik kan

   I can

   mislukte

   failed

   afdrukopdracht

   printing job

   annuleren

   cancel

   opnieuw

   again

   probeert

   try

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can.” kan is the present-tense form of kunnen for ik; the modal is followed by an infinitive. In this sentence, kan ... annuleren expresses that the speaker is able or in a position to cancel something. Example: Ik kan helpen. — “I can help.” mislukte means “failed” here and describes afdrukopdracht. It is related to the verb mislukken (“to fail”) and has the adjectival -e ending before the definite noun phrase de afdrukopdracht. The noun afdrukopdracht is a compound: afdruk relates to printing or a printout, and opdracht can mean an assignment or job. Example: De mislukte afdruk is weggegooid. — “The failed printout was thrown away.” afdrukopdracht means “printing job” here. As a Dutch compound, its meaning is built from afdruk (“printing” or “printout”) and opdracht (“assignment” or “job”). Example: De afdrukopdracht is klaar. — “The printing job is ready.” annuleren means “to cancel.” It is the infinitive selected by kan, so the modal and the lexical verb together form kan ... annuleren. Example: U kunt de bestelling annuleren. — “You can cancel the order.” voordat introduces an event that is earlier than the event in its subordinate clause. Here, it places the possible cancellation before the addressee’s attempt; it does not by itself assert that the attempt will occur. It introduces a subordinate clause, and Dutch places the finite verb at the end of that clause here: u het opnieuw probeert. opnieuw means “again” or “anew.” It modifies the trying action, so it indicates another attempt rather than the first attempt. It is different from nieuw, which means “new” without necessarily implying repetition. Example: Probeer het opnieuw. — “Try again.” u is the polite or formal second-person pronoun, referring to the person being addressed. In this sentence it is the subject of the subordinate clause, not the person who can cancel the job. probeert means “try” in the form used with u in the present tense. Its base form is proberen; probeert is the finite form used here with u. Example: U probeert het opnieuw. — “You try again.” Together, Ik kan ... annuleren says that the speaker can cancel de mislukte afdrukopdracht. voordat u het opnieuw probeert places the addressee’s possible next attempt after that possible cancellation: “I can cancel the failed job before you try again.”

7. Kunt u de printer controleren voordat ik nog iets verstuur?

   Could you check the printer before I send anything else?

   Kunt u

   Could you …?

   de printer

   the printer

   controleren

   check

   voordat

   before

   nog iets

   anything else

   verstuur

   send

   More detail

   Kunt u is a polite request pattern. Kunt is the present-tense form of kunnen used with u; the infinitive that follows names the requested action. In a question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Kunt u ...? This can be reused with another infinitive, for example: Kunt u wachten? — “Could you wait?” de printer means “the printer.” Printer is a noun, and de is the definite article used with this noun. The article is part of the noun phrase; it does not itself express a number beyond identifying the printer as a specific one in the situation. controleren is the infinitive “to check.” After kunnen, Dutch uses the infinitive for the requested action: Kunt u de printer controleren? — “Could you check the printer?” The form controleren is not marked for the person doing the action; u supplies that participant here. voordat introduces a subordinate clause meaning “before.” In the clause that follows it, the finite verb is placed at the end: voordat ik ... verstuur — “before I send ...”. This pattern is reusable with other events, for example: Bel me voordat je vertrekt. — “Call me before you leave.” nog iets means “anything else” or “something more” in this context. iets is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something,” and nog adds the idea of an additional item or action. Together they can refer to something additional without naming it: Wil je nog iets? — “Do you want anything else?” verstuur is the first-person singular present form of versturen, “to send.” Its subject is ik, which appears earlier in the subordinate clause: ik ... verstuur. The infinitive is versturen, while verstuur is the form used with ik; it is not the form for u in the main request. The sentence combines the polite request Kunt u ... controleren? with the time condition voordat ik nog iets verstuur. The complete meaning is: “Could you check the printer before I send anything else?” The speaker asks the listener to check the printer, with the checking to happen before the speaker sends an additional item.

8. Ik zal even kijken, maar wilt u de machine alstublieft niet zelf openen.

   I'll take a look, but please do not open the machine yourself.

   Ik zal

   I will

   even

   briefly; just

   kijken

   look

   maar

   but

   wilt u

   would you

   de machine

   the machine

   alstublieft

   please

   niet

   not

   zelf

   yourself

   openen

   open

   More detail

   Ik zal means “I will.” zal is the present-tense form of zullen used with ik to form a future construction. The following infinitive states the action: Ik zal kijken = “I will look.” even softens the action and presents it as brief or quick: “just” or “for a moment.” It does not itself mean that the action will definitely take a particular measured amount of time. kijken means “to look” or “to take a look.” It is the infinitive after zal; the finite verb carrying person and tense is zal. Example: Ik kijk naar de machine. — “I am looking at the machine.” maar connects this statement with a contrasting request: “but.” wilt u is a polite request pattern meaning “would you” or “do you want to.” Here it functions as a courteous request, not as a statement about the listener’s personal desire. wilt is the form of willen used with the formal or polite pronoun u. In a question or request, the verb comes before u: Wilt u wachten? — “Would you wait?” de machine means “the machine.” machine is a noun, and de is its definite article. The article is part of the noun phrase; it does not by itself specify the machine’s gender in the English sense. Example: De machine werkt. — “The machine works.” alstublieft is the polite word “please.” It can make a request more courteous. In this sentence it accompanies the request formed by wilt u ... openen. niet expresses negation: “not.” Here it negates the requested action openen, so the request is not to open the machine. Its exact scope is understood together with the surrounding request rather than as a meaning belonging to the adjacent word alone. zelf means “yourself” or “on your own.” With u, it refers to the person being addressed and emphasizes that person’s doing the action personally. Example: U kunt het zelf doen. — “You can do it yourself.” openen means “to open.” It is an infinitive after the request pattern wilt u ...; the form does not show a separate person ending here. Example: Kunt u de deur openen? — “Can you open the door?” Together, Ik zal even kijken means “I’ll take a quick look.” maar introduces the contrast, and wilt u de machine alstublieft niet zelf openen politely asks the listener not to open the machine personally. The complete utterance therefore means: “I’ll take a look, but please do not open the machine yourself.”

9. Ik wacht hier terwijl u het controleert.

   I'll wait here while you check it.

   Ik

   I

   wacht

   wait

   hier

   here

   terwijl

   while

   u

   you

   het

   it

   controleert

   check

   More detail

   Ik wacht means “I wait” here. wachten is the base form; wacht is its present-tense form with ik. The subject is the speaker, and the English translation presents this as “I’ll wait,” which is a natural context-based rendering of the present tense. Example: Ik wacht op de bus. — “I’m waiting for the bus.” The preposition op is commonly used when naming what someone is waiting for. hier means “here,” referring to the speaker’s location. It can be reused with other verbs: Ik blijf hier. — “I’ll stay here.” terwijl introduces an action happening at the same time as the main action: “while.” It begins the subordinate clause terwijl u het controleert. In this clause, the finite verb comes at the end, so the order is u het controleert rather than the usual main-clause order. u is the formal second-person pronoun, meaning “you.” Its grammatical number is not identified by the fixed sentence; depending on context, formal u can address one person or more than one person. Here it is the subject of controleert. het means “it” here, referring to the thing being checked. As a separate word, het can also function as the definite article “the” before a neuter singular noun, but in this sentence it is an object pronoun. controleert means “check” here. Its base form is controleren; controleert is the present-tense form used with u. With jij/je, the common form is also controleert, while the base form appears after a modal or in an infinitive construction: U moet het controleren. — “You must check it.” Together, Ik wacht hier gives “I’ll wait here,” and terwijl u het controleert gives “while you check it.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I’ll wait here while you check it.”

10. Dat helpt ons het probleem op te lossen zonder meer afdrukopdrachten toe te voegen.

    That will help us clear the problem without adding more print jobs.

    Dat

    That

    helpt

    helps

    ons

    us

    probleem

    problem

    op te lossen

    to solve

    zonder

    without

    meer

    more

    afdrukopdrachten

    print jobs

    toe te voegen

    to add

    More detail

    Dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here and functions as the subject. Its exact referent is not identified in the sentence itself, so learn the reusable pattern dat helpt ... = “that helps ...”. Dutch also uses dit for “this” and dat for “that”; the choice depends on the demonstrative distinction, not simply on the noun that follows. helpt comes from helpen, “to help”. It is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject: ik help, jij/u helpt, hij/zij/het helpt, wij/jullie/zij helpen. In this sentence the present form is understood with the future-oriented meaning “will help” in the fixed translation; Dutch present tense can refer to a future result when the context supports that reading. ons is the object form of the first-person plural pronoun, “us”. Compare subject wij/we = “we” with object ons = “us”: Wij helpen hem means “We help him,” while Dat helpt ons means “That helps us.” probleem is the noun “problem”. Here it appears with the definite article het: het probleem = “the problem”. The article is part of the noun phrase, while the noun itself is probleem; Dutch nouns with het are commonly called neuter nouns. The phrase means that the problem is dealt with or cleared, as reflected by the fixed translation. op te lossen is the infinitive construction from oplossen, “to solve” or “to clear”. Oplossen is a separable verb: in an ordinary finite clause, Ik los het probleem op means “I solve the problem”; with te, the infinitive is op te lossen. This construction follows helpt and expresses what the help enables: helpt ons het probleem op te lossen = “helps us solve the problem.” zonder means “without” and introduces the way in which something happens. With a verb, Dutch commonly uses zonder te plus an infinitive: zonder te wachten = “without waiting.” Here it introduces the action in toe te voegen. meer means “more” in this noun phrase. It indicates an additional amount beyond what is already relevant, without itself stating an exact number. A useful contrast is meer opdrachten = “more jobs” versus minder opdrachten = “fewer jobs.” afdrukopdrachten is the plural noun “print jobs”. Its singular is afdrukopdracht, and the plural ending is -en: één afdrukopdracht / meerdere afdrukopdrachten. The compound combines afdruk (“print”) with opdracht (“job” or “assignment”); here the whole compound refers to jobs sent for printing. toe te voegen is the infinitive construction from toevoegen, “to add”. Like oplossen, toevoegen is separable: Ik voeg een opdracht toe means “I add a job,” while the te-infinitive is toe te voegen. The phrase meer afdrukopdrachten toe te voegen therefore means “to add more print jobs.” Putting the chunks together, Dat helpt ons gives “That will help us,” het probleem op te lossen gives “solve/clear the problem,” and zonder meer afdrukopdrachten toe te voegen gives “without adding more print jobs.” The complete utterance is: “That will help us clear the problem without adding more print jobs.”