Preparing for a stormy commute | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Er kan tijdens mijn reis naar het werk een storm komen.

   A storm may hit during my commute.

   Er kan

   there may be

   tijdens

   during

   mijn

   my

   reis

   journey

   naar

   to

   werk

   work

   storm

   storm

   komen

   come

   More detail

   Er kan introduces a possibility: literally, “there can/may be.” In this sentence, er is an existential placeholder, while kan is the present-tense form of kunnen for the possibility expressed here. The modal is followed by an infinitive. Compare Het kan regenen (“It may rain”), where kan likewise marks possibility rather than certainty. tijdens means “during” and places the event within a period. It is a preposition and is followed here by mijn reis .... Example: Tijdens de vakantie lees ik veel. — “During the holiday, I read a lot.” mijn means “my.” It is a possessive determiner placed before the noun it identifies. Unlike some Dutch possessives, mijn does not change for the gender or number of that noun: mijn reis and mijn reizen both use mijn. reis means “journey” or “trip” here. Its base form is reis; the plural is reizen. Example: De reis duurt twee uur. — “The journey takes two hours.” naar expresses movement toward a destination, here “to.” naar het werk is the destination phrase “to work.” This is different from in (“in”) when the meaning is location rather than movement: Ik ga naar het werk. — “I go to work.” werk means “work” in the destination expression het werk. The noun has the neuter article het in this phrase; the supplied entry quotes only the lexical span werk, while het is visible separately in the utterance. The expression naar het werk can describe going to one’s workplace, without by itself specifying the exact job or workplace. storm means “storm.” Its plural is stormen. In this sentence it is the noun that is understood as the possible event: a storm may come. Example: Een storm komt eraan. — “A storm is approaching.” komen means “to come” and is the infinitive after the modal kan. Its present-tense forms include ik kom, jij komt, and hij komt; after kan, the infinitive remains komen, not komt. Example: Er kan morgen sneeuw komen. — “There may be snow tomorrow.” Together, Er kan ... komen gives the reusable pattern “there may be ...” or “... may come.” tijdens mijn reis naar het werk specifies the period and destination-related journey: during my journey to work. The complete utterance therefore means that a storm may occur during the speaker’s commute, matching the fixed translation. The possibility is presented as uncertain, not as a definite prediction.

2. Als je moet reizen, vertrek dan eerder en houd je route flexibel.

   If you have to travel, leave earlier and keep your route flexible.

   Als

   if

   moet

   have to / must

   reizen

   travel

   vertrek

   leave / depart

   dan

   then

   eerder

   earlier

   houd

   keep

   route

   route

   flexibel

   flexible

   More detail

   Als introduces a condition: “if.” In a reusable pattern, Als ... , ... means “If ..., ...”. The clause beginning with Als places the finite verb later in the clause: Als je moet reizen. moet is the present-tense form of moeten (“must / have to”) with je as the subject. Here it expresses necessity, not a general possibility. moeten is normally followed by an infinitive: Ik moet werken = “I have to work.” reizen is the infinitive “to travel.” After a modal verb such as moeten, the lexical verb remains in the infinitive: Je moet wachten = “You have to wait.” vertrek is the singular imperative of vertrekken (“to leave / depart”). The imperative uses the stem here, so vertrekken becomes vertrek. Vertrek nu. means “Leave now.” dan means “then” in this conditional instruction. It connects the condition with the resulting action: Als je tijd hebt, kom dan binnen. = “If you have time, then come in.” eerder is the comparative form related to vroeg (“early”): vroeg = “early,” eerder = “earlier,” het vroegst = “the earliest.” It modifies the leaving action, so the instruction is to leave earlier than an understood reference point, without specifying what that point is. houd is the singular imperative of houden (“to keep / hold”). In houd ... flexibel, it means “keep ... flexible.” Houd de deur open. = “Keep the door open.” route is the noun “route.” In this sentence it is the thing whose flexibility should be maintained. Dutch nouns have grammatical gender and normally take an article, as in de route, but the noun appears here without an article because it follows possessive je. flexibel is the adjective “flexible.” After houden, it describes the resulting state of route: the route should remain flexible. As a predicate-like adjective after houden, it does not take an additional ending here. Houd je planning flexibel. = “Keep your planning flexible.” Together, Als je moet reizen means “If you have to travel.” The main instruction is vertrek dan eerder (“then leave earlier”), followed by en houd je route flexibel (“and keep your route flexible”). Thus the complete utterance means: “If you have to travel, leave earlier and keep your route flexible.”

3. Ik moet naar kantoor.

   I need to go to the office.

   Ik moet

   I need to

   naar

   to

   kantoor

   office

   More detail

   Ik moet means “I need to” or “I have to.” moet is the present-tense form of moeten for ik and other singular subjects: ik moet, jij moet, hij moet. With a following destination, Dutch can leave the movement verb gaan (“to go”) unspoken: Ik moet naar kantoor therefore means “I need to go to the office.” With an explicit action, moeten is followed by an infinitive, as in Ik moet werken — “I have to work.” naar marks movement toward a destination. It is useful in patterns such as naar school (“to school”), naar huis (“home/to home”), and naar Amsterdam (“to Amsterdam”). It contrasts with in when the meaning is location rather than movement: Ik ben in kantoor is not the usual general expression for being at the office; Ik ben op kantoor means “I am at the office.” kantoor means “office.” The form shown is singular and has no article here. In naar kantoor, the noun forms a destination expression with naar; the phrase does not state a numerical count. A related example is Zij werkt op kantoor — “She works at the office.” Together, Ik moet expresses necessity, and naar kantoor gives the destination. The complete utterance is Ik moet naar kantoor: “I need to go to the office.”

4. Maar ik kan terugkomen voordat de storm sterker wordt.

   But I can come back before it gets stronger.

   Maar

   But

   ik kan

   I can

   terugkomen

   come back

   voordat

   before

   de storm

   the storm

   sterker

   stronger

   wordt

   gets / becomes

   More detail

   Maar means “but” and links this sentence to a contrast with what was just said. It is a coordinating conjunction and does not change the word order of the clause that follows. ik kan combines ik (“I”) with kan, the present-tense form of kunnen for ik. Kunnen expresses ability or possibility; here, ik kan means that returning is possible for the speaker. A useful pattern is ik kan + infinitive: Ik kan morgen komen. — “I can come tomorrow.” The infinitive comes after the modal verb: kan terugkomen. terugkomen means “to come back” or “to return.” It is an infinitive, formed with terug- (“back”) and komen (“come”), and follows kan. The separable-verb behavior appears in other structures: Ik kom terug. — “I am coming back.” After kan, however, the infinitive stays together as terugkomen. voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. The event in that clause is the time limit for the return: the speaker can come back before the storm becomes stronger. In a subordinate clause introduced by voordat, the conjugated verb comes at the end, as in voordat de les begint — “before the lesson begins.” de storm means “the storm.” Storm is a common-gender Dutch noun, so its definite article is de. The article identifies a particular storm in this utterance, while the noun itself names the weather event. sterker means “stronger.” It is the comparative form of sterk (“strong”): sterk → sterker → het sterkst (“strong” → “stronger” → “the strongest”). Here sterker compares the storm’s later strength with its current or earlier strength; it does not itself specify how much stronger it becomes. wordt is the present-tense hij/zij/het form of worden, “to become” or “to get.” In de storm sterker wordt, wordt expresses a change of state: the storm gets stronger. The form agrees with the singular subject de storm; the comparative adjective is sterker, not wordt. A related pattern is Het wordt koud. — “It gets cold.” Together, ik kan terugkomen says “I can come back,” and voordat de storm sterker wordt sets the time condition “before the storm gets stronger.” With Maar at the beginning, the complete utterance means: “But I can come back before it gets stronger.”

5. Draag waterdichte schoenen en vermijd straten die meestal overstromen.

   Wear waterproof shoes and avoid any streets that usually flood.

   Draag

   wear

   waterdichte

   waterproof

   schoenen

   shoes

   vermijd

   avoid

   straten

   streets

   meestal

   usually

   overstromen

   flood

   More detail

   Draag is the imperative of dragen (“to wear/carry”). Here it is the command “wear”; the subject is understood rather than stated. The same form can address one person or, depending on context, more than one person. Example: Draag een jas. — “Wear a coat.” waterdichte means “waterproof” here. Its base form is waterdicht; before the plural noun schoenen, the attributive adjective has the -e form: waterdichte schoenen. Example: waterdichte laarzen — “waterproof boots.” Schoenen is the plural of schoen, “shoe.” The plural ending is -en. Example: Deze schoenen zijn nat. — “These shoes are wet.” Vermijd is the imperative of vermijden, “to avoid.” It gives a direct instruction to stay away from or not choose the thing mentioned. Example: Vermijd die weg. — “Avoid that road.” Straten is the plural of straat, “street.” After vermijd, the bare plural refers to streets fitting the description that follows. Example: We vermijden drukke straten. — “We avoid busy streets.” Meestal is an adverb meaning “usually” or “most of the time.” It describes what happens in the typical case, not every case. Example: Het regent hier meestal in de herfst. — “It usually rains here in autumn.” Overstromen is the infinitive of the verb meaning “to flood.” In straten die meestal overstromen, it is the verb of the relative clause introduced by die; die refers back to straten, so the clause describes streets that usually flood. Example: De rivier kan overstromen. — “The river can flood.” Together, Draag waterdichte schoenen gives the command “Wear waterproof shoes.” Vermijd straten die meestal overstromen adds “and avoid streets that usually flood.” The full utterance therefore advises the listener to wear waterproof footwear and stay away from streets that typically flood.

6. De tunnel bij het station loopt bij hevige regen vaak onder water.

   The underpass near the station often floods in heavy rain.

   tunnel

   tunnel

   bij het station

   near the station

   station

   station

   bij hevige regen

   in heavy rain

   hevige

   heavy

   regen

   rain

   vaak

   often

   loopt

   runs; goes

   loopt … onder water

   floods

   More detail

   tunnel means “tunnel.” Here it is singular because the sentence uses it as the subject of singular loopt; the article de alone does not prove singularity, since de is also used with plural nouns. The useful phrase is de tunnel, “the tunnel.” Example: De tunnel is lang. — “The tunnel is long.” bij het station means “near the station.” bij can express location near something, and het station is the definite noun phrase “the station.” The plural of station is stations: bij de stations — “near the stations.” station is the noun “station.” In this sentence, it names the landmark used to locate the tunnel. Example: Het station is dichtbij. — “The station is nearby.” bij hevige regen means “in heavy rain.” Here bij introduces the circumstances in which the flooding occurs. regen means “rain,” and hevige is the adjective form placed before it. hevige describes regen; it is not an inflection of regen. Its base form is hevig, “heavy” or “severe.” In this phrase, the adjective has the -e form before the singular definite noun phrase de regen: hevige regen. Example: Bij hevige wind blijven we binnen. — “In strong wind, we stay indoors.” regen means “rain.” In this use it is a mass noun, so the sentence refers to rain generally rather than counting separate instances. Example: De regen stopt. — “The rain stops.” vaak means “often.” It is an adverb of frequency and presents the flooding as something that happens repeatedly. Example: Het regent vaak in de herfst. — “It often rains in autumn.” loopt is the present-tense form of lopen with the singular subject de tunnel: de tunnel loopt. lopen can mean “to walk,” “to run,” “to go,” or, in suitable contexts, “to function.” Its meaning here is determined by the following construction. loopt ... onder water is a discontinuous construction. With a place or structure as subject, onder water lopen means “to flood” or “to become covered by water,” rather than literally walking or running. Example: De kelder loopt onder water. — “The basement floods.” Putting the parts together: De tunnel identifies the subject, bij het station locates it near the station, bij hevige regen gives the condition, and vaak expresses repeated frequency. The whole utterance means: “The underpass near the station often floods in heavy rain.”

7. Neem in plaats daarvan de hoofdweg, ook als dat iets meer tijd kost.

   Take the main road instead, even if it adds a little time.

   Neem

   take

   in plaats daarvan

   instead

   hoofdweg

   main road

   ook als

   even if

   dat

   that / it

   iets meer

   a little more

   tijd

   time

   kost

   costs

   More detail

   Neem is the imperative of nemen (“to take”). It gives a direct instruction, with the subject left unstated: “Take …”. The imperative uses the form neem, rather than the present-tense form neemt used with a third-person singular subject. Example: Neem de bus. — “Take the bus.” in plaats daarvan is a reusable phrase meaning “instead”, referring back to an alternative that is being replaced. In this sentence it introduces the recommended alternative. Example: Kies de trein in plaats daarvan. — “Choose the train instead.” hoofdweg means “main road”. In the full phrase de hoofdweg, hoofdweg is a noun; its plural is hoofdwegen. The noun names the primary or main road being recommended; “main” does not necessarily mean physically larger. The word de belongs to the surrounding noun phrase rather than to the quoted word itself. ook als introduces a condition that does not cancel the instruction: “even if”. als can introduce an ordinary condition (“if”), while ook als adds the meaning that the instruction still holds under that condition. Example: Ik ga ook als het regent. — “I’m going even if it rains.” dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or, as in the fixed translation, “it”. Here it refers to the situation or action of taking the main road, which is understood as possibly requiring more time. It is the subject of kost; it is not the noun tijd. iets meer means “a little more” or “somewhat more”. meer is the comparative form related to veel (“much/many”): veel → meer → meest (“most”). iets softens the comparison, so the sentence presents the additional time as a small amount rather than specifying an exact quantity. Example: Deze route is iets langer. — “This route is a little longer.” tijd is the noun “time”. In meer tijd, it is the thing whose amount is greater. Example: We hebben weinig tijd. — “We have little time.” kost is the third-person singular present form of kosten, “to cost”. In the fixed sentence, dat is singular, so the verb is kost; kosten is used with a plural subject or in the infinitive. Dutch commonly uses tijd kosten for “take time”. Example: De reis kost twee uur. — “The journey takes two hours.” Together, Neem ... de hoofdweg gives the instruction “Take the main road”. ook als dat iets meer tijd kost adds the concession “even if it takes a little more time”: the recommendation remains the same despite that possible extra time. The complete meaning is therefore: “Take the main road instead, even if it adds a little time.”

8. Zou een waterdichte hoes helpen om mijn laptop te beschermen?

   Would a waterproof sleeve help protect my laptop?

   Zou

   would

   een

   a/an

   waterdichte

   waterproof

   hoes

   sleeve; cover

   helpen

   help

   om … te

   to; in order to

   mijn

   my

   laptop

   laptop

   beschermen

   protect

   More detail

   Zou is the form of zullen used here to express a tentative or hypothetical “would” in a question. It comes before the subject een waterdichte hoes; this verb-first order marks the question. Example: Zou je komen? — “Would you come?” Een is the Dutch indefinite article, used here with the singular noun hoes. It marks an unspecified sleeve, not a definite one; by itself, it does not state a numerical count. Dutch uses een with both common-gender and neuter singular nouns. Waterdichte means “waterproof” here. Its base form is waterdicht; the -e form appears before the singular common-gender noun hoes (de hoes). Compare: een waterdichte hoes — “a waterproof sleeve”; een waterdicht apparaat — “a waterproof device.” The adjective describes the sleeve, not the laptop. Hoes is a noun meaning a sleeve or cover designed to contain or protect something. Its plural is hoezen. Example: De hoes is stevig. — “The sleeve is sturdy.” Helpen is the infinitive “to help.” After zou, Dutch keeps the following lexical verb in the infinitive: zou ... helpen — “would help.” The question asks whether the sleeve would be useful for the protective action; it does not assert that it will definitely help. Om ... te introduces an infinitive construction here, linking the possible help to its purpose or intended action. The two parts are separated because mijn laptop comes between them. A reusable pattern is helpen om X te + infinitive, meaning “help to do X.” Mijn means “my” and identifies the laptop as belonging to or associated with the speaker. It is the possessive form used here before singular laptop; the form does not show the noun’s gender by changing its ending. Example: mijn tas — “my bag.” Laptop is the noun “laptop.” In this sentence it is the object of beschermen, the thing receiving the protection. Example: Mijn laptop is zwaar. — “My laptop is heavy.” Beschermen is the infinitive “to protect.” It follows te in te beschermen, so the whole expression means “to protect.” Its subject is understood from the construction: the waterproof sleeve is the thing that might help protect the speaker’s laptop. Example: We willen de apparatuur beschermen. — “We want to protect the equipment.” Together, Zou een waterdichte hoes helpen asks whether an unspecified waterproof sleeve would help. om mijn laptop te beschermen states the intended purpose of that help: protecting the speaker’s laptop. The complete meaning is: “Would a waterproof sleeve help protect my laptop?”

9. Gebruik er een, want vertragingen zijn frustrerend, maar beschadigde apparatuur is erger.

   Use one, because delays are frustrating, but damaged equipment is worse.

   Gebruik

   use

   er een

   one

   want

   because

   vertragingen

   delays

   zijn

   are / be

   frustrerend

   frustrating

   maar

   but

   beschadigde

   damaged

   apparatuur

   equipment

   is

   is / be

   erger

   worse

   More detail

   Gebruik is the imperative of gebruiken (“to use”). Dutch commonly uses the bare verb stem for a singular informal command: Gebruik ... = “Use ...”. The form directly addresses the listener. er een means “one” here: er helps refer to an understood item, so the noun does not need to be repeated. The pattern is reusable when a previously understood item is replaced by “one”. want introduces the reason for the preceding instruction and is commonly translated “because” or “for”. It coordinates a reason clause, whose ordinary main-clause word order is retained here. vertragingen means “delays”. Its base form is the singular noun vertraging; vertragingen is its plural form. Compare een vertraging (“a delay”) with vertragingen (“delays”). zijn is the present-tense plural form of zijn (“to be”). It agrees with plural vertragingen: vertragingen zijn ... = “delays are ...”. The same form also occurs with plural subjects such as jullie (“you”) and zij (“they”). frustrerend describes something that causes frustration: “frustrating”. As a predicate after zijn, it has no plural ending here. Example: Wachten is frustrerend. — “Waiting is frustrating.” maar means “but” and marks the contrast between the two descriptions. beschadigde means “damaged” here. The adjective’s base form is beschadigd; it is related to the verb beschadigen (“to damage”). In beschadigde apparatuur, the adjective has the ending -e because apparatuur is a singular de-word and the adjective is attributive before the noun. The ending belongs to the adjective, not to apparatuur. Compare een beschadigd apparaat (“a damaged device”), where the singular indefinite het-word apparaat has no -e on the adjective. Example: een beschadigde tas — “a damaged bag.” apparatuur means “equipment”. It is generally a mass noun and normally does not take an ordinary plural ending when referring to equipment as a category or amount. It takes the singular verb form here: apparatuur is .... is is the present-tense singular form of zijn (“to be”). Here it occurs with apparatuur: apparatuur is erger = “equipment is worse”. Compare the earlier plural combination vertragingen zijn ... with this singular combination. erger is the comparative form of erg, meaning “bad” or “severe” in relevant uses. erg → erger expresses “worse” or “more severe”; the superlative is het ergst (“the worst”). Here erger compares damaged equipment with the previously mentioned delays. Together, Gebruik er een gives the instruction “Use one.” want vertragingen zijn frustrerend gives its reason: “because delays are frustrating.” maar beschadigde apparatuur is erger adds the contrast: “but damaged equipment is worse.” The complete utterance is: “Use one, because delays are frustrating, but damaged equipment is worse.”

10. Voordat ik vertrek, zorg ik dat de batterij van mijn telefoon vol is.

    Before I leave, I will make sure my phone battery is full.

    Voordat

    before

    vertrek

    leave; depart

    zorg ik dat

    make sure that

    batterij

    battery

    telefoon

    phone

    vol

    full

    More detail

    Voordat introduces an event that happens earlier than the event in the main clause: “before”. It is used before a clause, not just as a loose label for time. Example: Voordat ik ga, bel ik haar. — “Before I go, I call her.” vertrek is the first-person singular present form of vertrekken, “to leave” or “to depart”. The subject ik tells us who performs the action; the form is not an infinitive. Example: Ik vertrek om acht uur. — “I leave at eight o’clock.” zorg ik dat is the Dutch pattern zorgen dat ..., meaning “make sure that ...”. Here zorg is the first-person singular present form of zorgen. Because the sentence begins with the subordinate clause Voordat ik vertrek, the main-clause verb comes before its subject: zorg ik, rather than ik zorg. Example: Ik zorg dat alles klaar is. — “I make sure that everything is ready.” batterij means “battery”. It is a noun, and here it is specified by de: de batterij. Example: De batterij is leeg. — “The battery is empty.” Leeg is a useful contrast with vol. telefoon means “phone”. In de batterij van mijn telefoon, van links the battery to the phone: “the battery of my phone” or, naturally, “my phone battery”. Mijn marks possession by the speaker. Example: Mijn telefoon is nieuw. — “My phone is new.” vol means “full”. It describes the state of de batterij; it is not the form of the noun. Its useful opposite here is leeg, “empty”. Example: De batterij is vol. — “The battery is full.” Together, Voordat ik vertrek means “Before I leave”. The main clause zorg ik dat de batterij van mijn telefoon vol is means “I make sure that my phone battery is full”. The complete utterance therefore means: “Before I leave, I will make sure my phone battery is full.” The present-tense Dutch forms express this planned future action in context.

11. Dan kun je de updates bekijken als de route verandert.

    Then you can check updates if the route changes.

    Dan

    Then

    kun je

    you can

    updates

    updates

    bekijken

    check

    als

    if

    route

    route

    verandert

    changes

    More detail

    Dan means “then” here and marks a next step in the sequence. kun je is the Dutch pattern for “you can.” kun is the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with je (“you”). Here Dan is placed first, so the finite verb comes before the subject in the main clause: Dan kun je .... This is verb–subject inversion, not necessarily a question. In a non-inverted statement, the order can be Je kunt ... (“You can ...”). updates is the plural noun “updates.” Dutch also uses the singular update for one update; the plural ending here is written -s. bekijken means “to check” or “to look at” something. It is the infinitive used after kunnen: je kunt ... bekijken (“you can check ...”). Its present forms include ik bekijk (“I check”) and jij bekijkt (“you check”); after a modal such as kunnen, the infinitive remains bekijken. als introduces the condition “if” in this sentence. A reusable pattern is als + clause: Als de trein komt, vertrek ik. — “If the train comes, I leave.” In other contexts, als can also mean “when,” but the fixed translation gives the conditional reading here. route is the noun “route.” In de route, de is the definite article used with this noun. The article marks definiteness, but it does not by itself establish a numerical count. verandert means “changes” here. It is the present-tense third-person singular form of veranderen (“to change”), agreeing with the singular subject de route: de route verandert. The infinitive is veranderen; compare ik verander (“I change”) with de route verandert (“the route changes”). Together, Dan kun je de updates bekijken means “Then you can check the updates.” The conditional clause als de route verandert adds the condition “if the route changes.” Thus the whole utterance is: “Then you can check updates if the route changes.”