Rescheduling a Meeting Because of Icy Roads | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. De wegen zijn glad en het zicht is vanochtend slecht.

   The roads are icy, and visibility is poor this morning.

   wegen

   roads

   zijn

   are / be

   glad

   icy / slippery

   zicht

   visibility

   is

   is / be

   vanochtend

   this morning

   slecht

   poor / bad

   More detail

   wegen is the plural of weg (“road”): weg → wegen. The phrase De wegen means “the roads”; De is the definite article used here with this plural noun. Example: De wegen zijn druk. — “The roads are busy.” zijn is the form of zijn (“to be”) used with a plural subject in the present tense, so it agrees with wegen. The same form is also the infinitive: zijn. Example: De wegen zijn veilig. — “The roads are safe.” glad is a predicative adjective. With roads in this weather context, it means “icy/slippery,” matching the fixed translation. After zijn, it appears as glad, rather than as an attributive form before a noun. Example: De weg is glad. — “The road is slippery.” zicht means “visibility” here. It is a singular noun, and Dutch uses the neuter definite article het in het zicht. The article and noun together form het zicht — “visibility” or “the visibility.” is is the singular present form of zijn, used with the singular subject het zicht. Compare het zicht is (“visibility is”) with de wegen zijn (“the roads are”). Example: Het zicht is goed. — “Visibility is good.” vanochtend is a time adverb meaning “this morning.” It specifies when the visibility is poor. Example: Het zicht is vanochtend goed. — “Visibility is good this morning.” slecht is a predicative adjective meaning “poor” or “bad” here. Its opposite is goed (“good”). Example: Het weer is slecht. — “The weather is bad.” The conjunction en joins two clauses: De wegen zijn glad (“The roads are icy/slippery”) and het zicht is vanochtend slecht (“visibility is poor this morning”). Together, the utterance means: “The roads are icy, and visibility is poor this morning.”

2. Naar de afspraak rijden klinkt riskant.

   Driving to the meeting sounds risky.

   afspraak

   meeting; appointment

   rijden

   to drive

   klinkt

   sounds

   riskant

   risky

   More detail

   afspraak means an appointment or meeting. It is a Dutch de-word: de afspraak is the singular form, while afspraken is the plural. In this sentence, de afspraak is the destination of naar. rijden means “to drive” here. This is the infinitive, and Dutch can use an infinitive phrase as the subject of a sentence. The pattern naar + [destination] + rijden means “to drive to [destination].” For example: Naar het station rijden duurt twintig minuten. — “Driving to the station takes twenty minutes.” klinkt is the present-tense third-person singular form of klinken, “to sound.” The subject is the whole activity naar de afspraak rijden, so the singular form is used. Compare Het klinkt riskant. — “It sounds risky.” The verb klinken can also mean “to sound” in the sense of producing a noise, but here it introduces an evaluation or impression. riskant is a descriptive adjective meaning “risky.” It is the predicate after klinken; it describes how the activity sounds. Dutch predicate adjectives normally do not receive the -e ending in this position: De rit klinkt riskant. — “The drive sounds risky.” Together, naar de afspraak rijden forms the subject, “driving to the meeting,” and klinkt riskant says that this activity sounds risky. The complete meaning is: “Driving to the meeting sounds risky.”

3. Ik vind het vervelend om de afspraak te verzetten, maar veiligheid moet vooropstaan.

   I hate to reschedule, but safety should come first.

   Ik

   I

   vind

   find; consider

   vervelend

   unpleasant; bothersome

   afspraak

   appointment

   te verzetten

   to reschedule

   maar

   but

   veiligheid

   safety

   moet

   must; should

   vooropstaan

   come first

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the subject of vind. Dutch subject pronouns include ik “I,” jij/je “you” (singular), and hij/zij/het “he/she/it”; the verb form changes with the subject. vind is the present-tense first-person singular form of vinden, “to find” or “to consider.” Here it is part of the pattern iets vervelend vinden: literally “find something bothersome,” meaning “consider something unpleasant.” Compare ik vind “I find” with hij vindt “he finds”; the -t belongs to the third-person singular form. vervelend is an adjective meaning “unpleasant” or “bothersome.” In this sentence it describes the situation expressed by the infinitive phrase that follows, rather than a person or object directly. Example: Dat is vervelend. — “That is unpleasant.” afspraak is a noun meaning “appointment” or “arrangement.” The form here is singular and normally takes the definite article de: de afspraak. Its plural is afspraken: de afspraken — “the appointments.” te verzetten is the infinitive of verzetten in the construction om ... te “to ...”. In this context verzetten means “reschedule” an appointment; in other contexts it can mean “move” something. The full phrase om de afspraak te verzetten means “to reschedule the appointment.” Dutch places te before this infinitive: om de afspraak te verzetten. maar is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but.” It links the speaker’s negative reaction to rescheduling with the contrasting priority stated in the second clause. veiligheid is a noun meaning “safety.” It is singular and normally takes the definite article de: de veiligheid. In this sentence it is the subject of moet vooropstaan. moet is the third-person singular present form of moeten, “must” or “should.” The subject here is singular veiligheid, so the form is moet. After a modal verb such as moet, the other verb appears as an infinitive without te: veiligheid moet vooropstaan. vooropstaan is an infinitive meaning “stand at the front” or, figuratively here, “come first” or “take priority.” The separable verb vooropstaan can also appear as staat ... voorop in a finite clause, for example: Veiligheid staat voorop. — “Safety comes first.” Together, Ik vind het vervelend om de afspraak te verzetten says that the speaker considers rescheduling the appointment unpleasant: “I hate to reschedule.” Maar introduces the contrast, and veiligheid moet vooropstaan says that safety should take priority. The complete meaning is therefore: “I hate to reschedule, but safety should come first.”

4. Stuur ze nu een bericht en leg duidelijk uit hoe de wegen zijn.

   Message them now and explain the road conditions clearly.

   Stuur

   send

   ze

   them

   nu

   now

   bericht

   message

   leg … uit

   explain

   duidelijk

   clearly

   hoe

   how

   wegen

   roads

   zijn

   are; be

   More detail

   Stuur is the imperative form of sturen, “to send.” Dutch imperatives commonly use the verb stem without an expressed subject: Stuur een bericht. — “Send a message.” The form addresses the listener directly; the subject “you” is understood. ze is the pronoun meaning “them” here, as confirmed by the fixed translation. In this sentence it functions as the recipient of the sending action: Stuur ze een bericht. — “Send them a message.” The pronoun’s exact referents are not identified in the supplied sentence. nu means “now” and sets the timing of the command. It can also occur elsewhere for emphasis, for example Nu stuur ik het bericht. — “Now I am sending the message.” bericht is a noun meaning “message.” Its plural is berichten. In the sentence, een bericht means “a message”; een is the indefinite article, not by itself a statement of a numerical count. leg ... uit is the separable verb uitleggen, “to explain.” In this imperative, the verb part leg comes before the object or adverbial material, while the particle uit appears later: Leg het uit. — “Explain it.” The two selected spans therefore belong to one construction, not to two separate meanings. duidelijk means “clearly” in this sentence and modifies the act of explaining. The same form can also be the adjective “clear,” as in een duidelijke uitleg — “a clear explanation.” Here its position and function make it an adverb. hoe introduces the content of the explanation: “how” or, in this structure, “what ... are like.” It begins the subordinate clause hoe de wegen zijn. A related question is Hoe zijn de wegen? — “What are the roads like?” wegen is the plural of the noun weg, “road.” The plural ending is visible in wegen; the singular is weg. Here the noun refers to roads in the intended road-condition context. zijn is the present-tense form of zijn, “to be.” With the plural subject de wegen, it is the plural form: de wegen zijn ... — “the roads are ...”. In the subordinate clause, zijn comes at the end, as in hoe de wegen zijn. Together, Stuur ze nu een bericht means “Message them now”: ze identifies the recipients, een bericht is what is sent, and nu gives the timing. en joins that command to leg duidelijk uit hoe de wegen zijn, “and explain clearly what the road conditions are.” The full utterance is therefore: “Message them now and explain the road conditions clearly.”

5. Zal ik voorstellen om online af te spreken in plaats van helemaal af te zeggen?

   Should I suggest meeting online instead of canceling completely?

   Zal ik

   Shall I…?

   voorstellen

   suggest

   online

   online

   af te spreken

   to meet

   in plaats van

   instead of

   helemaal

   completely

   af te zeggen

   to cancel

   More detail

   Zal ik begins a yes/no question. zal is the first-person singular present form of zullen, used here as an auxiliary for a suggestion or proposed action; ik is the subject “I.” In a question, the finite verb comes before the subject. Compare Ik zal ... (“I will ...”) with Zal ik ...? (“Shall I ...?”). voorstellen means “to suggest” here. It is the infinitive of the separable verb voorstellen, but after the auxiliary zal it remains as an infinitive at the end of its verb phrase. Example: Ik wil een alternatief voorstellen. — “I want to suggest an alternative.” online is an adjective/adverb-like international word meaning “online.” Here it describes the way the meeting would take place: online rather than physically traveling to meet. af te spreken means “to meet” in this sentence. It is the te-infinitive of afspreken, a separable verb. The te is placed between af and spreken: af te spreken. Afspreken can also mean “to arrange an appointment,” so the exact emphasis can depend on context; here the fixed translation supports the meeting meaning. Example: We proberen morgen af te spreken. — “We are trying to meet tomorrow.” in plaats van introduces the alternative: “instead of.” With a verb, it is followed here by a te-infinitive: in plaats van af te zeggen — “instead of canceling.” helemaal means “completely” or “entirely.” It modifies the cancellation in this sentence, making the alternative “cancel completely,” not merely canceling one part or arrangement. af te zeggen means “to cancel.” It is the te-infinitive of the separable verb afzeggen, with te inserted between af and zeggen. Example: Zij moest de afspraak afzeggen. — “She had to cancel the appointment.” Together, Zal ik voorstellen asks whether the speaker should make a suggestion. That suggestion is om online af te spreken: to meet online. in plaats van helemaal af te zeggen gives the alternative being avoided: completely canceling. The whole utterance therefore means, “Should I suggest meeting online instead of canceling completely?”

6. Zo kan het werk doorgaan zonder dat iemand hoeft te reizen.

   That would keep the work moving without anyone traveling.

   Zo

   this way; thus

   kan het

   can the...

   werk

   work

   doorgaan

   continue; keep going

   zonder dat

   without [the fact that]

   iemand

   anyone

   hoeft

   needs to

   reizen

   travel

   More detail

   Zo means “in this way” or “thus.” It links the proposed arrangement to its result: in this way, the work can continue. It can also introduce a result in patterns such as Zo blijft alles duidelijk (“That way, everything stays clear”). kan het combines kan, the third-person singular present form of kunnen (“can; be able to”), with het, the definite article before werk. In this utterance, het is not the independent pronoun “it”; it belongs to the noun phrase het werk. The modal kan is followed by the main verb later in the clause: Het werk kan doorgaan means “The work can continue.” werk means “work” here, referring to the activity or task that is to continue. Its base form is also werk; with the definite article, Dutch uses neuter het: het werk. For example, Het werk begint morgen means “The work starts tomorrow.” doorgaan means “continue” or “keep going.” It is an infinitive here, selected by the modal kan. The separable verb is built from door + gaan; in a main clause it can split: Het werk gaat door (“The work continues”). With a modal, the whole infinitive stays together: Het werk kan doorgaan. zonder dat introduces a subordinate clause meaning “without ...” when the clause has its own subject. That is different from zonder te reizen, used when the understood subject is the same as in the surrounding clause. The pattern here is zonder dat + subject + ..., followed by the circumstance that is absent. iemand means “someone,” and in this context the English translation naturally uses “anyone” because it occurs inside the zonder dat construction. It is grammatically singular, so it takes the singular form hoeft. Its specific referent is not identified; the sentence simply says that no person needs to travel. hoeft is the third-person singular present form of hoeven, “need to” in the sense of necessity. Useful forms include ik hoef, jij hoeft, hij/zij/het hoeft, and wij/jullie/zij hoeven. In this sentence, zonder dat gives the negative-absence meaning: nobody needs to travel. In standard Dutch, hoeven is commonly followed by te before an infinitive, as in Niemand hoeft te reizen (“Nobody needs to travel”). In the supplied target text, hoeft is followed by the infinitival marker te and then reizen; this explanation does not silently replace the supplied wording. reizen means “travel.” It is the infinitive naming the activity that nobody needs to do. For example, Zij hoeft niet te reizen means “She does not need to travel.” Together, het werk kan doorgaan says that the work can continue, while zonder dat iemand hoeft te reizen adds the condition that this happens without any person needing to travel. The whole utterance therefore means: “That would keep the work moving without anyone traveling.”

7. Ik kan vragen of videobellen voor hen zou werken.

   I can ask whether joining by video would work for them.

   Ik kan

   I can

   vragen

   ask

   of

   whether

   videobellen

   video calling

   voor hen

   for them

   zou werken

   would work

   More detail

   Ik kan combines the first-person pronoun ik (“I”) with kan, the singular present form of kunnen (“can/be able to”). With a following infinitive, kunnen expresses ability or possibility: Ik kan komen means “I can come.” Here it introduces the action vragen; it does not mean that the speaker has already asked. vragen is the infinitive of vragen (“to ask”). After a modal verb such as kan, Dutch uses the infinitive: Ik kan vragen = “I can ask.” The same verb can also mean “to request” when the context involves asking for something, but here it means asking a question or making an inquiry. of introduces an indirect yes-or-no question. In this sentence it means “whether,” not “or.” Dutch normally places the finite verb toward the end of this subordinate clause: of ... zou werken (“whether ... would work”). videobellen is an infinitive meaning “to video-call” or “to join by video.” It is a compound verb, and its form here is the infinitive because it is the subject of the indirect question. A reusable pattern is of X zou werken, meaning “whether X would work.” voor hen means “for them.” hen is a third-person plural pronoun used here after the preposition voor; the fixed translation identifies its intended role as the people for whom the arrangement might be suitable, without identifying those people further. Compare voor mij (“for me”) and voor jou (“for you”). zou werken combines zou, the singular form of the conditional auxiliary zullen, with the infinitive werken (“to work”). In this context, werken means “be workable” or “be suitable,” not necessarily “perform paid labor.” The combination presents the video option as a possibility being evaluated: Zou dat werken? means “Would that work?” The auxiliary is singular because the grammatical subject, videobellen, is treated as singular; zouden would be used with a plural subject. Together, Ik kan vragen says “I can ask,” and of videobellen voor hen zou werken says “whether joining by video would work for them.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I can ask whether joining by video would work for them.”

8. Bied ook aan om elkaar persoonlijk te ontmoeten zodra de wegen veiliger zijn.

   Offer to meet in person once the roads are safer, too.

   Bied … aan om

   offer to

   ook

   also, too

   elkaar

   each other

   persoonlijk

   in person

   ontmoeten

   meet

   zodra

   once, as soon as

   wegen

   roads

   veiliger

   safer

   More detail

   Bied … aan om: This is the imperative of the separable verb aanbieden, “to offer.” In a main clause, the particle aan is separated: Ik bied het aan means “I offer it.” In the imperative here, Bied ... aan addresses the listener; Dutch does not show the addressee’s number in this form. aanbieden om te + infinitive is a reusable pattern for offering to do something: Ik bied aan om te helpen means “I offer to help.” The om in the supplied sentence introduces the infinitive construction, while te appears directly before ontmoeten. ook adds “also” or “too.” Its exact placement can vary, but here it adds this offer to something already under discussion; it does not change the action itself. elkaar is the reciprocal pronoun “each other.” It presents the meeting as mutual: the participants meet one another. A useful contrast is elkaar for a reciprocal relation versus a singular object pronoun such as hem or haar for one person being acted on. persoonlijk is an adverb meaning “in person” here. It specifies the manner of meeting, contrasting with meeting remotely, such as by video. The adjective persoonlijk can also mean “personal” when it modifies a noun, but its role in this sentence is adverbial. ontmoeten is the infinitive “to meet.” With elkaar, it means “to meet each other.” The form is unchanged as an infinitive; the preceding te marks it as part of the om te construction. Example: We willen elkaar ontmoeten. — “We want to meet each other.” zodra means “as soon as” or “once” and introduces the condition or time at which the offer applies. It is stronger and more immediate than a general “when” in many contexts: Bel me zodra je klaar bent. — “Call me as soon as you are ready.” wegen is the plural of the noun weg, “road.” The plural form ends in -en; de wegen means “the roads.” In de wegen ... zijn, the plural noun goes with plural zijn, “are.” veiliger is the comparative form of veilig, “safe.” The useful chain is veilig → veiliger → het veiligst/de veiligste (“safe” → “safer” → “safest”). Here veiliger compares the roads with an understood earlier or current level of safety; the sentence does not specify the comparison point. Because it follows zijn and describes de wegen, it is used predicatively and has no adjective ending in this form. Together, Bied ... aan om elkaar persoonlijk te ontmoeten means “offer to meet each other in person,” and zodra de wegen veiliger zijn sets the time condition “once the roads are safer.” With ook, the complete utterance means: “Offer to meet in person once the roads are safer, too.”

9. Als ze liever willen wachten, komt morgen mij ook goed uit.

   If they would rather wait, tomorrow also works for me.

   Als

   if

   ze

   they

   liever

   rather

   willen

   want

   wachten

   wait

   komt … goed uit

   works out

   morgen

   tomorrow

   mij

   me

   ook

   also

   More detail

   Als introduces a condition: “if.” It is reusable at the start of a conditional clause. Example: Als het regent, blijf ik thuis. — “If it rains, I stay home.” ze means “they” here, as fixed by the translation. Dutch also uses the unstressed form ze for “she” in another context; here the plural reading is established by the translation. The form itself is the same in those two unstressed readings. liever means “rather” or “preferably.” It commonly expresses a preference with a verb: Ik blijf liever thuis. — “I would rather stay home.” willen is the infinitive “to want” and also the present-tense plural form used with ze: ze willen — “they want.” With liever, it expresses that they prefer to wait; Dutch does not need a separate conditional form here to convey the English “would rather.” wachten is the infinitive “to wait.” After willen, Dutch places the other verb in the infinitive: Ze willen wachten. — “They want to wait.” komt ... goed uit is the separable expression goed uitkomen, meaning “to be convenient” or “to work out.” Here komt is the present-tense third-person singular form of uitkomen, while uit appears later in the clause. Example: Vrijdag komt mij goed uit. — “Friday works for me.” morgen means “tomorrow.” In this sentence, it names the time that is convenient. mij is the full, stressed form of “me.” In komt mij goed uit, it identifies the person for whom the option is convenient. The unstressed form me is also common in less-emphatic speech, but mij is the form used here. ook means “also” or “too.” Here it adds the meaning “also” to the statement that tomorrow works for the speaker. Together, Als ze liever willen wachten gives the condition “If they would rather wait.” In the main clause, the words occur in the source order komt morgen mij ook goed uit: the separable expression komt ... goed uit surrounds morgen mij ook. The complete meaning is: “If they would rather wait, tomorrow also works for me.”

10. Duidelijke opties zouden het gemakkelijker moeten maken om de verandering te accepteren.

    Clear options should make the change easier to accept.

    Duidelijke

    clear

    opties

    options

    zouden … moeten

    should

    gemakkelijker

    easier

    maken

    make

    verandering

    change

    accepteren

    accept

    More detail

    Duidelijke means “clear” here and describes opties. Its base form is duidelijk; the -e ending is the attributive adjective form used here before the plural noun opties. For example: duidelijke afspraken — “clear agreements.” opties means “options.” It is the plural of optie; the singular is optie. The plural ending is part of this noun, not of the adjective. Example: We hebben twee opties. — “We have two options.” zouden moeten expresses “should” in this sentence. zouden is the plural form of zullen used in this modal/conditional construction, and moeten is the infinitive “must/need to.” Because the subject duidelijke opties is plural, zouden agrees with it; with a singular subject, the corresponding form is zou moeten. Example: De uitleg zou moeten helpen. — “The explanation should help.” gemakkelijker means “easier.” It is the comparative form of gemakkelijk (“easy”): gemakkelijk → gemakkelijker → het gemakkelijkst (“easy” → “easier” → “the easiest”). Here it describes the effect of the options on accepting the change. maken means “make” or “cause.” It is an infinitive after moeten. In the reusable pattern iets gemakkelijker maken om ... te ..., something causes an activity to become easier: Deze knop maakt het gemakkelijker om te beginnen. — “This button makes it easier to start.” verandering means “change.” The noun is singular; in the full phrase de verandering, de marks it as definite (“the change”). The noun itself does not carry that definiteness marking. Example: De verandering was onverwacht. — “The change was unexpected.” accepteren means “accept.” It is the infinitive after te; te accepteren means “to accept.” In Dutch, om ... te introduces an infinitive purpose or activity here: Het is moeilijk om kritiek te accepteren. — “It is difficult to accept criticism.” Together, duidelijke opties is the plural subject. zouden ... moeten maken says that these options should cause an improvement in ease. The construction het gemakkelijker maken om de verandering te accepteren means “make it easier to accept the change,” so the whole utterance is: “Clear options should make the change easier to accept.”