Managing expired food in a shared fridge | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Er ligt weer verlopen eten in de gedeelde koelkast.

   There's expired food in the shared fridge again.

   ligt

   lies; is located

   weer

   again

   verlopen

   expired

   eten

   food

   gedeelde

   shared

   koelkast

   fridge

   More detail

   ligt is the present-tense form of liggen for a singular subject. Here it describes something being situated in a place, not necessarily lying flat. In the pattern Er ligt ..., er introduces something that is present or located, while the thing itself comes later in the sentence. Compare Er ligt een boek op tafel. — “There is a book lying on the table.” weer means “again”: the situation has occurred another time. It modifies the statement as a whole, so Er ligt weer ... means that the food is there again, not that the food itself is “again” in some other sense. verlopen describes eten here as no longer within its intended usable period: “expired.” It is the past participle of verlopen, used here as an adjective. The same form can have other meanings in other contexts, such as “to elapse” or “to proceed,” so its meaning here comes from its relationship with eten. eten means “food” here and is a noun. Dutch also uses eten as a verb meaning “to eat,” but the form in this sentence names what is located in the refrigerator. As a mass noun, it does not assert a particular number of items. gedeelde means “shared” and describes koelkast. It is the adjective form used before this noun; the -e ending is part of the form required in this noun phrase. The related verb is delen, “to share.” Example: een gedeelde kamer — “a shared room.” koelkast means “refrigerator” or “fridge.” It is a Dutch compound noun referring to the appliance used to keep food cold. Example: De melk staat in de koelkast. — “The milk is in the fridge.” Together, Er ligt presents the existence or location of something, weer adds that this has happened again, verlopen eten identifies the thing as expired food, and in de gedeelde koelkast gives its location: “There’s expired food in the shared fridge again.”

2. Het kan een hygiëneprobleem worden als het daar nog veel langer blijft liggen.

   It could become a hygiene problem if it sits there much longer.

   Het kan

   It can / could

   een hygiëneprobleem

   a hygiene problem

   worden

   become

   daar

   there

   veel langer

   much longer

   blijft liggen

   stays lying / remains

   More detail

   Het kan contains het, the singular neuter pronoun corresponding here to “it,” and kan, the third-person singular present form of kunnen (“can”). With an infinitive later in the clause, kan expresses possibility: “can/could.” The exact identity of “it” is not specified beyond the intended “it” in the fixed translation. Example: Het kan morgen regenen. — “It may rain tomorrow.” een hygiëneprobleem is the noun phrase “a hygiene problem.” Probleem is a neuter Dutch noun, and the compound hygiëneprobleem is neuter as well; its definite article is therefore het: het hygiëneprobleem. The indefinite article een is used here with a singular indefinite noun phrase and does not itself state a numerical count. Hygiëne specifies the type of problem. The compound is written as one word. Example: Dit is een serieus probleem. — “This is a serious problem.” worden is the infinitive of worden, “to become.” After a modal such as kan, the infinitive is used: kan ... worden means “can become.” This is different from zijn (“to be”): Het kan een probleem zijn means “It can be a problem,” while Het kan een probleem worden describes a change into that state. daar means “there,” referring to a place already understood in the situation. It is a place adverb, not a noun or an article. Example: Laat het daar liggen. — “Leave it there.” veel langer means “much longer.” Langer is the comparative form of the adjective lang (“long”): lang → langer (“longer”) → het langst (“the longest”). Here veel strengthens the comparison, while nog in the sentence adds the sense “still/even”: the item remains there for considerably more time. Example: Wacht nog langer. — “Wait even longer.” blijft liggen combines blijft, the third-person singular present form of blijven (“to remain/stay”), with the infinitive liggen (“to lie, be lying”). Together they describe something continuing to be in a lying or placed position. Dutch uses this blijven + infinitive pattern to show that an activity or state continues. Example: Het boek blijft op tafel liggen. — “The book remains lying on the table.” Together, Het kan een hygiëneprobleem worden says that the situation may develop into a hygiene problem. The subordinate clause introduced by als gives the condition: het daar nog veel langer blijft liggen, “if it remains there for much longer.” The complete utterance therefore means: “It could become a hygiene problem if it sits there much longer.”

3. Op sommige bakjes staat geen naam, dus niemand weet van wie ze zijn.

   Some containers aren't labeled, so nobody knows who owns them.

   Op

   on

   sommige

   some

   bakjes

   containers

   staat

   is written

   geen

   no

   naam

   name

   dus

   so

   niemand

   nobody

   weet

   knows

   van wie

   whose

   ze

   they

   zijn

   are

   More detail

   Op introduces the surface or place where something is located: op een bakje means “on a container.” In this sentence it helps describe information written on the outside, rather than an object physically standing there. Example: Er staat een sticker op de doos. — “There is a sticker on the box.” Sommige means “some” and is used here before the plural noun bakjes. It indicates an unspecified part of the group, without saying exactly how many. Example: Sommige deuren zijn open. — “Some doors are open.” Bakjes is the plural of bakje, “small container” or “small tub.” The ending -je marks the diminutive in the singular; the plural ending changes the form to bakjes. Here the containers are the things on which the names may be written. Staat is the singular present form of staan. Its basic meaning is “stands,” but Dutch also uses staan for something being positioned or written somewhere. The singular form is chosen because the grammatical subject is geen naam, which is singular, even though bakjes is plural. Example: Er staat een adres op de envelop. — “There is an address on the envelope.” Geen negates a noun: geen naam means “no name” or “not a name.” It is different from niet, which normally negates a verb, adjective, or the sentence more generally. Geen does not by itself state a numeric count; here it says that the containers in question have no name on them. Naam means “name.” Its plural is namen. In this sentence it refers to a name written on a container, not to the person who owns the container. Dus links the first situation to its consequence and means “so” or “therefore.” It marks the result: because the names are absent, nobody knows the ownership. Niemand means “nobody” or “no one.” It is a negative pronoun referring to no person. In Dutch, it normally combines with the verb without an additional niet: Niemand weet het. — “Nobody knows it.” Weet is the singular present form of weten, “to know.” The form weet is used with a singular subject such as niemand; plural subjects use weten. Weten concerns knowledge of a fact or piece of information, while kennen usually concerns familiarity with a person, place, or thing. Example: Ik weet het antwoord. — “I know the answer.” Van wie literally combines van (“of/from”) with wie (“who”) and forms a question about ownership: “whose” or “who ... belongs to.” It is a reusable Dutch pattern for asking who the owner is. Example: Van wie is deze tas? — “Whose bag is this?” Ze is the unstressed third-person plural pronoun here, meaning “they” in the source clause and referring to the containers in the fixed translation. Its grammatical form is plural; it does not itself identify an owner. Dutch also uses ze for singular “she” in an unstressed form, so the surrounding verb and context matter, but in this sentence the plural reading is fixed by the intended meaning. Zijn is the plural present form of zijn, “to be.” In van wie ze zijn, the construction means “whose they are,” that is, who owns them. The plural form agrees with ze, the containers. Compare Het bakje is van Ana. — “The container belongs to Ana,” but De bakjes zijn van Ana. — “The containers belong to Ana.” Together, op sommige bakjes staat geen naam says that no name is written on some containers. Dus introduces the consequence, niemand weet, and van wie ze zijn specifies what is unknown: who the containers belong to. The complete meaning is: “Some containers aren’t labeled, so nobody knows who owns them.”

4. We zouden een bericht moeten ophangen waarin we mensen vragen hun naam en de datum erbij te zetten.

   We should post a notice asking people to add their names and dates.

   We zouden

   we would

   een bericht

   a notice/message

   moeten

   must/should

   ophangen

   post/hang up

   waarin

   in which

   mensen

   people

   vragen

   ask

   hun

   their

   naam

   name

   de datum

   the date

   erbij

   along with it

   te zetten

   to put/add

   More detail

   We zouden combines we (“we”) with zouden, the first-person plural form of the modal auxiliary zullen in its past/conditional form. In this sentence, its meaning contributes to the suggestion “we should,” not a claim about a past event. Compare ik zou (“I would”) and wij/we zouden (“we would”). een bericht means “a notice/message.” Bericht is a singular noun; een marks it as indefinite, but does not by itself state a numerical count. The phrase can refer to a written notice intended for people to read. moeten is the infinitive of moeten, “must/need to,” and is used with zouden in the reusable pattern zouden moeten + infinitive for “should/ought to.” The combination is often less forceful than a plain obligation, though its exact strength depends on context. ophangen is the infinitive of the separable verb ophangen, literally “hang up,” and here “put up/post” a notice. After a modal such as moeten, the infinitive remains at the end of the clause: We zouden een bericht moeten ophangen (“We should post a notice”). waarin means “in which” and introduces a relative clause referring here to the notice. It is a relative form combining waar with in; the clause describes what the notice asks people to do. mensen is the plural of mens, “person/human being,” so it means “people” here. De mensen would mean “the people,” while bare mensen is non-specific. vragen is the present-tense plural form of vragen, “to ask,” and it has the same spelling as the infinitive. Here we is the subject of vragen, and mensen are the people being asked. Example: We vragen mensen om te wachten. — “We ask people to wait.” hun is the third-person plural possessive, “their.” Here it connects the requested information to the people being asked. It does not change to agree with the singular noun naam that follows it; the possessor is plural, while the possessed noun may be singular or plural. naam means “name” and is singular; its plural is namen. In hun naam, it denotes the name each person is being asked to provide. Example: Schrijf je naam op. — “Write down your name.” de datum means “the date.” Datum is singular, and de is its definite article. The source uses this singular form, while the fixed translation expresses the intended meaning with “dates”; that translation does not change the observed Dutch form. The plural forms datums and, in suitable contexts, data can also mean “dates,” but neither is present here. erbij is an adverb meaning “along with it” or “in addition.” With zetten, the pattern erbij zetten means “add/put alongside it” or “enter in the relevant place.” It indicates that the names and date are to be added to something already understood. te zetten consists of te plus the infinitive zetten, “to put/set.” In this construction, mensen vragen ... te zetten means “ask people to add/put ... .” With names and dates, zetten naturally refers to writing or entering them. A reusable pattern is iemand vragen iets te doen: “to ask someone to do something.” Together, We zouden een bericht moeten ophangen means “We should post a notice.” The relative clause waarin we mensen vragen hun naam en de datum erbij te zetten specifies that the notice asks people to add their names and dates. The complete utterance therefore means: “We should post a notice asking people to add their names and dates.”

5. Zullen we alles weggooien dat ouder is dan een week?

   Should we throw away anything older than a week?

   Zullen we

   Shall we?

   alles

   everything

   weggooien

   throw away

   dat

   that / which

   ouder

   older

   dan

   than

   week

   week

   More detail

   Zullen we is a reusable way to make a suggestion or ask about a joint action: “Shall we …?” Here, we is the proposed actor, and zullen is the present-tense form used with that subject. For example: Zullen we beginnen? — “Shall we begin?” alles means “everything” or, in a context like this, “anything/everything that meets the condition.” It is an indefinite pronoun, so it can stand on its own rather than modifying a noun. The following relative clause restricts what is meant: the proposal concerns the items that satisfy the age condition, not necessarily every item. weggooien means “to throw away” or “to discard.” It is an infinitive and stays at the end here because it follows the modal-like auxiliary zullen: Zullen we ... weggooien? Dutch weggooien is a separable verb in forms where the parts are separated, such as We gooien het weg — “We throw it away.” In this infinitive construction, the full form remains together. dat means “that” or “which” here as a relative pronoun. It refers back to alles; alles is a neuter singular antecedent, which is why Dutch uses dat rather than die in this construction. The same pattern appears in iets dat werkt — “something that works.” ouder is the comparative form of oud, “old”: oud → ouder → oudst (“old” → “older” → “oldest”). In this sentence it describes an item as older than the stated time limit. Dutch commonly uses the pattern ouder dan ... for “older than ...”; dan introduces the comparison. dan means “than” in this comparison. It connects ouder with the reference point, een week (“a week”). een is the indefinite article; it does not by itself assert that exactly one week was counted. The expression ouder dan een week means “older than a week.” week is the noun “week.” Its plural is weken: een week — “a week,” twee weken — “two weeks.” In the fixed sentence, it is the time unit used as the comparison point. Together, alles dat ouder is dan een week means “anything that is older than a week.” The relative clause dat ouder is dan een week describes which things are included, and weggooien names the proposed action. Thus the whole utterance asks whether the speakers should discard anything older than a week: “Should we throw away anything older than a week?”

6. Dat moeten we pas doen nadat we iedereen een duidelijke deadline hebben gegeven.

   Only after we give everyone a clear deadline.

   Dat

   that

   moeten we

   we have to

   doen

   do

   pas

   only then

   nadat

   after

   iedereen

   everyone

   duidelijke

   clear

   deadline

   deadline

   gegeven

   given

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here and refers to the action under discussion: carrying out the disposal action mentioned in the preceding question. As a demonstrative pronoun, it points to an action or situation rather than naming a new object. The form dat is also used with singular neuter nouns, but that noun-agreement fact is separate from its use here as a pronoun. moeten we contains moeten, “must/have to,” followed by the subject we, “we.” In a main clause, the finite verb comes before the subject in this pattern: moeten we ...? or, after initial dat, dat moeten we .... Moeten is a modal verb; the following lexical verb stays in the infinitive. Compare we moeten wachten — “we have to wait.” doen is the infinitive of doen, “to do.” Here it refers to carrying out the previously mentioned action, so Dutch can use this general verb instead of repeating the whole action. With moeten, the infinitive comes later in the verb group: we moeten het doen — “we have to do it.” pas marks a restriction in time: “only then” or “not until then.” Its exact force becomes clear with the following condition. In pas nadat ..., it says that the action is postponed until the event in the nadat clause has happened. This is different from alleen, which commonly means “only” in a non-temporal restriction. nadat introduces a subordinate time clause meaning “after.” It combines with a complete clause: nadat we ... hebben gegeven — “after we have given ...”. In Dutch subordinate clauses, the verb group is placed at the end, which is why hebben gegeven appears at the end of this clause. iedereen means “everyone” or “everybody.” It refers to each person in the relevant group and is the recipient of the giving action here. It is a singular-form pronoun grammatically, even though its meaning covers all members of a group; for example, Iedereen is er means “Everyone is here.” duidelijke is the inflected form of the adjective duidelijk, “clear.” It describes deadline, not iedereen: a duidelijke deadline is a deadline whose requirements or time limit are clear. Before a common-gender singular noun, the attributive adjective normally takes -e, as in een duidelijke deadline. The form without this ending occurs in other environments, for example een duidelijk plan with the neuter singular noun plan. deadline is a noun meaning “deadline,” the final time by which something must be done. It can be reused in combinations such as een duidelijke deadline and de deadline verzetten — “to move the deadline.” gegeven is the past participle of geven, “to give.” The relevant form chain is geven → gegeven; with the auxiliary hebben, hebben gegeven means “have given.” Here the recipients and object are ordered as iedereen een duidelijke deadline: “everyone a clear deadline.” Together, Dat moeten we doen means “We have to do that,” and pas nadat we iedereen een duidelijke deadline hebben gegeven means “only after we have given everyone a clear deadline.” The complete utterance therefore means: “We must do that only after we have given everyone a clear deadline.”

7. Misschien kunnen we in de groepschat een wekelijkse opruimbeurt voorstellen.

   Maybe we can suggest a weekly cleanout in the group chat.

   Misschien

   maybe

   kunnen we

   we can

   groepschat

   group chat

   wekelijkse

   weekly

   opruimbeurt

   cleanout

   voorstellen

   suggest

   More detail

   Misschien means “maybe” and marks the proposal as uncertain rather than definite. It commonly appears at the beginning of a sentence, as here. Example: Misschien komt zij morgen. — “Maybe she will come tomorrow.” kunnen we combines the modal verb kunnen with the subject we (“we”). In this question-like word order, kunnen comes before we; the main lexical verb stays in the infinitive at the end of the clause. Kunnen can express ability or possibility, but with Misschien here it presents the proposal as a possibility: “maybe we can.” Example: Kunnen we morgen beginnen? — “Can we start tomorrow?” groepschat is a compound noun meaning “group chat”: groep (“group”) + chat (“chat”). The phrase in de groepschat means “in the group chat”; de is the definite article used with this noun. Dutch compounds are written as one word, so do not write this noun as two separate words. wekelijkse is the adjective wekelijks (“weekly”) with the ending -e. It modifies the singular common-gender noun opruimbeurt, so the attributive form is wekelijkse. The base adjective is wekelijks, not wekelijk. Example: een wekelijkse vergadering — “a weekly meeting.” opruimbeurt is a compound noun meaning a cleaning session or cleanout. It combines opruimen (“to tidy up/clean up”) with beurt (“turn” or “session”). In this utterance it refers to a recurring cleanout, not to a person’s turn. Example: De opruimbeurt duurt een uur. — “The cleanout takes an hour.” voorstellen means “to suggest” here. It is a separable Dutch verb: in a finite main clause, the parts can separate, as in We stellen een plan voor (“We suggest a plan”), while the infinitive remains together as voorstellen, as in this sentence. Do not confuse it with voorstellen meaning “to introduce” in contexts such as Ik stel mijn collega voor (“I introduce my colleague”). Together, Misschien kunnen we presents a possible action, in de groepschat identifies where the suggestion can be made, and een wekelijkse opruimbeurt identifies what can be suggested. The complete meaning is: “Maybe we can suggest a weekly cleanout in the group chat.”

8. Daardoor wordt de wekelijkse opruimbeurt voorspelbaar in plaats van onverwacht.

   That would make the weekly cleanout predictable instead of sudden.

   Daardoor

   as a result

   wordt

   becomes

   wekelijkse

   weekly

   opruimbeurt

   cleanout

   voorspelbaar

   predictable

   in plaats van

   instead of

   onverwacht

   unexpected

   More detail

   Daardoor means “as a result” or “through that.” It is a result-oriented adverb: it points to an already understood cause or situation rather than naming the cause itself. In this context, it links the statement to the proposed weekly cleanout mentioned earlier. wordt is the singular present form of worden (“to become” or “to be” in a passive construction). Here it introduces a change of state: something becomes predictable. Dutch present tense can describe a projected result in context; the English translation’s “would make” reflects that context, not a different form in the Dutch sentence. wekelijkse is the -e form of the adjective wekelijks (“weekly”). It modifies the noun opruimbeurt, so the adjective agrees with that noun in the form required here. Compare een wekelijkse opruimbeurt (“a weekly cleanout”) with the predicate use De opruimbeurt is wekelijks (“The cleanout is weekly”); the adjective form is chosen differently in those structures. opruimbeurt is a noun for a cleanout or cleanup session/turn. It is a compound associated with opruimen (“to tidy up, clear out”) and beurt (“turn” or “session”). A reusable example is: We hebben elke vrijdag een opruimbeurt. — “We have a cleanup session every Friday.” voorspelbaar is the adjective “predictable,” describing something whose timing or character can be anticipated. Its comparison forms are voorspelbaarder (“more predictable”) and het meest voorspelbaar (“the most predictable”). In this sentence it follows wordt as the resulting description: the cleanout becomes predictable. in plaats van is the fixed prepositional construction “instead of.” It sets up the alternative that is being replaced or contrasted. For example: We werken binnen in plaats van buiten. — “We work indoors instead of outdoors.” onverwacht means “unexpected” here. It describes the alternative character of the cleanout: it is contrasted with being predictable. The adjective can also be used before a noun, as in een onverwachte wijziging — “an unexpected change”; after wordt, the form is onverwacht in the predicate position. Together, Daardoor wordt presents a result or change of state, de wekelijkse opruimbeurt identifies the thing affected, and voorspelbaar in plaats van onverwacht contrasts its new predictable character with an unexpected one. The whole utterance therefore means: “That would make the weekly cleanout predictable instead of sudden.”

9. Mensen kunnen hun planken opruimen vóór de schoonmaakdag.

   People can clear their shelves before cleaning day.

   Mensen

   people

   kunnen

   can; be able to

   hun

   their

   planken

   shelves

   opruimen

   clear; tidy up

   vóór

   before

   schoonmaakdag

   cleaning day

   More detail

   Mensen means “people” here. It is the plural of mens (“person”). As the subject, it combines with the plural present form kunnen. kunnen means “can” or “be able to.” Here it is a modal verb: mensen kunnen ... opruimen means “people can clear/tidy ...”. Kunnen is also the infinitive; the singular present form is kan, as in hij kan (“he can”). After a modal verb, the other verb is normally an infinitive: kunnen ... opruimen. hun means “their.” It is used for a plural possessor. It does not change to match the number or gender of the possessed noun, so it remains hun before planken here. planken means “shelves” here. It is the plural of plank, which can mean “shelf” or “board” in other contexts. The plural is plank → planken. Example: De planken zijn vol. — “The shelves are full.” opruimen means “to clear away” or “to tidy up.” It is a separable verb: in some finite forms, op separates from ruimen, while the infinitive remains opruimen. Example: Ik ruim de tafel op. — “I clear the table.” vóór means “before” in this temporal phrase. It marks the time that the clearing happens earlier than: vóór de schoonmaakdag means “before cleaning day.” The source uses the accented spelling vóór. schoonmaakdag means “cleaning day.” It is a compound noun: schoonmaak (“cleaning”) + dag (“day”). Example: De schoonmaakdag begint vroeg. — “Cleaning day starts early.” Together, Mensen kunnen hun planken opruimen vóór de schoonmaakdag means “People can clear their shelves before cleaning day.”

10. Dat zou het gebruik van de koelkast voor iedereen eerlijk en veilig moeten maken.

    That should make fridge use fair and safe for everyone.

    Dat

    That

    zou

    should

    het gebruik

    the use

    van

    of

    de koelkast

    the fridge

    voor iedereen

    for everyone

    eerlijk

    fair

    veilig

    safe

    moeten

    need to

    maken

    make

    More detail

    Dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. Its grammatical form is not enough to identify a specific referent; the supplied translation supports the general reading “that” without specifying what it refers to. Example: Dat is handig. — “That is useful.” zou is the form of zullen used in this modal construction. Together with an infinitive, zou ... moeten expresses an expected or intended result; the fixed translation naturally gives this as “should.” It is not the simple present form of “to be.” Example: Dat zou helpen. — “That should help.” het gebruik means “the use” or “usage.” gebruik is the noun, and het is its definite article. The article belongs to this noun phrase; it does not itself state a numerical quantity. Example: Het gebruik is eenvoudig. — “The use is simple.” van introduces what the use concerns: “of” in this sentence. The pattern het gebruik van + noun phrase is reusable for naming an activity or thing being used. Example: het gebruik van de computer — “the use of the computer.” de koelkast means “the fridge” or “the refrigerator.” koelkast is the noun, with the definite article de. Example: De koelkast is vol. — “The fridge is full.” voor iedereen means “for everyone.” voor marks the people who are included as recipients or beneficiaries, and iedereen is the pronoun “everyone.” Example: Dit is voor iedereen. — “This is for everyone.” eerlijk means “fair” here. It is a descriptive adjective. In this sentence it describes the result produced for fridge use, rather than modifying a noun directly. Example: De regeling is eerlijk. — “The arrangement is fair.” veilig means “safe.” It is another descriptive adjective describing the resulting use. Example: De ruimte is veilig. — “The space is safe.” moeten is the infinitive of moeten, “must” or “need to.” After zou, it forms the modal sequence zou ... moeten, which corresponds here to “should.” The modal is separate from maken; it does not absorb the following lexical verb into its meaning. Example: Je zou moeten wachten. — “You should wait.” maken means “make” and is the infinitive used after moeten. In the pattern iets + adjective maken, it means “make something adjective,” describing a change or resulting condition. Example: Dit maakt de kamer rustig. — “This makes the room calm.” As a whole, Dat zou ... moeten maken means “That should make ...,” with het gebruik van de koelkast as the thing being made a certain way, voor iedereen specifying who is included, and eerlijk en veilig giving the two resulting qualities. Thus the sentence means: “That should make fridge use fair and safe for everyone.”