Choosing an activity despite changing weather | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Het weer kan veranderen, dus het is lastig om een activiteit te kiezen.

   The weather may change, so choosing an activity feels difficult.

   weer

   weather

   kan

   may

   veranderen

   change

   dus

   so

   lastig

   difficult

   om … te

   to

   activiteit

   activity

   kiezen

   choose

   More detail

   weer means “weather” here. It is a noun. Dutch weather expressions commonly use het weer; for example, Het weer is koud. means “The weather is cold.” kan is the form of kunnen used here with the singular subject het weer. It expresses possibility: “may” or “can.” A modal is followed by an infinitive, so kan veranderen means “may change.” veranderen is the infinitive “to change.” After a modal such as kunnen, Dutch uses the infinitive without te: Het weer kan veranderen means “The weather may change.” dus means “so” or “therefore.” It links the possible weather change to the conclusion that follows. lastig means “difficult” or “challenging.” In het is lastig, het is an impersonal or anticipatory subject: the sentence presents the following activity as difficult without making activiteit the grammatical subject. This adjective is in its basic form, not a comparative form. om ... te introduces an infinitive clause. Here, om een activiteit te kiezen means “to choose an activity,” the thing that is difficult. It is not necessarily a purpose expression in this sentence. Example: Het is makkelijk om te beginnen. — “It is easy to begin.” activiteit is the noun “activity.” Its plural is activiteiten. In een activiteit, the article introduces an unspecified activity; it does not by itself add special numerical emphasis. kiezen is the infinitive “to choose.” Its present-tense forms include ik kies (“I choose”) and wij kiezen (“we choose”). Here it remains an infinitive because it follows te in the om ... te construction. Together, Het weer kan veranderen means “The weather may change.” dus connects that possibility to het is lastig om een activiteit te kiezen, “it is difficult to choose an activity.” The complete utterance therefore means: “The weather may change, so choosing an activity feels difficult.”

2. Kies iets dat ook binnen kan als het regent.

   Pick something that still works indoors if it rains.

   Kies

   choose; pick

   iets

   something

   ook

   also; too

   binnen kan

   can work indoors

   als het regent

   if it rains

   More detail

   Kies is the imperative of kiezen (“to choose”). It addresses one or more people with an understood “you”: Kies een activiteit. — “Choose an activity.” iets is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something.” In iets dat ..., it is the thing being selected, while dat introduces information describing that thing. Compare iets lekkers (“something tasty”) and niets (“nothing”). ook normally means “also” or “too.” Here, with the indoor option, it has the sense “still/as well”: the selected thing remains suitable in that setting. Its exact nuance comes from the surrounding words, not from ook alone. binnen means “indoors” or “inside.” It is an adverb, so it does not change for number or gender. kan is the singular present form of the modal verb kunnen (“can; be able to”). The subject of kan is iets, so the construction iets ... kan says that the chosen thing can function or be done indoors. In a modal pattern, kunnen is commonly followed by another verb: We kunnen binnen eten. — “We can eat indoors.” Here the practical activity is understood from the context, rather than stated as a separate verb. als introduces a condition and means “if” here. regent is the singular present form of regenen (“to rain”). Dutch uses the fixed weather expression het regent, literally with het as the grammatical subject; het does not identify a particular object in this sentence. Als het regent, blijven we binnen. — “If it rains, we stay indoors.” Together, Kies iets gives the instruction to select something. dat ook binnen kan describes the selection as something that remains workable indoors, and als het regent supplies the condition under which that matters. The whole utterance therefore means: “Pick something that still works indoors if it rains.”

3. De markt buiten klinkt leuk, maar regen kan het daar ongemakkelijk maken.

   The outdoor market sounds fun, but rain could make it uncomfortable.

   markt

   market

   buiten

   outdoors

   klinkt

   sounds

   leuk

   fun

   regen

   rain

   kan

   could

   het

   it

   daar

   there

   ongemakkelijk

   uncomfortable

   maken

   make

   More detail

   markt means “market” here. Its base form is markt; with the definite article, de markt means “the market.” Example: De markt is groot. — “The market is large.” buiten means “outdoors” here and modifies the market: de markt buiten is an outdoor market. The same word can also be used independently: We eten buiten. — “We eat outdoors.” klinkt is the present-tense third-person singular form of klinken, “to sound.” The form agrees with the singular subject de markt: De markt klinkt ... — “The market sounds ...” Do not confuse this use with the physical sense “to ring” or “to produce a sound”; here it introduces an impression or evaluation. leuk is an adjective meaning “fun” or “nice.” After klinken, it describes how something seems: Dat klinkt leuk. — “That sounds fun.” Dutch does not add an ending to leuk in this predicate use. regen means “rain.” It is a noun and appears here without an article as a general condition: Regen kan reizen lastig maken. — “Rain can make travelling difficult.” kan is the third-person singular present form of the modal verb kunnen, “can” or “be able to.” In this sentence, the fixed translation uses the possibility sense “could,” not a claim about ability. A modal is followed by an infinitive, so kan ... maken means “can/could make ...”: Het weer kan veranderen. — “The weather can change.” het is an object pronoun meaning “it” in the fixed translation. It is the thing or situation made uncomfortable, while the sentence does not identify that referent more specifically. Dutch het also functions in other grammatical roles, so its form alone does not identify a particular noun. daar means “there,” referring to the relevant outdoor location. It is a place adverb and does not inflect for the place’s grammatical properties. Example: We wachten daar. — “We are waiting there.” ongemakkelijk means “uncomfortable.” It is the adjective describing the result produced by maken: something is made uncomfortable. Its opposite is comfortabel, “comfortable.” Example: De stoel zit ongemakkelijk. — “The chair is uncomfortable to sit on.” maken is the infinitive of maken, “to make.” It follows the modal kan; Dutch keeps the infinitive after a modal rather than using a conjugated form there. The pattern iets + adjective + maken means “to make something + adjective”: Muziek kan de sfeer rustig maken. — “Music can make the atmosphere calm.” Together, De markt buiten klinkt leuk means “The outdoor market sounds fun.” maar introduces the contrast “but.” The second part, regen kan het daar ongemakkelijk maken, means “rain could make it uncomfortable there”: rain is the possible cause, het is the affected thing or situation, ongemakkelijk gives the resulting state, and maken expresses the change. The whole utterance is therefore: “The outdoor market sounds fun, but rain could make it uncomfortable.”

4. Een museum zou makkelijker zijn als het weer slecht wordt.

   A museum would be easier if the weather turns bad.

   museum

   museum

   zou … zijn

   would be

   makkelijker

   easier

   als

   if

   weer

   weather

   slecht

   bad

   wordt

   becomes

   More detail

   museum means “museum” here. Dutch common nouns are normally written with a lowercase initial letter, as in museum; this is not a capitalization rule for Dutch nouns. museum is a neuter noun, so het museum means “the museum.” In the sentence, Een museum means “a museum”; the indefinite article presents it as one possible option without by itself stating a numerical count. zou zijn expresses a hypothetical or conditional “would be.” zijn is the infinitive “to be.” zou is the singular past form of zullen, and with an infinitive it commonly helps express a conditional result: zou zijn = “would be.” Compare is “is” with zou zijn “would be.” Example: Dat zou handig zijn. — “That would be useful.” makkelijker means “easier” and is the comparative form of makkelijk “easy.” The comparison is carried by makkelijker; museum is not its base form. A useful comparison chain is makkelijk → makkelijker → het makkelijkst (“easy” → “easier” → “the easiest”). Here, the comparison is understood relative to the outdoor-market option mentioned in the surrounding context. als introduces the condition “if.” A reusable pattern is zou ... zijn als ... — “would be ... if ...”. In this Dutch als clause, the finite verb appears at the end: als het weer slecht wordt. weer means “weather” here, as confirmed by the fixed translation. The same form can also mean “again” in other contexts, but that is not its meaning in this sentence. The noun phrase het weer means “the weather.” slecht means “bad” here and describes the weather. Its basic form is slecht; its comparative is slechter (“worse”), and its superlative is het slechtst (“the worst”). Example: Het weer is slecht. — “The weather is bad.” wordt means “becomes” here. It is the third-person singular present form of worden (“to become”), used with the subject het weer: het weer wordt .... wordt does not itself mean “turns bad”; slecht supplies the resulting condition. Together, slecht wordt means “becomes bad,” rendered in the fixed translation as “turns bad.” Compare Het weer wordt beter. — “The weather is getting better.” Putting the parts together, Een museum zou makkelijker zijn means “A museum would be easier,” and als het weer slecht wordt adds the condition “if the weather turns bad.” The complete utterance is: “A museum would be easier if the weather turns bad.”

5. Dat geeft ons flexibiliteit zonder dat we de dag afzeggen.

   That gives us flexibility without canceling the day.

   Dat

   That

   geeft

   gives

   ons

   us

   flexibiliteit

   flexibility

   zonder dat

   without ...-ing

   we

   we

   de dag

   the day

   afzeggen

   cancel

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun referring to an already established idea or situation; the supplied sentence does not identify a more specific noun referent. In Dutch, dat is used with singular neuter het-words and can also refer to a whole preceding proposition or situation. The contrasting demonstrative for singular common-gender and plural nouns is die. geeft is the present-tense form of geven (“to give”) with the singular subject dat: ik geef, hij/zij/het geeft, but wij geven. The form is singular because dat is the subject. Example: Dat geeft tijd. — “That gives time.” ons means “us” as the object receiving something. It is the object form of the first-person plural pronoun; compare subject wij/we (“we”) with object ons (“us”). In this sentence, the flexibility is given to the speaker and others represented by ons. flexibiliteit is the noun “flexibility,” an abstract quality. It is commonly used with de: de flexibiliteit. The chunk geeft ons flexibiliteit means “gives us flexibility,” with ons as the recipient and flexibiliteit as what is given. zonder dat introduces a subordinate clause meaning “without ... happening” or “without the fact that ...”. It is followed here by we de dag afzeggen, so the construction is zonder dat + subject + ... + finite verb. This is different from zonder te followed by an infinitive when the understood subject is the same, for example: Hij vertrekt zonder te wachten. — “He leaves without waiting.” we is the subject form “we,” referring to the speaker together with others. It is a shorter form of wij; we is especially common in unstressed everyday use. Here it is the subject of the subordinate clause, not the object of geeft. de dag means “the day.” dag is a common-gender noun and therefore takes the definite article de. The article marks a specific day in the intended situation; it does not itself say how many days there are. Example: We plannen de dag. — “We plan the day.” afzeggen means “to cancel.” The verb is separable in ordinary main-clause use: We zeggen de dag af. — “We cancel the day.” In the supplied subordinate clause, the verb is at the end, as Dutch subordinate-clause word order requires. The visible form afzeggen also matches the present plural form with we; its base form is likewise afzeggen. Together, Dat geeft ons flexibiliteit says “That gives us flexibility.” zonder dat we de dag afzeggen adds the condition that this happens without canceling the day. The complete utterance therefore means: “That gives us flexibility without canceling the day.”

6. Vertel iedereen voordat ze vertrekken wat het hoofdplan is en wat de optie voor binnen is.

   Tell everyone the main plan and the indoor option before they leave.

   Vertel

   tell

   iedereen

   everyone

   voordat

   before

   ze

   they

   vertrekken

   leave

   wat

   what

   hoofdplan

   main plan

   optie

   option

   voor binnen

   for indoors

   More detail

   Vertel is the imperative form of vertellen (“to tell”). It gives a command or request without stating the subject; Dutch imperatives commonly use this stem form. Example: Vertel me de waarheid. — “Tell me the truth.” iedereen means “everyone” or “every person.” It is the recipient of the telling here. The form is useful for referring to all members of a group collectively, rather than naming them individually. voordat introduces a time clause meaning “before.” The event in the voordat clause occurs later than the event it is compared with. Example: Bel me voordat je vertrekt. — “Call me before you leave.” ze is the unstressed third-person plural pronoun “they” in this sentence, as confirmed by the fixed translation. Here it is the plural subject of vertrekken. vertrekken is the verb meaning “to leave” or “to depart.” In ze vertrekken, the observed form is the finite present-tense form for a plural subject; it happens to be identical in shape to the infinitive vertrekken. Example: Ze vertrekken morgen. — “They leave tomorrow.” wat introduces the content of what is to be told: “what.” Here it does not ask a separate direct question; it begins a content clause meaning “what the main plan is.” Dutch uses this same form in indirect-question clauses such as Ik weet wat hij doet. — “I know what he is doing.” hoofdplan is a compound noun meaning “main plan.” The first part, hoofd-, contributes the meaning “main” or “principal,” while plan means “plan.” Dutch commonly forms compounds by placing the specifying element before the main noun. Example: We bespreken het hoofdplan. — “We are discussing the main plan.” optie means “option” or “choice,” a possible alternative. Example: Dit is een goede optie. — “This is a good option.” voor binnen means “for indoors” or “for inside.” Here voor expresses the intended setting or use, and binnen means “indoors/inside”; together they specify an option intended for an indoor situation. This is different from a temporal use of voor meaning “before.” Example: We hebben een spel voor binnen. — “We have a game for indoors.” The sentence begins with the command Vertel iedereen: “Tell everyone.” The time clause voordat ze vertrekken places the telling before their departure. The rest contains two coordinated content clauses, wat het hoofdplan is and wat de optie voor binnen is; both give the information to be told. Together, the utterance means: “Tell everyone the main plan and the indoor option before they leave.”

7. Ik stuur beide keuzes voordat we elkaar ontmoeten.

   I will send both choices before we meet.

   stuur

   send

   beide

   both

   keuzes

   choices

   voordat

   before

   elkaar

   each other

   ontmoeten

   meet

   More detail

   stuur is the first-person singular present form of sturen, “to send.” Dutch can use this present form for a planned future action when the time is clear from context. The subject ik is explicitly stated at the beginning; it is not identified by a unique verb ending. Example: Ik stuur het morgen. — “I will send it tomorrow.” beide means “both” and refers to two items or people considered together. It comes before the plural noun here. Example: Ik lees beide berichten. — “I read both messages.” keuzes means “choices.” Its singular base form is keuze; the plural is keuzes. The phrase beide keuzes therefore means “both choices,” identifying the two choices as a pair. voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause that gives the earlier time. In voordat we elkaar ontmoeten, the finite verb appears at the end of the clause, a normal Dutch word-order pattern after a subordinating conjunction. Example: Bel me voordat je vertrekt. — “Call me before you leave.” elkaar is a reciprocal pronoun meaning “each other.” It is used when the participants in the clause perform the action mutually. Its form does not show the person or number of the participants; those are supplied by the clause’s subject and context. Example: We helpen elkaar. — “We help each other.” ontmoeten means “to meet.” In this clause it is the present-tense form used with we; it is identical in spelling to the infinitive ontmoeten. The subject we is plural, but this verb form does not take a separate plural ending here. Together, we elkaar ontmoeten means “we meet each other.” The sentence combines Ik stuur (“I send / I will send”) with beide keuzes (“both choices”). The subordinate clause voordat we elkaar ontmoeten sets the time relation: the sending happens before the meeting. Thus the complete meaning is: “I will send both choices before we meet.”

8. Mensen kunnen beter met veranderingen omgaan als ze vroeg weten wat het alternatief is.

   People handle changes better when they know the alternative early.

   Mensen

   people

   kunnen

   can

   beter

   better

   veranderingen

   changes

   omgaan

   deal with; cope

   ze

   they

   vroeg

   early

   weten

   know

   wat

   what

   alternatief

   alternative

   More detail

   Mensen means “people” here and is the plural subject. The related singular form is mens (“person”), while mensen refers to people in general or to a plural group. kunnen is the present-tense plural form of kunnen, “can” or “be able to.” With Mensen, it expresses what people are able to do: Mensen kunnen wachten means “People can wait.” As a modal verb, it is followed by an infinitive; here that infinitive is omgaan. beter is the comparative form related to goed (“good”): goed → beter → het best. It says that the handling is more effective than a relevant comparison standard. The adjective goed itself does not appear in the sentence; beter is the observed form. veranderingen is the plural of verandering, “change.” The phrase met veranderingen means “with changes.” Dutch commonly uses met ... omgaan for handling or coping with something: Zij gaat met stress om means “She deals with stress.” omgaan is the infinitive of the separable verb omgaan, used here in the construction met iets omgaan, “to deal with or cope with something.” In a finite main-clause form, the parts can separate: Ik ga met veranderingen om means “I deal with changes.” ze is the subject pronoun “they” in this sentence, referring to the people identified by Mensen. Its form is also used for “she” in other contexts, so the intended plural meaning here comes from the subject and the fixed translation. In the subordinate clause, ze is followed by the infinitive weten at the end of that clause. vroeg means “early,” referring here to when they know. It can also function as the opposite of laat (“late”): Hij komt vroeg means “He comes early.” weten is the infinitive “to know,” specifically knowing information or a fact. Its present forms include ik weet (“I know”) and zij weten (“they know”). In this sentence, ze ... weten means “they know,” and the information known is introduced by wat. wat introduces the embedded question or content “what.” In wat het alternatief is, it forms “what the alternative is.” Dutch places the finite verb is at the end of this subordinate clause, unlike the ordinary main-clause order in Het alternatief is .... alternatief is the noun “alternative,” referring here to an available alternative choice or option. With the definite article, the phrase is het alternatief, “the alternative.” The noun’s plural is alternatieven (“alternatives”). Together, Mensen kunnen beter met veranderingen omgaan says “People can deal with changes better.” als ze vroeg weten adds the condition “when they know early,” and wat het alternatief is specifies what they know: “what the alternative is.” The complete utterance therefore means: “People handle changes better when they know the alternative early.”