Handling a frozen maintenance request app | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. De app voor onderhoudsverzoeken liep vast nadat ik op verzenden had gedrukt.

   The maintenance request app froze after I pressed send.

   app

   app

   onderhoudsverzoeken

   maintenance requests

   liep vast

   froze

   verzenden

   sending

   gedrukt

   pressed

   More detail

   app is the Dutch loanword for “app” or “application.” It is a common-gender noun, so the sentence uses the definite article de: de app. onderhoudsverzoeken means “maintenance requests.” It is a plural compound: onderhoud refers to maintenance, and verzoeken is the plural of verzoek (“request”). In this sentence, the compound specifies what kind of requests the app is for. The phrase voor onderhoudsverzoeken therefore means “for maintenance requests.” liep vast is the fixed verb expression vastlopen, meaning “to freeze,” “to get stuck,” or “to stop responding.” The observed form liep is the past-tense form of lopen; vast completes the expression. Dutch separable verbs place the parts apart in a main clause: De app liep vast. In a perfect construction, the parts can appear together in the participle vastgelopen. verzenden means “to send.” Here it is used as a nominalized infinitive, referring to the action or button label “Send,” after op: op verzenden means “on Send” or “by pressing Send” in this interface context. A useful contrast is sturen, which can also mean “to send” in many everyday contexts, while verzenden is especially common for sending something through a service or system. gedrukt is the past participle of drukken, “to press.” The form had gedrukt is the pluperfect: had plus the participle gedrukt marks this pressing as completed before the app froze. The subject is ik, “I.” The preposition op links the action to the control that was pressed. The sequence marker nadat means “after” and introduces the earlier event. Thus nadat ik op verzenden had gedrukt means “after I had pressed Send.” Combined in source order, De app voor onderhoudsverzoeken identifies the maintenance-request app, liep vast says that it froze, and the nadat clause places the completed pressing of Send before that freezing. The whole utterance means: “The maintenance request app froze after I pressed Send.”

2. Controleer of het verzoek in je geschiedenis staat voordat je het opnieuw probeert.

   Check whether the request appears in your history before you try again.

   Controleer

   check

   of

   whether

   verzoek

   request

   geschiedenis

   history

   staat

   is listed; appears

   voordat

   before

   opnieuw

   again

   probeert

   try

   More detail

   Controleer is the imperative of controleren (“to check”). It addresses the listener directly: Controleer ... = “Check ...”. The present-tense form with je is je controleert; the imperative uses the stem-like form controleer. of introduces an embedded yes/no question: of ... means “whether ...” here. Dutch uses this word to connect a main verb such as controleren to the question being checked. In the embedded clause, the finite verb comes after the subject: of het verzoek ... staat. verzoek means “request”. Its usual definite article is het: het verzoek = “the request”. The noun itself is singular here; the article identifies a specific request without adding a numerical claim. geschiedenis means “history”; in this context it is the app’s history or record. It is a de-noun: de geschiedenis. The phrase in je geschiedenis means “in your history”, with je meaning “your” here. staat is the third-person singular present form of staan, literally “to stand”. With a record, list, or stored item, staan commonly means “to be listed, recorded, or appear”: Het verzoek staat in de geschiedenis = “The request appears in the history.” The form chain is staan → staat for het verzoek / hij / zij. voordat means “before” and introduces a time clause. voordat je ... probeert places the later action after the condition in the sentence’s intended sequence: first check, then try again. In this subordinate clause, the finite verb probeert comes after its subject je. opnieuw is the adverb “again” or “anew”. It modifies the trying action, so it means that the action is repeated, not that the request itself is new. probeert is the present-tense form of proberen, “to try”. Here it agrees with je: je probeert. In the clause voordat je het opnieuw probeert, het is the neuter object pronoun “it”; the fixed translation expresses the same idea naturally as “try again”. Together, of het verzoek in je geschiedenis staat is “whether the request appears in your history”. Controleer makes that the instruction, and voordat je het opnieuw probeert adds the time relation “before you try again”. The complete utterance therefore means: “Check whether the request appears in your history before you try again.”

3. De app laadt nog steeds en ik kan niet zien of het bericht is verzonden.

   It is still loading, and I cannot tell if the message went through.

   app

   app

   laadt

   is loading

   nog steeds

   still

   ik kan

   I can

   niet zien

   not see / tell

   of

   if / whether

   bericht

   message

   is verzonden

   has been sent / went through

   More detail

   app is the noun “app.” Dutch nouns are not marked for plural in this form; the plural is apps. The sentence uses it as the thing that is loading. laadt means “is loading” here. Its base form is laden (“to load”), and laadt is the present-tense form used with a singular subject such as de app. The ending -t is part of this verb form; it does not belong to app. nog steeds means “still.” Together, these words show that the loading continues at the relevant moment. For example: De pagina werkt nog steeds niet. — “The page still does not work.” ik kan is the first-person singular present form of the modal verb kunnen, “can” or “be able to.” ik identifies the speaker, and kan agrees with that subject. A Dutch modal verb is followed by an infinitive: Ik kan wachten. — “I can wait.” niet zien means “not see”; in this sentence, zien is the infinitive “to see,” and niet negates the ability or action. With kan, the infinitive comes after the modal: Ik kan het zien means “I can see it,” while Ik kan het niet zien means “I cannot see it.” Here the intended meaning is naturally “I cannot tell,” because the speaker cannot determine the result. of introduces an embedded yes-or-no question and means “whether” or “if” here. It is different from a conditional als, which introduces a condition. For example: Ik weet niet of hij komt. — “I do not know whether he is coming.” bericht is the noun “message.” In the fixed sentence it is the thing whose delivery status is uncertain. Its plural is berichten; the spelling changes because the plural adds -en. is verzonden means “has been sent” here, corresponding to “went through” in the fixed translation. verzonden is the past participle of verzenden, “to send.” The form is is a form of zijn (“to be”) and combines with the participle to make a passive result in this embedded clause. Dutch present passive normally uses wordt verzonden (“is being sent”), whereas is verzonden presents the sending as completed or achieved. The sentence first says that de app laadt nog steeds: “the app is still loading.” Then ik kan niet zien says that the speaker cannot determine something. The embedded question of het bericht is verzonden supplies what cannot be determined: whether the message has been sent. Together, the utterance means: “The app is still loading, and I cannot tell if the message went through.”

4. Maak een screenshot, zodat je het probleem duidelijk kunt uitleggen.

   Take a screenshot so you can explain the problem clearly.

   Maak

   take / make (command)

   screenshot

   screenshot

   zodat

   so that

   je

   you

   probleem

   problem

   duidelijk

   clearly

   kunt

   can / are able to

   uitleggen

   explain

   More detail

   Maak is the imperative of maken (“to make/do”). Here it is used in the practical expression een screenshot maken, which means “to take a screenshot”; Dutch commonly uses maken with this noun rather than treating “take” as a separate verb. The following je shows that the addressee is one informal person in this sentence; Maak itself can also serve in other contexts for formal or plural commands. screenshot is a noun meaning a captured image of what is displayed on a screen. In een screenshot, een is an indefinite article; it does not by itself state a numeric count. The noun is a common loanword in Dutch. zodat introduces a subordinate clause expressing the intended result or purpose: “so that …”. The clause after zodat explains what the screenshot will enable. je is the informal second-person singular subject pronoun, “you”. It refers to the person being addressed in this sentence. Dutch also has the formal second-person pronoun u, but that is not the form used here. het probleem means “the problem”. Probleem is a neuter noun, which is why the definite article here is het. The article belongs to the noun phrase; probleem itself is the reusable noun. duidelijk means “clearly” in this sentence: it describes how the explanation can be given. The same form can also function as the adjective “clear”, as in een duidelijke uitleg (“a clear explanation”); in that noun phrase the adjective takes the ending -e. kunt is the second-person singular present form of kunnen (“can; be able to”). The pattern je kunt expresses ability or possibility. In a subordinate clause, this finite verb appears before the final infinitive, as in je ... kunt uitleggen. uitleggen means “to explain”. It is an infinitive, and it remains at the end of this subordinate clause after the modal verb kunt. The separable verb uitleggen has the parts uit and leggen in its form, but here it is used as one infinitive and should be learned with the meaning “explain”. Together, Maak een screenshot gives the command “Take a screenshot”. zodat je het probleem duidelijk kunt uitleggen gives the purpose: the addressee can then explain the problem clearly. The complete utterance therefore means: “Take a screenshot so you can explain the problem clearly.”

5. Ik wil niet hetzelfde verzoek nog een keer versturen.

   I do not want to send the same request again.

   Ik wil

   I want

   niet

   not

   hetzelfde

   the same

   verzoek

   request

   nog een keer

   again

   versturen

   send

   More detail

   Ik wil means “I want.” wil is the present-tense first-person singular form of willen (“to want”): ik wil, jij wilt, wij willen. After willen, the other verb stays in the infinitive: Ik wil vertrekken = “I want to leave.” niet is the negation word “not.” Here it negates the desire to carry out the following action, so the meaning is “do not want to send,” not simply “send not.” hetzelfde means “the same.” It is the form used with a singular het-word such as het verzoek: hetzelfde verzoek. With a singular de-word, the form is dezelfde, as in dezelfde vraag (“the same question”). verzoek means “request.” Its article is het: het verzoek; its plural is verzoeken. In this utterance it is the object being sent. nog een keer is a reusable conversational way to say “again” or “one more time.” opnieuw is a compact alternative with the same basic meaning: Ik probeer het opnieuw = “I try again.” The indefinite article in een keer belongs to the expression and does not by itself state a numerical count here. versturen means “to send,” especially to transmit or dispatch something such as a request. It is an infinitive after wil; the present-tense first-person form is ik verstuur. For example, Ik verstuur het formulier vandaag means “I am sending the form today.” Together, Ik wil + niet expresses the speaker’s lack of desire, hetzelfde verzoek identifies the same request, nog een keer adds repetition, and versturen names the intended action. The complete meaning is: “I do not want to send the same request again.”

6. Wacht even en controleer daarna de app voordat je een nieuw verzoek indient.

   Wait a short time, then check the app before starting a new request.

   Wacht

   wait

   even

   briefly; for a moment

   controleer

   check

   daarna

   afterwards

   app

   app

   voordat

   before

   nieuw

   new

   verzoek

   request

   indient

   submit

   More detail

   Wacht is the imperative of wachten (“to wait”). It addresses one or more people directly; Dutch uses this same form for the ordinary imperative. Example: Wacht hier. — “Wait here.” even softens the instruction by indicating a short moment: Wacht even means “Wait a moment” or “Wait briefly.” Here it does not express a precise measured duration. controleer is the imperative of controleren (“to check”). The instruction is therefore directed to the listener: “check.” Example: Controleer het adres. — “Check the address.” daarna means “afterwards” or “then, after that.” It refers to the action just mentioned, so controleer daarna means “then check.” app is the noun “app.” In this sentence it is the object being checked; the article de appears before it: de app. The article belongs to the noun phrase and is not included in the selected quote. voordat introduces an event that must happen earlier than another event: “before.” It starts the subordinate clause voordat je ... indient. In Dutch, this subordinate clause places its finite verb at the end. nieuw means “new.” It describes verzoek, so een nieuw verzoek is “a new request.” Its comparative forms are nieuwer (“newer”) and nieuwst (“newest”), although the basic form is the one needed here. verzoek is the noun “request.” The phrase een nieuw verzoek refers to a request characterized as new; the indefinite article een does not by itself state a numerical count. indient is the finite form of the separable verb indienen, “to submit.” In the main clause, the parts separate: Je dient een verzoek in. — “You submit a request.” In the subordinate clause after voordat, they appear together at the end: voordat je een verzoek indient — “before you submit a request.” The ending -t marks the present-tense form used with je here; indienen is the base form. Together, Wacht even gives the first instruction, en controleer daarna de app gives the next one, and voordat je een nieuw verzoek indient sets the timing of that submission. The complete meaning is: “Wait a short time, then check the app before starting a new request.”

7. Als de app nog steeds vastloopt, moet ik dan rechtstreeks contact opnemen met de onderhoudsdienst van het gebouw?

   If it still freezes, should I contact building maintenance directly?

   app

   app

   nog steeds

   still

   vastloopt

   freezes / gets stuck

   moet ik dan

   should I then

   rechtstreeks

   directly

   contact opnemen

   get in contact / contact

   onderhoudsdienst

   maintenance service

   gebouw

   building

   More detail

   app is a commonly used Dutch noun for an application. In this sentence, de app is the thing that may stop working. Example: Ik open de app. — “I open the app.” nog steeds means that the situation continues: “still.” It is useful when something has not changed by the relevant time. Example: De app werkt nog steeds niet. — “The app still does not work.” vastloopt comes from the separable verb vastlopen, meaning “to freeze” or “get stuck” when referring to software. The present-tense form for a singular third-person subject is loopt vast; in this subordinate clause, the parts appear together at the end as vastloopt. The -t marks the singular present form here. Example: Als mijn computer vastloopt, start ik hem opnieuw. — “If my computer freezes, I restart it.” moet ik dan combines the present form moet of the modal verb moeten (“must / have to”) with the subject ik (“I”) and dan (“then / in that case”). In this question, the modal expresses what the speaker should do in the stated situation, so the natural meaning is “should I then.” The inverted order moet ik makes this a question. The infinitive belonging to moet comes later: moet ik ... opnemen. rechtstreeks means “directly,” without an intermediary. It modifies the act of making contact here. Example: Bel rechtstreeks met de dienst. — “Call the service directly.” contact opnemen is a reusable Dutch construction meaning “to contact” or “to get in touch.” The verb is opnemen; with a person or organization, the construction normally uses contact opnemen met .... It is not the same as merely using the noun contact on its own. Example: Neem contact op met de school. — “Contact the school.” In the fixed sentence, opnemen is the infinitive required after the modal moet. onderhoudsdienst is a compound noun meaning “maintenance service” or “maintenance department.” Its parts form one Dutch noun; the sentence specifies which service with de onderhoudsdienst. Example: De onderhoudsdienst helpt met reparaties. — “The maintenance service helps with repairs.” gebouw means “building.” In van het gebouw, the combination means “of the building” or, naturally here, “the building’s,” identifying which maintenance service is meant. Gebouw is a neuter noun and therefore takes het in the singular: het gebouw. Example: De ingang van het gebouw is open. — “The entrance of the building is open.” The sentence begins with Als, “if,” introducing the condition de app nog steeds vastloopt: if the app continues to freeze. The main question is moet ik dan rechtstreeks contact opnemen met de onderhoudsdienst van het gebouw? The modal question asks whether, in that situation, the speaker should contact the building’s maintenance service directly. Together, the utterance means: “If it still freezes, should I contact building maintenance directly?”

8. Neem rechtstreeks contact met hen op en leg uit dat de app misschien niet werkt.

   Contact them directly and explain that the app may not be working.

   Neem … contact … op

   contact

   rechtstreeks

   directly

   hen

   them

   leg … uit

   explain

   app

   app

   misschien

   perhaps; maybe

   niet

   not

   werkt

   works; functions

   More detail

   Neem contact ... op is the imperative form of the separable verb opnemen in the construction contact opnemen met iemand, meaning “to contact someone.” In this sentence, Neem appears at the start and the particle op appears later, after contact met hen. Dutch separable verbs split in this way in a main-clause imperative. The infinitive is opnemen; neem is the imperative form used without an expressed subject. Contact is the noun “contact” within this fixed expression. rechtstreeks means “directly” here. It is an adverb describing how the contact should be made. Example: Bel haar rechtstreeks. — “Call her directly.” met hen identifies the people contacted: “them.” Hen is a third-person plural personal pronoun used here after the preposition met; the fixed translation identifies them as the intended recipients, but does not identify who those people are. leg ... uit is the imperative of the separable verb uitleggen, “to explain.” The particle separates in this main-clause command: leg comes first and uit comes later. The infinitive is uitleggen, while leg is the imperative form. Example: Leg het uit. — “Explain it.” app is the noun “app” or “application.” In the full sentence it occurs as de app; the article de is not a numeric count. misschien means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It makes the statement uncertain. For example, de app werkt misschien means “the app may work”; with niet in this sentence, the intended meaning is that the app may not be working. niet is the ordinary Dutch negation word “not.” Here it contributes to the negation of the clause containing werkt, and together with misschien gives the meaning “may not.” werkt is the present-tense third-person singular form of werken, “to work” or “to function.” Its subject is de app, so the singular form is used: de app werkt. Example: De printer werkt. — “The printer works.” The pieces combine as follows: Neem rechtstreeks contact met hen op commands the listener to contact them directly. en leg uit adds a second command, “and explain.” The clause introduced by dat gives the content of the explanation: de app misschien niet werkt, “the app may not be working.” Thus the whole utterance means: “Contact them directly and explain that the app may not be working.”

9. Ik kan het scherm open laten totdat ik weet wat er is gebeurd.

   I can keep the screen open until I know what happened.

   Ik kan

   I can

   scherm

   screen

   open

   open

   laten

   keep; leave

   weet

   know

   wat er is gebeurd

   what happened

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can” here. kan is the present-tense form of kunnen used with ik; it expresses ability or possibility. The subject is explicitly Ik, “I.” For example: Ik kan komen. — “I can come.” scherm means “screen.” The full noun phrase in the sentence is het scherm: Dutch uses the neuter article het with this noun. Its plural is schermen, as in twee schermen — “two screens.” open describes the state of the screen: it is not closed. In het scherm open laten, it functions as the complement of laten, rather than as a noun. The opposite in this use is dicht or gesloten, depending on the intended wording and context. laten is the infinitive of laten, whose basic meanings include “let,” “have,” or “leave,” depending on the construction. Here, open laten means “leave/keep open”: the speaker allows the screen to remain in that state. Dutch commonly uses iets + adjective + laten for maintaining a state, for example Laat de deur open. — “Leave the door open.” The modal kan takes this infinitive, so kan ... laten means “can keep/leave ...”. weet is the first-person singular present form of weten, “to know”: ik weet, but wij weten — “we know.” This verb is used for known information and can introduce an embedded question, as in Ik weet waar hij woont. — “I know where he lives.” wat er is gebeurd is the embedded question “what happened.” wat asks about an unspecified event or thing; er is part of the Dutch construction here and does not mean a separately identified English participant. is gebeurd is the perfect form of gebeuren (“to happen”): gebeuren uses zijn as its auxiliary, and gebeurd is its past participle. The word order is characteristic of an embedded question: the finite auxiliary is appears before the participle gebeurd at the end of the clause. For example: Ik weet wat er is gebeurd. — “I know what happened.” The connector totdat means “until.” Together, totdat ik weet wat er is gebeurd means “until I know what happened.” The main clause Ik kan het scherm open laten says that the speaker can keep the screen open; the totdat clause sets the endpoint for that state. As a whole, the utterance means: “I can keep the screen open until I know what happened.”

10. Dan kan de onderhoudsdienst de screenshot gebruiken om te begrijpen wat er mis is gegaan.

    Then maintenance can use the screenshot to understand what went wrong.

    Dan

    then

    kan

    can

    onderhoudsdienst

    maintenance service

    screenshot

    screenshot

    gebruiken

    use

    om te begrijpen

    to understand

    mis … is gegaan

    go wrong

    More detail

    Dan means “then” here: it places this action after the situation already being discussed. It is a time adverb and can be reused at the start of a sentence, for example: Dan ga ik naar huis. — “Then I go home.” kan is the present-tense singular form of kunnen, “can” or “be able to.” With the singular subject de onderhoudsdienst, Dutch uses kan; with a plural subject, the form is kunnen. In this sentence, it expresses that the maintenance service is able to use the screenshot. Example: De dienst kan helpen. — “The service can help.” onderhoudsdienst is a compound noun meaning “maintenance service.” The visible phrase is part of the noun phrase de onderhoudsdienst; de is the definite article, while onderhoudsdienst names the service itself. Dutch compounds are written as one word. Example: De onderhoudsdienst komt morgen. — “The maintenance service is coming tomorrow.” screenshot is the borrowed noun “screenshot.” In the sentence it is the object that the maintenance service can use. Example: Ik stuur een screenshot. — “I send a screenshot.” gebruiken is the infinitive “to use.” After the modal kan, the infinitive comes later in the clause: kan ... gebruiken. This is a useful Dutch pattern for modal verbs: kan lezen means “can read,” and kan helpen means “can help.” om te begrijpen expresses purpose: “in order to understand” or simply “to understand.” te begrijpen is the infinitive of begrijpen, “to understand,” and om te introduces the purpose of using the screenshot. Example: Ik kijk goed om het probleem te begrijpen. — “I look carefully in order to understand the problem.” The separated text mis ... is gegaan corresponds to the fixed meaning “went wrong.” It comes from the separable verb misgaan, “to go wrong.” In the embedded clause wat er mis is gegaan, the particle mis is separated from the verb form is gegaan. The perfect form uses is, a form of zijn, with gegaan, the past participle of gaan. The nearby wat er means “what there,” forming the embedded question “what went wrong.” Together, Dan kan de onderhoudsdienst de screenshot gebruiken means “Then the maintenance service can use the screenshot.” The purpose clause om te begrijpen wat er mis is gegaan adds what the use is for: “to understand what went wrong.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Then maintenance can use the screenshot to understand what went wrong.”