Resolving a shared kitchen problem | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Na het avondeten was de gedeelde keuken weer rommelig achtergelaten.

   The shared kitchen was left messy again after dinner.

   avondeten

   dinner

   was

   was

   gedeelde

   shared

   keuken

   kitchen

   weer

   again

   rommelig

   messy

   achtergelaten

   left behind

   More detail

   avondeten is the noun for the evening meal, or dinner. It is a compound noun: het avondeten. In na het avondeten, het is used because avondeten is a het-noun, and the whole phrase means “after dinner.” was is the singular past form of zijn, “to be.” Here it helps form the passive construction with achtergelaten. The plural past form is waren; for example, De kamers waren schoon means “The rooms were clean.” gedeelde means “shared” here. It is the attributive form of the adjective or past participle related to delen, “to share.” In de gedeelde keuken, the -e ending belongs to gedeelde, not to keuken. The same form can occur before a definite noun phrase or a common-gender noun phrase, so definiteness alone is not the complete rule for choosing this ending. keuken means “kitchen.” It is a singular de-noun: de keuken. Example: De keuken is schoon means “The kitchen is clean.” weer means “again.” It indicates that the situation described by the rest of the clause happened another time or recurred; it does not mean “very.” rommelig means “messy” or “untidy.” Here it describes the condition in which the kitchen was left. It is an adjective and does not change to show the singularity of keuken. achtergelaten is the past participle of the separable verb achterlaten, “to leave behind” or “to leave in a condition.” It is not a form of laten alone. With was, it forms the passive was achtergelaten, “was left.” Example: De kamer werd rommelig achtergelaten means “The room was left messy.” Together, na het avondeten means “after dinner,” and de gedeelde keuken means “the shared kitchen.” weer rommelig achtergelaten says that it was left messy again. The complete utterance means: “The shared kitchen was left messy again after dinner.”

2. We moeten dit bespreken zonder één persoon de schuld te geven.

   We should bring it up without blaming one person.

   We moeten

   we must / should

   dit

   this

   bespreken

   discuss

   zonder

   without

   één

   one

   persoon

   person

   de schuld te geven

   to blame

   More detail

   We moeten means “we must/should.” moeten is the infinitive of the modal verb moeten; here it is the present-tense form used with we. A modal is followed by an infinitive, which appears later in the sentence: We moeten ... bespreken = “We should ... discuss.” dit means “this.” It is the singular neuter demonstrative form, used here for the matter being discussed. Dutch contrasts dit with dat (“that”) for a singular neuter reference; the sentence itself does not identify the matter with a separate noun. bespreken means “to discuss.” It is the infinitive after moeten. Unlike a separable verb, bespreken remains together in this construction. Example: We moeten het probleem bespreken. — “We should discuss the problem.” zonder means “without.” It introduces an action that is excluded from happening alongside the main action. A useful pattern is zonder ... te + infinitive: “without ...-ing.” één persoon means “one person.” één is the number word “one,” with an accent here; it specifies a single person. persoon is a singular noun. Example: Eén persoon neemt de beslissing. — “One person makes the decision.” de schuld te geven is the infinitive construction for “to blame,” using the Dutch expression iemand de schuld geven, literally “to give someone the blame.” In this sentence, te marks the infinitive geven within the zonder ... te pattern, and één persoon is the person who would receive the blame. Example: Zonder iemand de schuld te geven, zoeken we een oplossing. — “Without blaming anyone, we look for a solution.” Together, We moeten dit bespreken says “We should discuss this.” The second part, zonder één persoon de schuld te geven, adds “without blaming one person.” Thus the complete utterance means: “We should bring it up without blaming one person.”

3. Misschien zou een herinnering aan ieders schoonmaaktaken helpen.

   Maybe a reminder about cleaning responsibilities would help.

   Misschien

   maybe

   zou

   would

   een herinnering

   a reminder

   ieders

   everyone’s

   schoonmaaktaken

   cleaning responsibilities

   helpen

   help

   More detail

   Misschien means “maybe” and marks the proposal as uncertain rather than presenting it as a fact. It can also appear elsewhere in a Dutch sentence, but here it introduces the speaker’s tentative suggestion. zou is the singular form of zullen used here with a conditional or tentative meaning, “would.” The subject is singular: een herinnering. With a plural subject, the corresponding form is zouden. In the pattern zou + infinitive, the infinitive normally comes later: zou helpen = “would help.” een herinnering means “a reminder” here. herinnering is a singular noun; its plural is herinneringen. The indefinite article een presents one non-specified reminder, but it does not by itself assert a numerical count as the main point. ieders expresses possession distributed over people: “everyone’s” or “each person’s.” It is a possessive determiner, not the personal pronoun for “everyone.” It tells us that the cleaning tasks belong to the respective people. A related form is iedereen, which means “everyone” as a pronoun, as in Iedereen helpt (“Everyone helps”). schoonmaaktaken means “cleaning responsibilities” or “cleaning tasks.” It is a compound noun: schoonmaak refers to cleaning, and taken is the plural of taak, “task.” The plural is appropriate because the sentence refers to tasks in general rather than one single task. The compound is written as one word in Dutch. helpen means “to help.” It is the infinitive after the modal zou; the form does not show a separate person or number here. For example, Een lijst zou helpen means “A list would help.” Together, Misschien zou makes the suggestion tentative, een herinnering aan identifies the proposed helpful thing and its topic, and ieders schoonmaaktaken specifies whose tasks are involved. The complete utterance means: “Maybe a reminder about everyone’s cleaning responsibilities would help.”

4. Maak het concreet door de afwas, het aanrecht en het afval te noemen.

   Make it specific by mentioning dishes, counters, and trash.

   Maak

   make; make it

   concreet

   specific; concrete

   de afwas

   the dishes

   het aanrecht

   the counter

   het afval

   the trash

   noemen

   mention; name

   More detail

   Maak is the imperative of maken (“to make”). It tells the addressee to carry out the action. The imperative uses the stem maak; the same form is also used in common direct-address commands regardless of whether the addressee is one person or more than one. Example: Maak de deur open. — “Open the door.” concreet means “specific” here. It is a predicative adjective describing the object of maak, namely het (“it”): make it specific. In this position it appears without the adjective ending -e, as in Het plan is concreet. — “The plan is specific.” The pronoun’s exact referent is supplied by the wider situation, not by concreet itself. de afwas means “the dishes” in this context, or more literally “the washing-up.” Afwas is a singular Dutch noun with the article de, even though the English translation commonly uses the plural “dishes.” Example: Ik doe de afwas. — “I am doing the dishes.” het aanrecht means “the counter” or “worktop,” specifically a kitchen work surface. Aanrecht is a singular neuter noun, so it takes het. Example: De kom staat op het aanrecht. — “The bowl is on the counter.” het afval means “the trash” or “waste.” It is a singular mass noun with the article het; this article does not assert that there is one individual piece of trash. Example: Breng het afval naar buiten. — “Take the trash outside.” noemen means “to mention” or “to name.” It is the infinitive used in the construction door ... te noemen, “by mentioning ...”. Example: Je maakt het duidelijker door een voorbeeld te noemen. — “You make it clearer by mentioning an example.” The structure door + an infinitive clause with te expresses the means: “by doing something.” Here, door de afwas, het aanrecht en het afval te noemen means “by mentioning the dishes, the counter, and the trash.” The three noun phrases are coordinated objects of noemen; their articles belong to the nouns and do not change the meaning of the verb. Taken together, Maak het concreet gives the instruction “Make it specific,” and door ... te noemen explains how: mention the listed household-related items. The complete meaning is therefore “Make it specific by mentioning dishes, counters, and trash.”

5. Zullen we eerst een rooster ophangen of het in de groepschat bespreken?

   Should we post a schedule or talk in the group chat first?

   Zullen we

   Shall we …?

   eerst

   first

   rooster

   schedule

   ophangen

   put up; post

   of

   or

   groepschat

   group chat

   bespreken

   discuss

   More detail

   Zullen we combines zullen with we to make a suggestion or proposal: “shall we …?” In this sentence, we is the subject, and zullen is the finite verb. The infinitive that completes this pattern can come later in the sentence. Example: Zullen we beginnen? — “Shall we begin?” eerst means “first” here and helps frame the alternatives as possible actions to take first. It does not itself state a numerical count. Its position is after the opening question pattern and before the first proposed action. rooster means “schedule” here. The useful noun phrase is een rooster, “a schedule”; een presents the noun without asserting a specific number. In other contexts, rooster can refer to a timetable or schedule more generally. Example: Het rooster hangt aan de muur. — “The schedule is hanging on the wall.” ophangen is the infinitive meaning “to hang up” or “put up.” It is a separable Dutch verb: in a finite clause, the parts can separate, as in We hangen het rooster op — “We put up the schedule.” After zullen, however, the infinitive stays together: Zullen we het rooster ophangen? — “Shall we put up the schedule?” In this sentence, een rooster ophangen means putting up or posting a schedule. of connects the two alternatives and means “or.” It introduces the second proposed action after the first option. groepschat is a compound noun meaning “group chat.” The phrase in de groepschat means “in the group chat,” describing the place or channel where the discussion would happen. Example: We schrijven het in de groepschat. — “We write it in the group chat.” bespreken is the infinitive “to discuss” or “talk about.” It is used directly with the thing being discussed: iets bespreken means “to discuss something.” Here, het is the object pronoun for the thing being discussed; the supplied translation leaves that pronoun implicit in “talk in the group chat,” so no more specific referent is required. Example: We bespreken het morgen. — “We will discuss it tomorrow.” The sentence first proposes een rooster ophangen, “put up a schedule,” and then offers het in de groepschat bespreken, “discuss it in the group chat,” as the alternative. Zullen we ... of ...? turns these two infinitive actions into a question asking which option should be done first: “Should we post a schedule or talk about it in the group chat first?”

6. Begin met een rustig bericht, zodat het niet agressief overkomt.

   Start with a calm message so it does not feel aggressive.

   Begin met

   Start with

   rustig

   calm

   bericht

   message

   zodat

   so that

   agressief

   aggressive

   overkomt

   comes across

   More detail

   Begin met is a reusable imperative pattern meaning “start with …”. Begin is the imperative of beginnen (“to begin”); the subject “you” is understood. Met introduces what the action starts with: Begin met een voorbeeld = “Start with an example.” rustig means “calm” here. It is an adjective describing bericht. In een rustig bericht, the noun is singular and neuter (het bericht), so the adjective has no -e ending after the indefinite article een. Compare de rustige toon (“the calm tone”), where the adjective does have -e. bericht is a neuter noun meaning “message”. Its useful forms are het bericht (singular) and de berichten (plural). Example: Ik stuur een bericht. — “I am sending a message.” zodat introduces a subordinate clause expressing the intended result or purpose: “so that”. In a clause introduced by zodat, the finite verb appears at the end. Example: Spreek langzaam, zodat iedereen je begrijpt. — “Speak slowly so that everyone understands you.” agressief is the adjective “aggressive”. It can describe how something sounds or comes across, as in agressief overkomen. It does not take an adjective ending in this use because it follows the linking verb overkomen rather than directly preceding a noun. overkomt is the third-person singular present form of overkomen in the meaning “come across” or “seem”. The base form is overkomen; with het as the subject, the present form is het komt ... over in a main clause, but in this subordinate clause the separable verb appears together at the end: het ... overkomt. Example: De toon komt vriendelijk over. — “The tone comes across as friendly.” Together, een rustig bericht means “a calm message”. In zodat het niet agressief overkomt, het refers to that message, niet negates the adjective agressief, and overkomt describes how the message comes across. Thus the complete utterance means: “Start with a calm message so it does not come across as aggressive.”

7. Het bericht kan iedereen vragen om de gedeelde ruimte te respecteren.

   The message can ask everyone to respect the shared space.

   bericht

   message

   kan

   can

   iedereen

   everyone

   vragen

   ask

   om … te

   to (do something)

   gedeelde

   shared

   ruimte

   space

   respecteren

   respect

   More detail

   bericht means “message” here. Its base form is the noun bericht; the definite phrase het bericht means “the message.” Dutch uses het with this neuter singular noun. Example: Het bericht is kort. — “The message is short.” kan is the third-person singular present form of kunnen, the modal verb “can.” Its subject is Het bericht; here it expresses that the message can ask. With a plural subject, the present form is kunnen, as in De berichten kunnen helpen. — “The messages can help.” iedereen means “everyone” here and is the object of vragen: the message asks everyone. If iedereen is the subject, it normally takes singular verb agreement: Iedereen kan helpen. — “Everyone can help.” vragen is the infinitive of vragen, “to ask.” It is controlled by the modal kan, so the modal is finite and the lexical verb remains an infinitive. A useful pattern is iets/iemand vragen — “to ask something/someone.” Here iedereen vragen means “ask everyone.” om ... te introduces the requested action in the pattern iemand vragen om iets te doen: “to ask someone to do something.” The intervening words are de gedeelde ruimte, so the construction is discontinuous in the sentence. te occurs before the infinitive respecteren; it is not a separate English-style tense marker. gedeelde means “shared” here. It is the attributive form of the past participle gedeeld, from delen, “to share.” Before this definite noun phrase, the adjective has the -e form: de gedeelde ruimte. Example: We gebruiken een gedeelde tafel. — “We use a shared table.” ruimte means “space” here, specifically the shared space identified by the fixed translation. It is a noun with the article de: de ruimte. Example: De ruimte is groot. — “The space is large.” respecteren is the infinitive “to respect.” In om ... te respecteren, it is the action that everyone is being asked to perform. Example: Zij probeert de regels te respecteren. — “She tries to respect the rules.” Together, Het bericht kan means “the message can,” iedereen vragen adds the person being asked, and om de gedeelde ruimte te respecteren states the requested action. The complete meaning is: “The message can ask everyone to respect the shared space.”

8. Gebruik een rustige formulering en vermijd woorden als altijd en nooit.

   Use calm wording and avoid words like always and never.

   Gebruik

   use

   rustige

   calm

   formulering

   wording

   vermijd

   avoid

   woorden

   words

   als

   like

   altijd

   always

   nooit

   never

   More detail

   Gebruik is the imperative of gebruiken (“to use”). The imperative addresses the listener directly; the subject jij is normally left unstated. Example: Gebruik eenvoudige woorden. — “Use simple words.” rustige means “calm” here. It is the adjective rustig with the -e ending used before the noun formulering in this noun phrase. Example: een rustige stem — “a calm voice.” The ending belongs to the adjective, not to the noun. formulering is a noun meaning “wording” or “formulation”; its plural is formuleringen. In this sentence it refers to the way something is put into words, not to the words altijd and nooit themselves. vermijd is the imperative of vermijden (“to avoid”). As with Gebruik, the listener is the understood subject. Example: Vermijd moeilijke woorden. — “Avoid difficult words.” woorden is the plural of woord (“word”). The singular is een woord; the plural is woorden. Example: Deze woorden zijn duidelijk. — “These words are clear.” als means “like” in this sentence: it introduces examples of the kind of words being mentioned. Dutch als also has other uses, including “if” or “when,” so its meaning is determined by the construction. Here, woorden als X en Y means “words like X and Y.” altijd is an adverb meaning “always,” referring to something happening at every relevant time or on every relevant occasion. Example: Zij komt altijd op tijd. — “She always arrives on time.” nooit is an adverb meaning “never,” meaning “at no time.” Example: Hij klaagt nooit. — “He never complains.” It is not simply the opposite form of a verb; it modifies the situation by expressing zero occasions. Together, Gebruik een rustige formulering means “Use calm wording,” and vermijd woorden als altijd en nooit means “avoid words like always and never.” The two imperative clauses are joined by en (“and”), producing the complete instruction: “Use calm wording and avoid words like always and never.”

9. Zo klinkt het bericht niet als een aanval.

   That keeps the message from sounding like an attack.

   Zo

   this way

   klinkt

   sounds

   bericht

   message

   niet als

   not like

   aanval

   attack

   More detail

   Zo means “in this way” or “so” here. It points to the manner established by the wording, rather than naming a separate object. A reusable pattern is Zo + verb ...: Zo werkt het beter. — “That way, it works better.” klinkt is the present-tense third-person singular form of klinken, “to sound.” The form agrees with the singular subject het bericht; klinken is the base form. For example: De uitleg klinkt duidelijk. — “The explanation sounds clear.” bericht means “message.” It is a neuter noun: het bericht; its plural is berichten. In this sentence, it is the subject of klinkt, so the message is what has the described sound or impression. niet als forms the relevant negative comparison: “not like” or “does not sound like.” Here niet negates the comparison with als; als has the comparison meaning “like/as,” not its other possible meaning “if/when.” Example: Het klinkt niet als een waarschuwing. — “It does not sound like a warning.” aanval means “attack.” It is a common-gender noun: de aanval; its plural is aanvallen. In een aanval, een is the indefinite article for a singular noun; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Together, Zo sets the manner, klinkt says what impression the message gives, het bericht identifies what is being judged, and niet als een aanval gives the rejected comparison. The complete utterance therefore means: “That keeps the message from sounding like an attack.”

10. Duidelijke keukenregels werken beter als de toon respectvol blijft.

    Clear kitchen rules work better when the tone stays respectful.

    Duidelijke

    clear

    keukenregels

    kitchen rules

    werken

    work

    beter

    better

    toon

    tone

    respectvol

    respectful

    blijft

    stays

    More detail

    Duidelijke is the adjective duidelijk (“clear”) with the attributive ending -e. It stands before the plural noun keukenregels, and Dutch uses this form in this noun phrase. The ending is not caused by plurality alone: compare een duidelijke regel (“a clear rule”) and duidelijke regels (“clear rules”). keukenregels is a compound noun: keuken (“kitchen”) + regels (“rules”). Its singular is keukenregel; the plural ending is -s: keukenregels. Dutch compounds are written as one word, and the final part supplies the main noun and plural form. werken means “work” here in the sense of “be effective” or “function successfully,” not physical employment. It is the present-tense plural form of werken; the subject is plural, keukenregels. For example, Deze regels werken goed means “These rules work well.” beter is the comparative form of goed (“good”): goed, beter, best (“good”, “better”, “best”). The phrase werken beter compares how well these rules work with some alternative or general standard; the comparison is understood from context rather than explicitly named. toon means “tone,” especially the manner or emotional quality conveyed by speech or writing. It is a singular noun. In this sentence, the definite noun phrase de toon refers to the relevant tone in the situation, while the sentence itself does not identify a more specific tone beyond the description that follows. respectvol means “respectful.” It is a descriptive adjective and has no visible ending here because it follows the linking verb blijft in a predicate position. For example, De toon is respectvol means “The tone is respectful.” blijft is the third-person singular present form of blijven (“to remain” or “stay”). Its subject is singular de toon, so the form is blijft; the infinitive is blijven. In de toon respectvol blijft, it expresses that the tone remains respectful rather than becoming different. The pattern als ... blijft introduces the circumstance under which the main statement holds. In the fixed translation, als de toon respectvol blijft is “when the tone stays respectful.” Thus Duidelijke keukenregels werken beter means “Clear kitchen rules work better,” and the full utterance means “Clear kitchen rules work better when the tone stays respectful.”