Choosing the Task with the Highest Impact | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik heb vier taken en ze lijken allemaal belangrijk.

   I have four tasks, and they all feel important.

   Ik heb

   I have

   vier

   four

   taken

   tasks

   ze

   they

   lijken

   seem

   allemaal

   all

   belangrijk

   important

   More detail

   Ik heb is the reusable Dutch pattern for “I have”: ik is the first-person singular subject and heb is the present-tense form of hebben used with ik. For example: Ik heb een boek. — “I have a book.” The indefinite article een does not by itself state a numeric count; the source explicitly gives the number separately with vier. vier means “four” and states the number of taken. Dutch cardinal numbers normally come before the noun they count. Compare the reusable pattern vier vragen — “four questions.” taken means “tasks” here. It is the plural of taak; the plural ending changes the form from taak to taken. For example: Ik heb twee taken. — “I have two tasks.” ze is a third-person plural pronoun meaning “they” in this sentence. Its grammatical role is the subject of the following clause, referring to the four tasks identified earlier. Dutch also uses ze in other grammatical roles, so its exact function comes from its position and the clause around it. lijken is the present-tense plural form of lijken, “to seem” or “to appear.” With a plural subject such as ze, the verb is lijken; with ik, the form is lijk. For example: Ze lijken moe. — “They seem tired.” allemaal means “all” and emphasizes that the statement applies to the entire group, not just some members. In this sentence it combines with ze: ze lijken allemaal ... — “they all seem ...”. For example: Ze zijn allemaal klaar. — “They are all ready.” belangrijk means “important.” It is an adjective describing the tasks through the linking verb lijken; in this position it remains belangrijk rather than taking a noun-ending form. For example: Deze taak is belangrijk. — “This task is important.” Putting the parts together, Ik heb vier taken says “I have four tasks.” The next clause, ze lijken allemaal belangrijk, says that all four tasks seem important. The conjunction en connects the two clauses, giving the complete meaning: “I have four tasks, and they all feel important.”

2. Scheid urgentie van impact voordat je de volgorde kiest.

   Separate urgency from impact before you choose the order.

   Scheid

   separate

   urgentie

   urgency

   impact

   impact

   voordat

   before

   volgorde

   order

   kiest

   choose

   More detail

   Scheid is the imperative of scheiden (“to separate”). Dutch imperatives generally use the stem and do not by themselves mark whether the addressee is singular, plural, or formal. The regular present form with je is je scheidt, with -t; the imperative is scheid, without that ending. Example: Scheid feiten van meningen. — “Separate facts from opinions.” urgentie means “urgency”: how quickly something needs attention. It is a noun, commonly used with the article de: de urgentie. The related adjective is urgent (“urgent”), as in een urgente taak — “an urgent task.” impact means “impact” or “effect.” Here it is a noun referring to the effect or significance of consequences, not to how quickly something must be handled. It is commonly used with de: de impact. Example: De beslissing heeft veel impact. — “The decision has a lot of impact.” voordat is a conjunction meaning “before” and introduces the event that occurs later in the stated sequence. It starts the subordinate clause voordat je de volgorde kiest. In that clause, je is the subject and kiest comes at the end, as is normal for this type of Dutch clause. The same relation can be expressed with the clauses reversed: Voordat je begint, controleer je de lijst. — “Before you begin, check the list.” volgorde means “order” or “sequence”: the arrangement in which things are dealt with. It is a noun, commonly de volgorde. Example: De volgorde van de stappen is duidelijk. — “The order of the steps is clear.” kiest is the second-person singular present form of kiezen, “to choose.” The form chain is kiezen → je kiest (“you choose”); kiest carries the present-tense ending used with je when the subject is written explicitly. Example: Je kiest de eerste optie. — “You choose the first option.” Together, Scheid urgentie van impact gives the instruction “Separate urgency from impact.” The preposition van marks what urgency is being distinguished from. voordat je de volgorde kiest adds the time condition “before you choose the order.” The complete meaning is: “Separate urgency from impact before you choose the order.”

3. De e-mail is dringend, maar het rapport heeft invloed op de vergadering met de klant morgen.

   The email is urgent, but the report affects tomorrow's client meeting.

   e-mail

   email

   dringend

   urgent

   rapport

   report

   heeft

   has

   invloed

   influence; impact

   vergadering

   meeting

   klant

   client; customer

   morgen

   tomorrow

   More detail

   e-mail is a Dutch noun meaning “email.” It is used here as the subject. The article de belongs with this noun: de e-mail. Dutch also uses e-mail as a compound-like noun in this spelling. dringend means “urgent” here. It is a descriptive adjective used after the linking verb is, so it describes the email rather than expressing an action. In this position, the adjective has the form dringend; it does not take an ending here. Example: De situatie is dringend. — “The situation is urgent.” rapport means “report.” It is the subject of the second clause, with het as its article: het rapport. Do not treat het as part of the noun itself; articles in Dutch depend on the noun’s grammatical article class. heeft is the present-tense form of hebben for a singular third-person subject. In this sentence, het rapport is the subject, so heeft means “has.” The useful contrast is ik heb — “I have” versus hij/zij/het heeft — “he/she/it has.” Here, heeft also forms the construction heeft invloed op, meaning that something affects or has an influence on something else. invloed means “influence” or, in this construction, “impact.” The reusable pattern is invloed hebben op + noun: literally “to have influence on,” and naturally “to affect” or “to have an impact on.” The preposition op connects the impact to its target. Example: Het weer heeft invloed op de planning. — “The weather affects the planning.” vergadering means “meeting.” It is the object after op in invloed op de vergadering, so the report’s impact is directed at the meeting. The noun appears with de: de vergadering. klant means “client” or “customer.” In met de klant, it is the object of met, giving “with the client.” The phrase identifies the meeting as one involving the client; it does not change the grammatical subject of the sentence. Example: Ik spreek met de klant. — “I speak with the client.” morgen is the time adverb “tomorrow.” Here it specifies when the meeting takes place, so de vergadering met de klant morgen means “tomorrow’s meeting with the client” in the fixed translation. Dutch commonly places such a time expression at the end of the clause or phrase. The conjunction maar joins two contrasting statements: the email is urgent, while the report has an impact on the meeting. The first clause is De e-mail is dringend. The second is het rapport heeft invloed op de vergadering met de klant morgen: the report affects the meeting with the client tomorrow. Together, the utterance means: “The email is urgent, but the report affects tomorrow’s client meeting.”

4. Het rapport heeft meer impact, vooral als anderen ervan afhankelijk zijn.

   The report has higher impact, especially if others depend on it.

   rapport

   report

   heeft

   has

   meer

   more; higher

   impact

   impact

   vooral als

   especially if

   anderen

   others

   ervan

   of it

   afhankelijk

   dependent

   zijn

   are

   More detail

   rapport means “report.” It is a neuter Dutch noun: het rapport; its plural is rapporten. Example: Het rapport is duidelijk. — “The report is clear.” heeft is the third-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”). The useful present-tense contrast is ik heb (“I have”) versus hij/zij/het heeft (“he/she/it has”). Here, heeft agrees with the singular subject het rapport. meer means “more” or, with a measured quality such as impact, “higher.” It is the comparative form of veel (“much/many”): veel → meer → het meest (“the most”). In this sentence it compares the report’s impact with another possible level or reference point; it does not itself specify what that comparison is. impact is a noun meaning “impact” or “effect.” Dutch commonly uses impact hebben for “to have impact.” Example: Deze beslissing heeft veel impact. — “This decision has a lot of impact.” vooral als combines vooral (“especially”) with als (“if/when”). Als introduces the condition in this sentence, while vooral emphasizes that condition. A reusable pattern is vooral als + clause: Het is nuttig, vooral als je weinig tijd hebt. — “It is useful, especially if you have little time.” anderen means “others,” referring to other people without naming them individually. It is the plural form of ander (“other”) used independently here. Compare een ander (“another/another one,” singular) and anderen (“others,” plural people). The sentence does not identify exactly who these others are. ervan is er + van, literally a form meaning “of/from it” in this context. Dutch often uses er in this way instead of repeating a thing after van: afhankelijk zijn van iets becomes ervan afhankelijk zijn when the thing is represented by er. Here, ervan refers to the report, as established by the fixed translation “depend on it.” afhankelijk means “dependent” or “reliant.” The reusable construction is afhankelijk zijn van iets/iemand — “to depend on something/someone.” In the sentence, ervan afhankelijk means “dependent on it.” Its opposite is onafhankelijk (“independent”), but that would express the opposite relation. zijn is the plural present form of zijn (“to be”). In anderen ... zijn, it agrees with the plural subject anderen; the singular counterpart is is, as in hij is (“he is”). The separated construction afhankelijk ... zijn places the adjective before the verb in this subordinate clause, with zijn at the end. Together, Het rapport heeft meer impact means “The report has higher impact.” The subordinate clause vooral als anderen ervan afhankelijk zijn means “especially if others depend on it”: anderen is the subject, ervan represents the report after afhankelijk van, and zijn completes the plural form of “to be.” The whole utterance is therefore: “The report has higher impact, especially if others depend on it.”

5. De ontwerpbeoordeling blokkeert ook een andere teamgenoot.

   The design review also blocks another teammate.

   ontwerpbeoordeling

   design review

   blokkeert

   blocks

   ook

   also

   andere

   another

   teamgenoot

   teammate

   More detail

   ontwerpbeoordeling means “design review” here. It is a Dutch compound noun: ontwerp (“design”) + beoordeling (“review” or “assessment”). The compound is used here with the definite article de; the noun form ontwerpbeoordeling is singular, while its plural is ontwerpbeoordelingen. Example: De beoordeling is morgen. — “The review is tomorrow.” blokkeert is the present-tense form of blokkeren (“to block”). It is the third-person singular form, matching the singular subject de ontwerpbeoordeling: de beoordeling blokkeert. The ending is part of the verb form; the base form is blokkeren, not blokkeert. Example: De fout blokkeert het proces. — “The error blocks the process.” ook means “also” or “too”. It adds this blocking relation to something already relevant in the surrounding context. Its position here, after the verb, gives the structure ... blokkeert ook ... — “... also blocks ...”. Example: Zij helpt ook. — “She also helps.” andere means “another” in een andere teamgenoot. It is the inflected form of ander (“other/another”). Here teamgenoot is a singular common-gender noun, so the adjective has the -e form after the indefinite article: een andere teamgenoot. With a singular neuter noun after een, the corresponding form is commonly without -e, as in the example een ander plan — “another plan.” Here andere identifies the teammate as different from one already in view; it does not by itself state a numeric count. Example: een andere oplossing — “another solution.” teamgenoot means “teammate” or “team member”. It is a singular compound noun; its plural is teamgenoten. In this sentence, een andere teamgenoot is the object affected by the blocking. Example: Mijn teamgenoot wacht. — “My teammate is waiting.” Together, De ontwerpbeoordeling blokkeert ook een andere teamgenoot. means “The design review also blocks another teammate.” The definite noun phrase de ontwerpbeoordeling is the subject, blokkeert expresses its present-tense action, ook adds the sense of “also”, and een andere teamgenoot is the singular object.

6. Doe dan eerst de ontwerpbeoordeling die je teamgenoot blokkeert, als die snel klaar kan zijn.

   Then handle the review that is blocking your teammate first if it will be quick.

   Doe

   handle; do

   dan

   then

   eerst

   first

   ontwerpbeoordeling

   design review

   teamgenoot

   teammate

   blokkeert

   blocks

   snel

   quickly

   klaar

   finished; ready

   kan zijn

   can be

   More detail

   Doe is the imperative of doen (“to do”). In this sentence, doen is used in the practical sense “handle” or “take care of.” The imperative doe can address one person or multiple people; the form itself does not show that distinction. dan means “then,” and eerst means “first.” Together with the instruction, dan eerst places this action before the other actions being discussed. A reusable pattern is Doe eerst X (“Handle X first”). ontwerpbeoordeling is a compound noun: ontwerp (“design”) + beoordeling (“review” or “assessment”). Its meaning here is “design review.” Dutch compounds are written as one word, so this is not two separate words in the target sentence. blokkeert is the present-tense singular form of blokkeren (“to block”). In die je teamgenoot blokkeert, the design review is the subject of the relative clause, and je teamgenoot is the person affected: the review is blocking your teammate. The third-person singular present form is blokkeert; for example, De fout blokkeert het proces means “The error blocks the process.” teamgenoot means “teammate.” The possessive je means “your” here, so je teamgenoot means “your teammate.” The noun itself does not show whether the teammate is male or female. In the supplied sentence, the fixed translation identifies this teammate as the person being blocked. The first die introduces the relative clause describing de ontwerpbeoordeling: die je teamgenoot blokkeert means “that is blocking your teammate.” Dutch die is used with common-gender nouns and plural nouns. Here, the intended referent is the design review, as confirmed by the fixed translation. als introduces a condition, meaning “if.” In als die snel klaar kan zijn, the second die refers to the design review in this context. snel means “quickly” here: it describes how quickly the review can become finished or ready. It can also mean “fast” when describing speed. klaar means “finished” or “ready.” With zijn (“to be”), klaar zijn is a reusable expression meaning “to be finished” or “to be ready.” It is not identical to af in every context: klaar can describe readiness as well as completion, while the present sentence supports the completion meaning. kan zijn combines kan, the present form of kunnen (“can”), with zijn (“to be”). In this subordinate clause, the verb cluster is klaar kan zijn: the finite modal kan comes before the infinitive zijn, and the infinitive is final. The pattern als X klaar kan zijn means “if X can be finished” or, more literally, “if X can be ready/finished.” The whole sentence is assembled as Doe dan eerst (“Then handle first”) + de ontwerpbeoordeling (“the design review”) + die je teamgenoot blokkeert (“that is blocking your teammate”) + als die snel klaar kan zijn (“if it can be finished quickly”). Thus it means: “Then handle the design review that is blocking your teammate first, if it can be finished quickly.” It is a direct instruction with a condition: the review should take priority when quick completion is possible.

7. Daarna kan ik me op het rapport richten zonder iemand te onderbreken.

   After that, I can focus on the report without interrupting anyone.

   Daarna

   after that

   kan ik

   I can

   me … richten

   focus (on something)

   rapport

   report

   zonder

   without

   iemand

   anyone

   onderbreken

   interrupt

   More detail

   Daarna means “after that” and places this action later than an already mentioned event. It is a useful connector for sequencing actions: Daarna ga ik naar huis. — “After that, I go home.” kan ik combines kan, the present-tense form of kunnen for ik, with the subject ik. Here kunnen expresses ability or possibility: “I can.” With a modal verb such as kunnen, the other verb normally appears as an infinitive later in the clause. Compare ik kan lezen — “I can read.” me ... richten is the reflexive verb construction zich richten op (“to focus on” or “to direct oneself toward”). me is the reflexive form used with ik; other forms include je with jij/je and zich with hij, zij, or u. The preposition op belongs to the construction and introduces what receives the focus. In this sentence, me op het rapport richten means “focus on the report.” rapport is a noun meaning “report.” The noun phrase is het rapport: rapport takes the article het in the singular. The plural is rapporten, as in de rapporten — “the reports.” zonder means “without” and introduces what is absent or avoided. Before an infinitive, Dutch commonly uses zonder te plus the infinitive: zonder te wachten — “without waiting.” iemand means “someone” in many contexts, but after zonder it has the intended meaning “anyone” in this sentence. It is an indefinite pronoun, not a specific identified person. For example, Ik zag iemand. means “I saw someone.” onderbreken is the infinitive “to interrupt.” In te onderbreken, te marks the infinitive after zonder; the phrase zonder iemand te onderbreken means “without interrupting anyone.” Together, Daarna kan ik gives the sequence and ability, me op het rapport richten gives the action and its focus, and zonder iemand te onderbreken states the condition under which it happens. The whole utterance means: “After that, I can focus on the report without interrupting anyone.”

8. Afhankelijkheden kunnen veranderen welke taak eerst moet worden gedaan.

   Dependencies can change which task should come first.

   Afhankelijkheden

   dependencies

   kunnen

   can

   veranderen

   change

   welke

   which

   taak

   task

   eerst

   first

   moet

   must

   worden gedaan

   be done

   More detail

   Afhankelijkheden means “dependencies” here: conditions or relationships that affect what can happen first. It is the plural of afhankelijkheid; the plural ending is -heden. Dutch uses the singular afhankelijkheid for one dependency and afhankelijkheden for more than one. kunnen is the plural present form of kunnen, “can” or “be able to.” Here it expresses possibility or influence, not a guaranteed result. After a modal verb such as kunnen, the other verb normally stays in the infinitive: kunnen veranderen = “can change.” veranderen means “to change.” In this sentence, the dependencies can alter the ordering of tasks. The infinitive is used because it follows kunnen. For example, Plannen kunnen veranderen. means “Plans can change.” welke means “which” and introduces a choice or identification within a known type of thing. It appears before taak, which is a de-word: welke taak = “which task.” Compare welke taak (“which task”) with welk rapport (“which report”); welk is used before a singular het-word. taak means “task.” Its plural is taken, with a change in the stem vowel: één taak, twee taken. In welke taak, the noun is singular, but welke does not itself state that there is only one task overall; it asks which task is the relevant one. eerst means “first,” here referring to the order in which the task should be carried out. It can also be used in other ordering expressions, such as eerst lezen, daarna schrijven — “read first, then write.” moet is the present form of moeten for a singular subject such as taak: de taak moet ... means “the task must ...” or “the task needs to ...” The plural form is moeten, as in de taken moeten ... — “the tasks must ...” In this sentence, moet is part of the embedded question about the required order, not a statement that the dependencies themselves must do something. worden gedaan is a passive construction: worden (“become/be”) plus the past participle gedaan (“done”), from doen (“to do”). It presents the task as the thing acted on, without specifying who performs it. With the singular taak, the construction is de taak moet worden gedaan — “the task must be done.” Together, welke taak eerst moet worden gedaan means “which task should come first” or, more literally, “which task must be done first.” The outer clause Afhankelijkheden kunnen veranderen says that dependencies can change this ordering. The complete utterance therefore means: “Dependencies can change which task should come first.”

9. De dringende e-mail kan wachten tot na de eerste versie van het rapport.

   The urgent email can wait until after the report draft.

   dringende

   urgent

   e-mail

   email

   kan

   can

   wachten

   wait

   tot na

   until after

   eerste

   first

   versie

   version; draft

   rapport

   report

   More detail

   dringende means “urgent” here. Its base form is dringend; before the definite noun e-mail, Dutch uses the form dringende. This -e is the adjective inflection in this noun phrase; it does not by itself tell us that the noun has a particular grammatical gender. Example: een dringende vraag — “an urgent question.” e-mail is the noun for an email. Its plural is e-mails. Example: Ik stuur een e-mail. — “I am sending an email.” kan is the third-person singular present form of the modal verb kunnen (“can, be able to”). In this sentence it expresses possibility or acceptability: the email is able to wait. A modal verb is followed by an infinitive, so kan is followed by wachten. Example: De afspraak kan wachten. — “The appointment can wait.” wachten is the infinitive “to wait.” With a modal such as kan, it remains in the infinitive rather than taking a present-tense ending. Example: We kunnen wachten. — “We can wait.” tot na is a two-word time expression meaning “until after.” It places the endpoint after the event or point named next. Here it introduces the point after which waiting is no longer being specified: after the first version of the report. Example: Blijf hier tot na de vergadering. — “Stay here until after the meeting.” eerste is the ordinal adjective “first,” from één in its ordinal form eerste. It identifies the first item in an order, not merely one item. Example: de eerste pagina — “the first page.” versie is the noun “version.” In this sentence, the translation “draft” gives its intended meaning: a version of the report, specifically the first one. Example: Deze versie is duidelijker. — “This version is clearer.” rapport is the noun “report.” The phrase de eerste versie van het rapport means “the first version of the report”: van links the version to the report it belongs to or represents. Example: Het rapport is klaar. — “The report is ready.” Together, De dringende e-mail is “the urgent email.” kan wachten says that it can wait, and tot na de eerste versie van het rapport sets the time boundary as after the report’s first version. The whole utterance therefore means: “The urgent email can wait until after the report draft.”

10. Prioriteren gaat om de gevolgen, niet alleen om de druk.

    Prioritizing is about consequences, not just pressure.

    Prioriteren

    prioritizing

    gaat om

    is about

    gevolgen

    consequences

    niet alleen

    not only

    druk

    pressure

    More detail

    Prioriteren is the infinitive of prioriteren, “to prioritize.” Here the infinitive functions as the subject, so the sentence presents prioritizing as a general activity. Dutch can use an infinitive this way: Lezen is nuttig. means “Reading is useful.” gaat om is the construction gaan om, used here to say what something concerns or is about. The form gaat is the present-tense form of gaan with a singular subject; the subject here is the infinitive phrase Prioriteren. A reusable pattern is Het gaat om ... — “It is about ...” For example: Het gaat om de timing. — “It is about the timing.” gevolgen means “consequences” in this sentence. Its singular base form is gevolg, “consequence”; gevolgen is the plural form. The definite article de before it is part of the noun phrase de gevolgen, “the consequences,” but the noun itself carries the plural ending. niet alleen means “not only” or “not just.” It introduces something that is being excluded from being the sole consideration. A common reusable pattern is niet alleen ..., maar ook ... — “not only ..., but also ...”; the second part can be left implicit when the contrast is clear, as it is here. druk means “pressure” here. It is a noun and is preceded by the definite article in de druk, “the pressure.” Do not confuse this noun with the related verb drukken, “to press” or “to print”; druk in the fixed sentence names the pressure itself. Together, Prioriteren gaat om de gevolgen says “Prioritizing is about the consequences.” niet alleen om de druk adds the contrast “not just about the pressure.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Prioritizing is about consequences, not just pressure.”