Sharing gym equipment politely | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Iemand gebruikt de loopband al een hele tijd.

   Someone has been using the treadmill for a long time.

   Iemand

   someone

   gebruikt

   uses

   de loopband

   the treadmill

   al een hele tijd

   for a long time

   More detail

   Iemand means “someone” or “somebody.” It is an indefinite pronoun: the sentence does not identify which person. It is grammatically singular, which is why the verb has the singular form gebruikt. gebruikt is the present-tense form of gebruiken (“to use”) for hij, zij, or het, and also for a singular noun or iemand. In this sentence, the Dutch present combines with al een hele tijd to describe an activity that began earlier and is still relevant or continuing: “has been using.” For example: Zij gebruikt de fiets elke dag. — “She uses the bicycle every day.” de loopband means “the treadmill.” Loopband is a compound noun: loop relates to walking or running, and band means a belt or band, but the compound as a whole names the exercise machine. It takes the definite article de; the article belongs to the noun phrase and is not part of the noun’s English equivalent. al een hele tijd expresses duration extending up to the relevant time: “for a long time” or “for quite some time.” Here al marks that the period has already lasted, een hele tijd means “a whole/long time,” and hele intensifies tijd. This duration phrase helps give the present-tense gebruikt the ongoing “has been using” interpretation. For example: Hij wacht al een hele tijd. — “He has been waiting for a long time.” Together, Iemand gebruikt de loopband says “Someone uses/is using the treadmill,” and al een hele tijd adds that this has been the case for a long time. The complete meaning is: “Someone has been using the treadmill for a long time.”

2. Op het bord staat dat mensen de loopband moeten delen als anderen staan te wachten.

   The sign says people should share it when others are waiting.

   Op het bord

   on the sign

   staat

   says

   dat

   that

   mensen

   people

   de loopband

   the treadmill

   moeten

   should

   delen

   share

   als

   when

   anderen

   others

   staan te wachten

   are waiting

   More detail

   Op het bord means that the message is on a sign or board. op is used for a surface or posted medium, and het bord is a neuter noun with the definite article het. staat is the present-tense singular form of staan. With written information as its subject, Dutch commonly uses staan to mean that something is written or says something. Here, the singular subject is the content clause introduced by dat, not mensen. Example: Er staat een naam op de lijst. — “There is a name on the list.” dat introduces the content of what the sign says. In this use it is a conjunction meaning “that”; it is not the demonstrative meaning “that one”. The clause after it has the word order typical of a Dutch subordinate clause. mensen means “people”. It is the plural of mens (“person/human”). As a plural subject, it goes with the plural verb form moeten in this clause. de loopband means “the treadmill”. loopband is a common-gender noun, so its singular definite article is de; its plural is loopbanden. Here, the treadmill is the thing to be shared. The English it in the fixed translation refers to this treadmill; Dutch expresses that object here by repeating the noun rather than using a separate pronoun. moeten is the present plural form of the modal verb moeten, whose basic meaning is “must” or “have to”. Here the sign presents sharing as an expected rule or obligation, naturally rendered as “should” in the fixed translation. A modal verb is followed by an infinitive: mensen moeten delen means “people must/should share”. delen is the infinitive “to share”. With moeten, it remains an infinitive and expresses the action required or expected. Example: We moeten de ruimte delen. — “We have to share the space.” als introduces the condition or time at which the sharing rule applies. In this context, “when” is the natural meaning: the condition is that other people are waiting. In other contexts, als can also mean “if”, so the surrounding meaning determines the English choice. anderen means “others” or “other people”. It is the plural form used independently, without an expressed noun after it. The exact individuals meant here are not specified. Example: Anderen wachten buiten. — “Others are waiting outside.” staan te wachten combines staan with te and the infinitive wachten (“wait”). Dutch uses staan te + infinitive to describe someone standing while engaged in an activity; here the natural meaning is “are waiting”, not simply “stand”. The plural subject anderen makes staan plural, while wachten stays in the infinitive. Example: De bezoekers staan te wachten. — “The visitors are waiting.” Together, the opening identifies the sign as the source of the message, and dat introduces its content. That content says that people are expected to share the treadmill when other people are waiting. The modal moeten supplies the expectation, delen names the required action, and the final als clause states when the rule applies.

3. Moet ik het die persoon vragen, of zou dat onbeleefd overkomen?

   Should I ask them, or would that seem rude?

   Moet ik

   Should I

   vragen

   ask

   die

   that

   persoon

   person

   zou dat

   would that

   onbeleefd

   rude

   overkomen

   seem; come across

   More detail

   Moet ik uses the present form moet of moeten with the first-person subject ik. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Moet ik ...? Here the question asks whether the speaker ought to do something, so it corresponds to “Should I ...?” rather than simply stating an obligation. Compare the reusable pattern Moet ik wachten? — “Should I wait?” vragen is the infinitive of vragen, “to ask.” Its present forms include ik vraag, jij vraagt, and wij vragen; vragen is also the form used after a modal such as moet. Dutch commonly uses the pattern iemand iets vragen, literally “ask someone something.” In this sentence, het is the thing being asked and die persoon is the person being asked: het die persoon vragen means “ask that person it.” die persoon combines the demonstrative die with the noun persoon. Die means “that” here and has the form used with a singular common-gender noun. The noun persoon means “person”; its plural is personen. The fixed translation supports referring to this person with gender-neutral “them,” but it does not identify the person’s gender. zou dat begins the second question. Zou is a form of zullen used here for a conditional or hypothetical question, and dat is the subject meaning “that.” In context, dat refers to the contemplated act of asking, not to the person. The full frame is zou ... overkomen? — “would ... come across?” A useful contrast is Dat komt ... over (“That comes across ...”) versus Dat zou ... overkomen (“That would come across ...”). onbeleefd is an adjective meaning “rude” or “impolite.” Here it describes how the act might seem, rather than directly describing the person. Its opposite is beleefd, “polite.” Example: Dat klinkt onbeleefd. — “That sounds rude.” overkomen is the infinitive in the separable verb overkomen, meaning “to come across” or “to seem.” With a modal, the infinitive remains at the end: Dat zou onbeleefd overkomen. — “That would come across as rude.” In a simple present clause, the separable form appears as Dat komt onbeleefd over. — “That comes across as rude.” This sense is different from another use of overkomen, “to happen to someone.” Together, Moet ik ... vragen? asks whether the speaker should ask the person. The object het and the recipient phrase die persoon specify what is asked and whom it is asked to. The second question, of zou dat onbeleefd overkomen?, offers the alternative concern: whether that action would seem rude. The complete meaning is: “Should I ask them, or would that seem rude?”

4. Vraag het vriendelijk en zeg dat je op je beurt wacht.

   Ask politely and say you're waiting for a turn.

   Vraag

   ask

   vriendelijk

   politely; in a friendly way

   zeg

   say

   op je beurt

   in your turn

   wacht

   wait

   More detail

   Vraag is the imperative of vragen (“to ask”). The stem used for this command is vraag; Dutch imperatives commonly use this form without a subject. For example: Vraag het aan haar. — “Ask her.” The object het is separate from the command and means “it” here. vriendelijk describes the manner of asking: “in a friendly or polite way.” The same form can also be an adjective, as in een vriendelijke vraag (“a friendly question”), where the adjective has the ending -e because it stands before the noun in this phrase. Here it functions adverbially and remains vriendelijk. zeg is the imperative of zeggen (“to say”). Like Vraag, it is a direct command in the stem form. A useful pattern is Zeg dat ... — “Say that ...”; the dat clause states what should be said. For example: Zeg dat je later komt. — “Say that you are coming later.” op je beurt is the fixed expression used with wachten for “for your turn.” beurt is a noun meaning “turn,” and je here is the informal second-person possessive (“your”). The preposition op is part of the pattern op een beurt wachten / op je beurt wachten, not a literal indication of physical position. For example: Ik wacht op mijn beurt. — “I am waiting for my turn.” wacht is the present-tense form of wachten (“to wait”) with the subject je. In ordinary subject–verb order, je wacht has the ending -t. With inversion, as in Wacht je? (“Are you waiting?”), the verb form is wacht as well, but the subject follows it; the form should therefore be learned together with its position rather than treated as a different verb. Together, the first command tells the listener to ask in a friendly manner. The second command tells the listener to say dat followed by the clause je op je beurt wacht: “that you are waiting for your turn.” The complete utterance is therefore a pair of commands: ask politely, and say that you are waiting for your turn.

5. Ik kan zeggen: "Pardon, bent u bijna klaar met de loopband?"

   I can say, "Excuse me, are you almost finished with the treadmill?"

   Ik kan

   I can

   zeggen

   to say

   Pardon

   excuse me

   bent u

   are you

   bijna

   almost

   klaar

   finished; ready

   loopband

   treadmill

   More detail

   Ik kan expresses “I can” or “I am able to.” kan is the present-tense form of kunnen with ik; the same verb is kunt with u, as in U kunt.... In Dutch, a modal verb such as kunnen is followed by an infinitive: Ik kan zeggen means “I can say,” not “I can said.” zeggen means “to say” and is the infinitive form. After kan, it stays in the infinitive and appears at the end of this main clause. A reusable pattern is Ik kan + infinitive: Ik kan helpen. — “I can help.” Pardon is a polite way to get someone’s attention, comparable here to “Excuse me.” It is an interjection, so it is separate from the grammatical question that follows. bent u means “are you.” bent is the present-tense form of zijn used with u. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Bent u klaar? — “Are you ready?” This is different from the statement order U bent klaar. — “You are ready.” The form u is the formal or polite second-person pronoun in this use. bijna means “almost” and indicates that the condition is close to being true but is not presented as fully true yet. It modifies the following description in bijna klaar: “almost finished.” klaar means “finished” or “ready.” Here, with met de loopband, it means finished using the treadmill, rather than generally prepared. It is an adjective and does not change form for the u in this sentence. A useful contrast is Ik ben klaar. — “I am finished/ready.” loopband is a noun meaning “treadmill.” In the full noun phrase de loopband, de is the definite article; the supplied word loopband itself is the noun. The noun is a compound: loop relates to walking/running and band means a belt or band, but the whole compound is the ordinary word for “treadmill.” Together, bent u bijna klaar met de loopband? asks politely whether the person is nearly finished with the treadmill. met means “with” here, and de loopband identifies the equipment involved. The complete utterance is therefore: “I can say: ‘Excuse me, are you almost finished with the treadmill?’”

6. Dat klinkt duidelijk zonder die persoon te veel onder druk te zetten.

   That sounds clear without putting too much pressure on them.

   Dat

   That

   klinkt

   sounds

   duidelijk

   clear

   zonder

   without

   die

   that

   persoon

   person

   te veel

   too much

   onder druk

   under pressure

   te zetten

   to put

   More detail

   Dat is a neuter singular demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” Here, it refers to the preceding idea or wording being evaluated, not specifically to the person. Dutch contrasts dat for a neuter singular referent with dit for “this”; die is used with a common-gender singular noun or a plural noun. klinkt is the present-tense third-person singular form of klinken, “to sound.” The subject is Dat, so the form is singular. For example: Dat klinkt goed. — “That sounds good.” duidelijk means “clear” here. It describes how the idea sounds, functioning after klinken; it is not an inflected form agreeing with Dat. The same word can also describe something directly, as in een duidelijke uitleg — “a clear explanation.” zonder introduces an action that does not happen: “without.” In this sentence it is followed by te plus an infinitive, forming the reusable pattern zonder ... te + infinitive — “without ...-ing.” die persoon means “that person.” Die is the demonstrative used with the singular noun persoon; Dutch uses die here because persoon is a common-gender de-noun. The noun persoon means “person.” The demonstrative identifies the person intended in the situation, while the noun supplies the category “person.” te veel means “too much” in this context. It expresses an excessive degree of the pressure being applied. It is not itself a statement about a specific number or count. onder druk zetten is a fixed verb expression meaning “to put pressure on.” The text separates its parts: onder druk is “under pressure,” and te zetten is the infinitive construction “to put.” The base verb is zetten; te zetten is its infinitive with te. For example: Zet hem niet onder druk. — “Don’t put pressure on him.” Together, zonder die persoon te veel onder druk te zetten means “without putting too much pressure on that person.” The te-infinitive clause states the action that is avoided, and te veel specifies that the pressure should not be excessive. Assembled from left to right, Dat klinkt duidelijk means “That sounds clear,” and zonder die persoon te veel onder druk te zetten adds the condition “without putting too much pressure on that person.” The complete utterance therefore means: “That sounds clear without putting too much pressure on them.”

7. Als die persoon meer tijd nodig heeft, kan ik wachten of een ander apparaat gebruiken.

   If they need more time, I can wait or use another machine.

   Als

   if

   die

   that

   persoon

   person

   meer

   more

   tijd

   time

   nodig heeft

   needs

   kan ik

   I can

   wachten

   wait

   ander

   another

   apparaat

   machine

   gebruiken

   use

   More detail

   Als introduces a condition: “if …”. It is reusable before a clause, as in Als het regent, blijf ik thuis. — “If it rains, I stay home.” In the fixed sentence, the condition comes first. die points to the person identified in the fixed translation as “they.” Here it is the demonstrative determiner modifying persoon; it is not itself the word meaning “person.” Dutch die is used with a singular common-gender noun such as persoon. The exact identity of that person is not specified here. persoon means “person.” Its plural is personen. In die persoon, the noun is singular; the demonstrative and the noun form one noun phrase. meer means “more” and compares an amount with a reference amount. It is the comparative form related to veel (“much/many”): veel → meer → het meest (“the most”). In meer tijd, it means an amount of time greater than the relevant amount, without stating a precise quantity. tijd means “time.” It is normally an uncountable noun when used in this sense, as in Ik heb tijd. — “I have time.” nodig heeft is the expression nodig hebben, “to need.” The lexical base is hebben; heeft is its present-tense form for a third-person singular subject. In the subordinate clause, the finite verb appears at the end: die persoon ... nodig heeft. A useful contrast is Ik heb tijd nodig. — “I need time.” kan ik means “I can.” The form kan is the present-tense form of the modal verb kunnen for ik; the subject follows it because this main clause begins with the verb after the initial conditional clause. Kunnen is followed by an infinitive: Ik kan wachten. — “I can wait.” wachten means “to wait.” It is the infinitive after the modal kan. The sentence does not specify what or whom the speaker would wait for. ander means “another” here. It is the singular form used before apparaat after the indefinite article een: een ander apparaat. Dutch adjective form depends on the noun phrase’s grammatical features and determiner; this ander has no final -e because apparaat is a singular neuter noun after een. The related form is andere, used in contexts such as de andere machine (“the other machine”). apparaat means “machine” or “device.” It is a singular neuter noun, shown by het apparaat and, in this sentence, by een apparaat. Its plural is apparaten. The translation selects “machine,” while “device” can also be a suitable meaning in other contexts. gebruiken means “to use.” It is the infinitive coordinated with wachten after kan: Ik kan een apparaat gebruiken. — “I can use a device.” The subject of this infinitive is understood to be ik, supplied by the modal construction. Together, Als die persoon meer tijd nodig heeft means “If that person needs more time.” The following main clause, kan ik wachten of een ander apparaat gebruiken, means “I can wait or use another machine.” Of coordinates the two options, wachten and een ander apparaat gebruiken. Thus the complete utterance is: “If they need more time, I can wait or use another machine.”

8. Zo kunnen we de apparatuur delen zonder ruzie te maken.

   That keeps the equipment shared without starting an argument.

   Zo

   that way

   kunnen we

   we can

   apparatuur

   equipment

   delen

   share

   zonder

   without

   ruzie

   argument

   te maken

   to make

   More detail

   Zo means “in this way” or “that way.” Here it points to the proposed way of handling the equipment; it does not itself identify a particular person or object. A reusable pattern is Zo + finite verb + subject, as in Zo werkt het. — “That way it works.” kunnen we contains kunnen, the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”), with the subject we (“we”). In this sentence it expresses possibility or feasibility: “we can.” Because Zo comes first, Dutch places the finite verb before the subject: Zo kunnen we ...; this is verb-second word order, not a different form of the modal. Compare We kunnen delen. — “We can share.” apparatuur means “equipment.” It is normally an uncountable collective noun, so this sentence refers to equipment in general rather than asserting a particular number of items. The article de before it is the definite article; it marks the intended equipment as identifiable in context, not a quantity. Dutch uses apparaat for one device or machine and apparatuur for equipment as a collective noun. delen is the infinitive of delen, “to share” or “to divide.” After the modal kunnen, Dutch uses the infinitive: we kunnen delen means “we can share.” In this sentence, the object being shared is de apparatuur. zonder means “without.” It introduces something that does not happen alongside the main action. With a verb, Dutch commonly uses zonder te + infinitive, as in zonder te wachten — “without waiting.” ruzie means “an argument” or “a quarrel.” It is commonly used in the fixed expression ruzie maken, literally “make an argument” but naturally “have or start an argument.” This noun is not the same as a neutral discussion; it suggests conflict. te maken is te plus the infinitive maken (“to make”). In ruzie te maken, te maken belongs with ruzie to form ruzie maken. The full subordinate pattern zonder ... te maken expresses “without making/starting ...”; the te-infinitive construction is required here after zonder when the understood subject is the same as in the main clause. Together, Zo kunnen we de apparatuur delen means “That way, we can share the equipment.” The following zonder ruzie te maken adds the condition that this sharing happens without starting an argument. The complete meaning is: “That keeps the equipment shared without starting an argument.”