Checking an Email Before Sending | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kun je de toon van deze e-mail controleren voordat ik hem verstuur?

   Could you check the tone of this email before I send it?

   Kun je

   can you ...?

   toon

   tone

   deze

   this

   e-mail

   email

   controleren

   check

   voordat

   before

   hem

   it

   verstuur

   send

   More detail

   Kun je is an inverted question pattern: kun is the present-tense second-person singular form of kunnen (“can, be able to”), and je is the subject (“you”). In a question, the finite verb comes before the subject. With the infinitive controleren, the pattern Kun je ...? asks whether someone can do something: Kun je wachten? means “Can you wait?” de toon means “the tone.” Toon is a common-gender noun, so it takes the definite article de. The phrase refers to the tone as a property of the email, not to the email itself. deze means “this” and is the demonstrative form used here with a singular de-word. In deze e-mail, it identifies the email intended by the speaker or writer. E-mail is the noun “email”; its ordinary article is de, as shown in the phrase. controleren is the infinitive “to check.” After the modal verb kunnen, Dutch uses the infinitive: Kun je de toon controleren? means “Can you check the tone?” The infinitive remains unchanged for the person doing the checking. voordat is the conjunction “before.” It introduces the earlier event in a time relation. Here, voordat ik hem verstuur means “before I send it”: the checking is to happen before the sending. The pattern voordat + clause is reusable: Lees dit voordat je antwoordt. means “Read this before you answer.” hem is the object pronoun “it” in this sentence, referring to the email identified by deze e-mail. Dutch uses hem here because the object is a singular common-gender noun; this is grammatical gender, not a claim that the email is a male person. As an object pronoun, hem is different from subject hij (“he” or “it” when used as a subject). verstuur comes from the infinitive versturen, “to send.” It is the present-tense first-person singular form: ik verstuur means “I send” or, in this context, “I send it.” In the subordinate clause after voordat, the finite verb comes at the end: voordat ik hem verstuur. Together, de toon van deze e-mail means “the tone of this email,” with van linking the tone to the email. Kun je ... controleren forms the request to check it, and voordat ik hem verstuur adds the time condition “before I send it.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Could you check the tone of this email before I send it?”

2. Hij is professioneel, maar de opening klinkt een beetje scherp.

   It is professional, but the opening feels a little sharp.

   Hij is

   he/it is

   professioneel

   professional

   maar

   but

   opening

   opening

   klinkt

   sounds

   een beetje

   a little

   scherp

   sharp

   More detail

   Hij is is the subject-plus-verb frame “he/it is.” Hij is a singular third-person subject pronoun; in this fixed translation, it is rendered as “it.” The exact noun represented by this pronoun is not uniquely named, but the sentence presents that referent as professional. Is is the present-tense singular form of zijn (“to be”): ik ben, jij bent, hij/zij/het is. Example: Het is duidelijk. — “It is clear.” Professioneel is an adjective meaning “professional.” Here it is a predicate adjective after zijn, describing the subject rather than an action. It has the same form here for the singular subject; in Dutch, attributive adjectives can show different endings in other noun-phrase environments, so this predicate position matters. Example: De toon is professioneel. — “The tone is professional.” Maar is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but.” It contrasts the positive assessment in the first clause with the different assessment that follows. Example: Het bericht is kort, maar duidelijk. — “The message is short, but clear.” Opening is a noun meaning “opening”; here, supported by the surrounding email context and the fixed translation, it refers to the opening part of the message. With the definite article, Dutch uses de opening. Example: De opening is vriendelijk. — “The opening is friendly.” Klinkt means “sounds” in this sentence. It is the third-person singular present form of klinken (“to sound”): ik klink, jij klinkt, hij/zij/het klinkt. Dutch uses this verb for an impression created by wording or tone, not only for a literal audible sound. Example: De zin klinkt natuurlijk. — “The sentence sounds natural.” Een beetje is a compact quantity expression meaning “a little.” It weakens the following description, so een beetje scherp is less strong than simply scherp. Example: De toon is een beetje formeel. — “The tone is a little formal.” Scherp means “sharp.” With klinken, it is used figuratively here for the impression made by the opening—roughly “sharp” or “a little harsh” in tone—not for a physically sharp object. Example: Dat antwoord klinkt scherp. — “That answer sounds sharp.” Together, Hij is professioneel gives the favorable assessment “It is professional.” Maar de opening klinkt een beetje scherp contrasts that with the judgment that the opening sounds slightly sharp. Thus the whole utterance means: “It is professional, but the opening feels a little sharp.”

3. Ik wil ze aan het verzoek herinneren zonder ongeduldig te klinken.

   I want to remind them about the request without sounding impatient.

   Ik wil

   I want

   ze

   them

   aan

   about

   verzoek

   request

   herinneren

   remind

   zonder

   without

   ongeduldig

   impatient

   te klinken

   to sound

   More detail

   Ik wil combines the first-person subject Ik (“I”) with wil, the present-tense form of willen (“to want”). wil is the form used with ik; the infinitive is willen. In Dutch, a modal-like verb such as willen can be followed by an infinitive: Ik wil leren. — “I want to learn.” ze is the object pronoun meaning “them” here, as confirmed by the fixed translation. It is an unstressed form and can also have other functions in other contexts, so its exact meaning must be read from the sentence. Here it is the people being reminded. aan het verzoek expresses what the reminder concerns. aan is the preposition used in the pattern iemand aan iets herinneren: “to remind someone about something.” het is the singular definite article, and verzoek means “request.” The noun’s base form is verzoek; its plural is verzoeken. Example: Ik herinner haar aan de afspraak. — “I remind her about the appointment.” herinneren is the infinitive “to remind.” In this sentence it follows wil, so it remains in the infinitive rather than carrying the present-tense ending itself. The reusable pattern is iemand aan iets herinneren — “to remind someone about something.” The direct object is the person being reminded (ze), while aan introduces the matter being recalled (het verzoek). zonder means “without” and introduces the condition that should be avoided. With an action performed by the same understood subject, Dutch commonly uses zonder te plus an infinitive: zonder te klagen — “without complaining.” ongeduldig is the adjective “impatient.” It describes the manner of sounding here. Its opposite is geduldig, “patient.” Example: Zij blijft geduldig. — “She remains patient.” te klinken means “to sound.” klinken is the infinitive, and te marks it in the zonder te construction. Dutch klinken can describe how something is perceived in speech or writing, not only a literal noise: Dat klinkt vriendelijk. — “That sounds friendly.” Together, Ik wil ze aan het verzoek herinneren means “I want to remind them about the request.” The following zonder ongeduldig te klinken adds the manner in which the speaker wants to do this: “without sounding impatient.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I want to remind them about the request without sounding impatient.”

4. Probeer een zachtere opening waarin je aangeeft dat je nog even terugkomt.

   Try a softer opening that says you are following up.

   Probeer

   try

   zachtere

   softer

   opening

   opening

   waarin

   in which

   aangeeft

   indicates; says

   nog even terugkomt

   follows up

   More detail

   Probeer is the imperative of proberen (“to try”). It gives a direct suggestion or instruction: “Try …”. The same spelling can also be a present-tense form for a singular subject, but here it is the imperative. zachtere is the comparative form of the adjective zacht (“soft”): zacht → zachter (“softer”). In een zachtere opening, the comparative adjective has -e because it stands before the noun in this noun phrase. The sentence presents the opening as softer than another possible opening, without stating exactly what the comparison is. opening is the noun “opening”, here meaning the beginning or introductory wording of a message or conversation. It is a common-gender noun: de opening; with the indefinite article it appears as een opening. waarin is a relative word meaning “in which”. It connects opening to the following clause and indicates that the clause describes what is said in that opening. A reusable pattern is een [noun] waarin ... (“a [noun] in which ...”). aangeeft comes from the separable verb aangeven, which can mean “to indicate” or “to say/state” in context. Here it has the intended meaning “says” or “communicates”. Aangeeft is present tense, second-person singular, with je as its subject: je geeft aan (“you indicate/state”). In the subordinate clause, the separable parts appear together as aangeeft. nog even terugkomt contains terugkomen, “to come back” or, in a communication context, “to follow up”. Terugkomt is present tense, second-person singular, with je as its subject: je komt terug (“you come back/follow up”). Nog even contributes the sense of doing this again or shortly, and in this communication context the whole expression means “follow up”. The reusable pattern aangeven dat je terugkomt means “to say that you are coming back” or, in this context, “to say that you will follow up”. Together, een zachtere opening means “a softer opening”. waarin je aangeeft dat je nog even terugkomt specifies that this opening says that you are following up. The whole utterance is therefore: “Try a softer opening that says you are following up.”

5. Dat klinkt beter. Is mijn verzoek duidelijk genoeg?

   That sounds better. Is my request clear enough?

   Dat

   that

   klinkt

   sounds

   beter

   better

   mijn

   my

   verzoek

   request

   duidelijk

   clear

   genoeg

   enough

   More detail

   Dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It refers to something understood from the situation, without this sentence identifying a more specific noun. In this use it is the subject of klinkt. klinkt is the present-tense third-person singular form of klinken, “to sound.” The infinitive ending -en is removed and -t is added: klinken → klinkt. Example: Dat klinkt vreemd. — “That sounds strange.” beter is the comparative form of goed, “good”: goed → beter → best (“good” → “better” → “best”). In Dat klinkt beter, it compares the current impression with an earlier or other impression. Here it describes how something sounds, not the noun verzoek later in the utterance. mijn is the possessive determiner “my.” It identifies the request as belonging to or being associated with the speaker. Mijn is used before both singular and plural nouns: mijn verzoek (“my request”) and mijn verzoeken (“my requests”). verzoek is the noun “request.” Its singular definite form is het verzoek, and its plural is verzoeken. In this sentence, mijn verzoek is the subject of the question. duidelijk is the adjective “clear.” It can describe whether something is easy to understand. Example: De uitleg is duidelijk. — “The explanation is clear.” genoeg means “enough” and follows the adjective in duidelijk genoeg, giving the reusable pattern adjective + genoeg: “clear enough.” It expresses a sufficient degree, rather than the highest possible degree. Example: Is de uitleg kort genoeg? — “Is the explanation short enough?” The second sentence is a yes-or-no question. Dutch places the finite verb is before the subject mijn verzoek: Is mijn verzoek ...? The adjective phrase duidelijk genoeg describes that request. Together, Is mijn verzoek duidelijk genoeg? means “Is my request clear enough?” The full utterance first says Dat klinkt beter. (“That sounds better.”) and then asks whether mijn verzoek is sufficiently clear: Is mijn verzoek duidelijk genoeg?

6. Leg de volgende stap in dezelfde alinea uit.

   Explain the next step in the same paragraph.

   Leg … uit

   explain

   volgende

   next

   stap

   step

   dezelfde

   the same

   alinea

   paragraph

   More detail

   Leg ... uit is the separable verb uitleggen, “to explain.” Here, Leg is the imperative addressed to one person. In this finite main-clause form, the separable particle uit appears at the end. The infinitive keeps the verb together: uitleggen. In a regular statement, the parts are separated again: Ik leg de stap uit — “I explain the step.” volgende means “next” here and describes stap. The adjective’s base form is volgend; before this noun, it has the form volgende. de volgende stap means “the next step.” stap means “step.” Its plural is stappen, as in de volgende stappen — “the next steps.” Here, stap is singular. dezelfde means “the same.” Dutch uses dezelfde with a de-word and hetzelfde with a het-word. alinea is a de-word, so the form here is dezelfde alinea. This expresses identity with an already established or understood paragraph, not merely similarity. alinea means “paragraph.” Its plural is alinea’s. The full phrase in dezelfde alinea means “in the same paragraph”; in indicates where the explaining is to take place. Together, de volgende stap is what should be explained, and in dezelfde alinea specifies where it should be explained. The complete utterance is: “Explain the next step in the same paragraph.”

7. Ik heb aan het einde ook extra context toegevoegd.

   I also added extra context near the end.

   Ik heb

   I have

   aan het einde

   near the end

   ook

   also

   extra

   extra

   context

   context

   toegevoegd

   added

   More detail

   Ik heb is the first-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”). Here it is the auxiliary in the Dutch perfect: heb + a past participle describes an action completed before now. The subject is ik (“I”); heb agrees with that subject. In a statement, Dutch commonly places this auxiliary early in the clause, while the past participle appears later. Example: Ik heb de stap uitgelegd. — “I explained the step.” aan het einde means “near/at the end” in this sentence. It is a reusable time-or-location expression: aan het einde van de alinea means “at the end of the paragraph.” The fixed translation supports the broader “near the end” reading here, without specifying exactly what the end belongs to. ook means “also” or “too.” It adds this action to something else already relevant. Its position can affect emphasis, but here it contributes the additional-action meaning: the speaker added context as well. extra means “extra” or “additional.” It describes context, so extra context means context added in addition to what was already present. It is not the same as meer (“more”): extra presents something as additional, while meer focuses on a greater amount. context is the noun “context.” Its plural is contexten, so the visible form here is singular. In this sentence, it refers to the extra context that was added. toegevoegd is the past participle of toevoegen, “to add.” With the auxiliary hebben, it forms the perfect: heb toegevoegd = “have added.” The participle does not itself show that the subject is first-person singular; heb carries the relevant subject agreement here. The separable verb has the base form toevoegen, while its participle is the single written form toegevoegd. Example: Zij heeft een notitie toegevoegd. — “She added a note.” The auxiliary changes with the subject (heeft for zij), while toegevoegd remains the participle. Putting the parts together, Ik heb establishes “I have” in the perfect, toegevoegd supplies the completed action “added,” and extra context is what was added. aan het einde places that addition near the end, while ook marks it as an additional action. The complete meaning is: “I also added extra context near the end.”

8. De context is nuttig. Controleer de lijst met ontvangers voordat je de e-mail verstuurt.

   The context is helpful. Check the recipient list before you send it.

   context

   context

   nuttig

   helpful; useful

   Controleer

   check

   lijst

   list

   ontvangers

   recipients

   voordat je

   before you

   e-mail

   email

   verstuurt

   send

   More detail

   context is a noun meaning “context.” It is the subject of is: “The context is …”. The plural is contexten. nuttig is a descriptive adjective meaning “useful” or “helpful.” It follows the linking verb is and describes de context. A useful opposite is nutteloos, “useless.” Controleer is the imperative of controleren, “to check.” It gives a direct instruction: “Check …”. Dutch imperative forms commonly omit the subject because the listener is understood. lijst is a noun meaning “list.” In de lijst met ontvangers, met links the list to the recipients associated with it: “the list of recipients.” The plural of lijst is lijsten. ontvangers means “recipients.” It is the plural of ontvanger, a person or entity that receives something. The contrast is een ontvanger / ontvangers. voordat je introduces a time relation meaning “before you.” voordat is a conjunction, and je is an informal second-person pronoun; in this sentence it is the subject of the following clause. Dutch je can refer to one person or, in suitable context, more than one person. e-mail is a noun meaning “email,” here the message that is to be sent. In de e-mail, the definite article presents it as the specific email meant in this context. verstuurt is the present-tense form of versturen, “to send,” with the subject je: je verstuurt, “you send.” The -t is part of this finite form. The infinitive is versturen; the form after ik is verstuur, without -t, as in ik verstuur de e-mail (“I send the email”). The first sentence combines de context with is nuttig to say that the context is helpful. The second begins with the instruction Controleer de lijst met ontvangers, “Check the recipient list,” and adds the time clause voordat je de e-mail verstuurt, “before you send the email.” Together, the utterance means: “The context is helpful. Check the recipient list before you send it.”

9. Dat was makkelijk over het hoofd te zien. De verkeerde persoon stond er per ongeluk bij.

   That was easy to miss. The wrong person was included by mistake.

   Dat

   that

   makkelijk

   easy

   over het hoofd te zien

   to overlook; to miss

   verkeerde

   wrong

   persoon

   person

   stond … er … bij

   was included

   per ongeluk

   by accident

   More detail

   Dat is the demonstrative form used here for “that.” In this sentence, it points to the situation just mentioned or understood, matching the fixed translation. Dutch distinguishes dat from dit: dat points to something farther away in discourse or space, while dit points to something nearer. makkelijk means “easy” here and is the adjective makkelijk. It is used predicatively after was, so it does not receive the attributive ending found in verkeerde. A useful pattern is iets is makkelijk te doen: “something is easy to do.” over het hoofd te zien is the discontinuous idiom iets over het hoofd zien, “to overlook or miss something.” zien is the base verb “to see”; te zien is its infinitive with te. The phrase is not a literal instruction to look over someone’s head: in this construction, over het hoofd zien means failing to notice something. Example: Ik heb een detail over het hoofd gezien. — “I overlooked a detail.” verkeerde means “wrong” in de verkeerde persoon, “the wrong person.” Its base form is verkeerd; before a definite singular noun with de, the attributive adjective takes -e: de verkeerde persoon. This means the person was not the intended one, rather than necessarily being bad or mistaken in every respect. persoon means “person.” It is a singular noun; its usual definite article is de: de persoon. The plural is personen. In this sentence, the noun is the participant identified as the wrong person, while verkeerde describes which person. stond ... er ... bij represents the construction erbij staan, literally “to stand there,” which in this list context means “to be included” or “to appear on the list.” stond is the singular past form of staan; the base form is staan. erbij is written as one word when it functions as this adverb, but the sentence places its parts around the verb: stond er ... bij. The construction can be literal in another context, so the surrounding list context supplies the “included” meaning. Example: Zijn naam stond erbij. — “His name was included there.” per ongeluk is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning “by accident” or “unintentionally.” It explains that the inclusion happened accidentally, not deliberately. Example: Ik heb het per ongeluk verwijderd. — “I deleted it by accident.” Together, Dat was makkelijk over het hoofd te zien says that the situation was easy to overlook. De verkeerde persoon stond er per ongeluk bij says that the wrong person was included on the list accidentally. The first sentence uses was plus an adjective and te-infinitive pattern (was makkelijk te ...); the second identifies the included participant with de verkeerde persoon, expresses the past state with stond, and adds the accidental-cause phrase per ongeluk.

10. Haal die persoon van de lijst.

    Remove that person from the list.

    Haal

    remove

    die

    that

    persoon

    person

    van

    from

    lijst

    list

    More detail

    Haal is the imperative form of halen (“to get, fetch, or take”). With van ... marking removal, it means “remove” here. This imperative form does not itself mark whether the command is addressed to one person or more than one; the context determines that. Example: Haal de doos. — “Get the box.” die is a demonstrative meaning “that” before a noun. With the singular common-gender noun persoon, the form is die; it identifies a person in the situation without naming that person here. The contrasting near demonstrative is deze (“this”). persoon means “person.” Its plural is personen; the form in the sentence is singular. Example: Die persoon wacht. — “That person is waiting.” van means “from” here: it marks what the person is to be removed from. The following de lijst means “the list”; lijst means “list,” and its plural is lijsten. Together, Haal die persoon van de lijst. is an imperative meaning “Remove that person from the list.” The command combines the imperative Haal, the demonstrative noun phrase die persoon, and the removal pattern van de lijst.

11. Dan is de e-mail klaar om te versturen.

    Then the email is ready to send.

    Dan

    then

    is

    is

    de e-mail

    the email

    klaar

    ready

    te versturen

    to send

    More detail

    Dan means “then” here: it places this situation after an earlier step or event. It can also introduce a consequence in other contexts, but this sentence uses the time/sequence meaning. is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a third-person singular subject. The subject here is de e-mail, so the sentence uses singular is, not plural zijn. de e-mail means “the email.” E-mail is a noun; its plural is e-mails. The article de belongs to the Dutch common-gender article group. The article does not itself express the number “one”; definiteness comes from “the.” klaar means “ready.” It is an adjective describing the email’s state. Dutch can use klaar te + infinitive to express that something is ready for an action. A related pattern is klaar om te + infinitive, but om is not present in this utterance. te versturen contains versturen, “to send,” with te before the infinitive. Versturen has the prefix ver-; it is not a separable-prefix verb, so the verb does not split into separate parts in forms such as Ik verstuur de e-mail. — “I send the email.” With te, the infinitive appears as te versturen. Together, klaar te versturen says that the email is in a ready state for sending. The complete utterance means: “Then the email is ready to send.”