Reporting a Leak with Concrete Details | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik merkte dat er een vochtige plek begon te ontstaan onder de gootsteen in de keuken.

   I noticed a damp patch forming under the kitchen sink.

   merkte

   noticed

   vochtige

   damp

   plek

   patch; spot

   begon

   began

   te ontstaan

   to form; to arise

   onder

   under

   gootsteen

   sink

   keuken

   kitchen

   More detail

   merkte is the past-tense singular form of merken, “to notice.” With ik, it means “I noticed”; the same form is also used with a singular third-person subject. Present ik merk means “I notice,” while ik merkte places the noticing in the past. vochtige means “damp” here. Its base form is vochtig. The -e ending is the attributive form used before plek in this noun phrase; it does not belong to the noun. For example, een vochtige handdoek means “a damp towel.” plek is a noun meaning “spot,” “place,” or “patch.” In this sentence it refers to a localized damp area, so “damp patch” is the natural meaning. A useful contrast is een grote plek, “a large spot,” where grote describes the size and plek names the area. begon is the past-tense singular form of beginnen, “to begin.” The pattern begon te is followed by an infinitive: De vlek begon te groeien means “The stain began to grow.” Here, begon carries the past-time meaning, while the following action is expressed by te ontstaan. te ontstaan means “to form” or “to arise.” The base verb is ontstaan; te marks the infinitive in this construction. It describes the damp patch coming into existence, not someone deliberately making it. For example, Er begon een scheur te ontstaan means “A crack began to form.” onder means “under” or “below” and introduces the location of the patch. In onder de gootsteen, the patch is located beneath the sink. gootsteen means “sink.” It is a Dutch compound noun, but it functions as one noun in the sentence. de is the definite article used with gootsteen, which is a common-gender noun; here the definite noun phrase refers to the relevant sink in the described setting. The article is therefore not selected solely because the sink is identifiable. keuken means “kitchen.” In in de keuken, the preposition in places something inside or within the kitchen, and de is the definite article before this noun. The full location onder de gootsteen in de keuken specifies a patch under the sink, with the kitchen identifying where that sink is. The remaining small words connect these pieces: Ik is “I,” merkte dat introduces what was noticed, and er presents the existence or appearance of something. een vochtige plek means “a damp patch”; een marks an indefinite noun phrase, not a stated numerical count. The structure er ... begon te ontstaan says that such a patch began to form. Together, Ik merkte dat er een vochtige plek begon te ontstaan onder de gootsteen in de keuken means “I noticed that a damp patch began to form under the sink in the kitchen.”

2. Dat moet worden aangepakt voordat het kastje beschadigt.

   That needs attention before it damages the cabinet.

   Dat

   that; it

   moet worden

   needs to be

   aangepakt

   addressed; dealt with

   voordat

   before

   kastje

   cabinet; small cupboard

   beschadigt

   damages

   More detail

   Dat is a standalone neuter singular demonstrative pronoun: “that” or “it.” Here it points to the problem requiring attention, understood from the surrounding context, without uniquely naming whether the damp patch or the leak is meant. It is not the demonstrative determiner used before a noun; compare dat probleem (“that problem”). moet worden combines present-tense moet, the third-person singular form of moeten, with worden, the infinitive of worden. Together with the following participle, this forms a passive construction meaning that something needs to be done to the subject. Moeten can express “must” or, as in the fixed translation, “needs to.” Example: Dit moet worden gerepareerd. — “This needs to be repaired.” aangepakt is the past participle of aanpakken, “to tackle” or “to address.” In moet worden aangepakt, the passive pattern is moeten worden + past participle: the problem is to be addressed, rather than someone being named as the person who addresses it. The form aangepakt is not derived from a separate adjective; its base verb is aanpakken. voordat is a subordinating conjunction meaning “before.” It introduces the time clause, and Dutch normally places the finite verb at the end of this subordinate clause. A reusable pattern is voordat + subject + ... + finite verb. Example: Bel me voordat je vertrekt. — “Call me before you leave.” kastje is a noun meaning “small cabinet” or “small cupboard.” It is the diminutive of kast; the diminutive suffix -je also makes the noun neuter, so the full form here is het kastje. The article het marks the noun’s grammatical class; it does not state a numerical quantity. beschadigt is the present-tense third-person singular form of beschadigen, “to damage.” The ending in this form agrees with a third-person singular subject. In the supplied target, het kastje is the overt noun phrase before this verb, while no separate object follows beschadigt; the fixed English translation supplies the intended meaning “before it damages the cabinet,” but that English agency relation is not expressed transparently by the Dutch wording. For an unambiguous Dutch version of that intended relation, an example would be voordat het lek het kastje beschadigt — “before the leak damages the cabinet.” For the cabinet simply becoming damaged, an example would be voordat het kastje beschadigd raakt — “before the cabinet gets damaged.” Taken as a whole, Dat moet worden aangepakt says that the relevant problem needs to be addressed. voordat then adds the time limit, and the final clause refers to damage involving the cabinet. The fixed translation is: “That needs attention before it damages the cabinet.”

3. Ik heb daar een bak neergezet, maar het lek druppelt nog steeds langzaam.

   I placed a container there, but the leak is still dripping slowly.

   Ik heb

   I have / I’ve

   daar

   there

   bak

   container

   neergezet

   placed / set down

   maar

   but

   lek

   leak

   druppelt

   drips

   nog steeds

   still

   langzaam

   slowly

   More detail

   Ik heb is the first-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”). Here it is an auxiliary: together with the past participle neergezet, it forms a completed past event, comparable to “I have placed” or, in this context, “I placed.” The subject is ik (“I”); heb agrees with that subject. daar means “there” and points to a location understood from the situation. It does not by itself identify exactly which place that is. bak is a noun meaning a container, tub, tray, or bin, depending on its shape and use. In een bak, een introduces an indefinite singular noun phrase; the article does not by itself emphasize a numerical count. A reusable pattern is een + noun, as in een doos (“a box”). neergezet is the past participle of the separable verb neerzetten (“to put or set down”). Its parts express the idea of placing something down: in a present-tense clause, the separable form can appear as Ik zet de bak neer (“I put the container down”). With heb, the participle appears at the end of the completed-event construction. maar is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but.” It links the placement statement to a contrasting statement without changing who performed the first action. lek means “leak.” In the full noun phrase het lek, the definite article identifies the leak as a particular one in the situation. Dutch uses het with this noun; that article choice is a property of lek, not of the nearby verb. druppelt is the third-person singular present form of druppelen (“to drip”). The subject here is het lek, so the verb has the singular form. Example: De kraan druppelt. — “The tap is dripping.” nog steeds means “still” and shows that the dripping continues up to the relevant time. It is a two-word expression, so it is kept together when used in this meaning. langzaam is an adverb meaning “slowly.” It describes the manner or rate of druppelt, rather than describing the leak as a noun. The corresponding contrast is snel (“quickly” or “fast”), as in De kraan druppelt snel. — “The tap is dripping quickly.” Together, Ik heb daar een bak neergezet says that the speaker placed a container at that location. Maar het lek druppelt nog steeds langzaam contrasts this with the continuing situation: the leak is still dripping slowly. The complete meaning is therefore “I placed a container there, but the leak is still dripping slowly.”

4. Staat daar iets opgeslagen dat de toegang kan blokkeren?

   Is anything stored there that could block access?

   Staat … opgeslagen

   is stored

   daar

   there

   iets

   anything

   de toegang

   access

   kan blokkeren

   can block

   More detail

   Staat ... opgeslagen combines staat, the present-tense third-person singular form of staan (“to stand”), with opgeslagen, the past participle of opslaan (“to store”). In this combination, staat opgeslagen means “is stored” or “is standing stored”: it describes the state or location of something, rather than an action currently being performed. The question inversion puts Staat at the beginning. Example: De doos staat opgeslagen in de kelder. — “The box is stored in the basement.” daar means “there” and points to a location understood from the situation. It is an adverb, so it does not change for number or gender. Example: Daar staat een fiets. — “There is a bicycle there.” iets is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something”; in this question, English naturally uses “anything.” It does not itself assert a particular quantity. The relative word dat later refers back to this indefinite thing and introduces information about it. Example: Zie je iets? — “Do you see anything?” de toegang means “the access” or, in this context, “access.” Toegang is a common-gender noun, which is why it takes the definite article de; its plural is toegangen. The article marks a definite access route or means of entry, not a numerical count. Example: De toegang is gesloten. — “The access point is closed.” kan blokkeren consists of kan, the third-person singular present form of kunnen (“can”), followed by the infinitive blokkeren (“to block”). Kunnen expresses ability or possibility here; the blocking is presented as something that could happen, not as an established fact. Dutch places the infinitive at the end of this clause. Example: Dit kan de ingang blokkeren. — “This could block the entrance.” Together, Staat daar iets opgeslagen asks whether something is stored at that location. The relative clause dat de toegang kan blokkeren identifies the relevant kind of thing: it could block access. Thus the complete meaning is: “Is anything stored there that could block access?”

5. Ik heb de ruimte vrijgemaakt, zodat de monteur die gemakkelijk kan inspecteren.

   I cleared the area, so the technician can inspect it easily.

   Ik heb

   I have

   ruimte

   space; area

   vrijgemaakt

   cleared

   zodat

   so that

   monteur

   technician; mechanic

   die

   that; which

   gemakkelijk

   easily

   kan

   can

   inspecteren

   inspect

   More detail

   Ik heb is the first-person singular present form of hebben (“to have”). Here it is an auxiliary: heb combines with the past participle vrijgemaakt to form the perfect, describing a completed clearing. The subject is Ik (“I”); heb is not the modal meaning “must.” ruimte means “space” or, in this sentence, “area.” The noun appears with de: de ruimte. The phrase does not by itself specify a measurable amount of space. Example: Er is weinig ruimte. — “There is little space.” vrijgemaakt is the past participle of vrijmaken, “to clear” or “to make free.” Its form is used with heb here: heb vrijgemaakt means “have cleared.” The participle itself does not mean “I cleared”; the person and tense are expressed by the auxiliary construction. Example: We hebben de ingang vrijgemaakt. — “We cleared the entrance.” zodat introduces the result or intended consequence “so that.” It starts a subordinate clause. In Dutch, the finite verb normally comes later in such a clause, as in zodat ... kan inspecteren. monteur means “technician” or “mechanic,” depending on the equipment or work involved. With de, the phrase de monteur is the subject of the subordinate clause. Example: De monteur komt morgen. — “The technician is coming tomorrow.” die is a relative pronoun referring here to de ruimte, as supported by the fixed translation. It is the object of inspecteren, not the subject: the technician inspects the area. Dutch uses die for singular de-words and for plural antecedents; for a singular het-word, the corresponding relative pronoun is dat. In this sentence, English translates the relative-clause structure naturally as “it.” gemakkelijk means “easily” here and describes how the inspection can be carried out. The same form can also mean “easy” when it describes a noun; its role in this sentence is adverbial. Example: Zij begrijpt de uitleg gemakkelijk. — “She understands the explanation easily.” kan is the present singular form of the modal verb kunnen, “can” or “be able to.” The singular subject here is de monteur. With a plural subject, the form is kunnen, as in De monteurs kunnen beginnen. — “The technicians can begin.” The infinitive follows the modal at the end of the subordinate clause. inspecteren is the infinitive “to inspect.” After kan, Dutch uses the infinitive: kan inspecteren means “can inspect.” Example: De monteur kan de machine inspecteren. — “The technician can inspect the machine.” Taken together, Ik heb de ruimte vrijgemaakt says that I cleared the area. zodat connects this completed action to the result that de monteur can inspect the area gemakkelijk. The complete meaning is: “I cleared the area, so the technician can inspect it easily.”

6. Ik kan het als dringend aanmerken, hoewel het inplannen nog steeds tijd kan kosten.

   I can mark it as urgent, although scheduling may still take time.

   Ik kan

   I can

   het

   it

   dringend

   urgent

   aanmerken

   mark

   hoewel

   although

   inplannen

   schedule

   nog steeds

   still

   tijd

   time

   kan kosten

   may take

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can” here: ik is the first-person singular subject, and kan is the present-tense form of kunnen used with ik. A modal such as kunnen is followed by an infinitive, which appears later as aanmerken. For example: Ik kan helpen. — “I can help.” het is an unstressed singular neuter object pronoun meaning “it” in this sentence. The translation confirms that the speaker can mark an already understood thing as urgent, but it does not identify that thing more specifically. dringend means “urgent” here. It is an adjective used after als to describe the status assigned to the object. In this use it has the unchanged form dringend; it is not the form of the object pronoun. The reusable pattern is iets als dringend aanmerken: “to mark something as urgent.” aanmerken is the infinitive meaning “to mark” or “classify” something in a particular way. With als, Dutch uses the pattern iets als X aanmerken, where X is the description assigned to the object. Because kan is a modal, the infinitive aanmerken comes at the end of its clause. hoewel introduces a concessive subordinate clause meaning “although.” It presents a fact that contrasts with the main clause without cancelling it. In the clause beginning with hoewel, the finite verb is placed toward the end, giving ... nog steeds tijd kan kosten. inplannen is the infinitive “to schedule” or “to plan in.” With the preceding het in het inplannen, the infinitive is used as a nominalized activity: “scheduling.” This is an activity, not a person or a separately identified object. For example: Het inplannen duurt lang. — “Scheduling takes a long time.” nog steeds is the fixed adverbial expression “still.” It indicates that the possibility or situation remains valid at this point. It is different from nog, which can have several other uses and does not always mean “still.” tijd means “time.” In tijd kosten, it is the amount of time required by an activity. The noun is singular here; the expression does not assert a particular numerical amount. For example: De reparatie kost tijd. — “The repair takes time.” kan kosten combines the modal kan with the infinitive kosten, “to cost.” Here kan expresses a possibility, so the fixed translation naturally gives “may take,” while kosten supplies the meaning “cost.” The construction iets kan tijd kosten means “something may take time.” Together, Ik kan het ... aanmerken says that the speaker can classify the understood object as urgent. hoewel then adds the contrast: het inplannen—the scheduling—may still require time. The whole utterance therefore means: “I can mark it as urgent, although scheduling may still take time.”

7. Vermeld alstublieft dat de vloer begint te vervormen.

   Please mention that the floor is beginning to warp.

   Vermeld

   mention; state

   alstublieft

   please

   vloer

   floor

   begint

   begins; is beginning

   te vervormen

   to warp

   More detail

   Vermeld is the imperative of vermelden, meaning “to mention” or “to state.” The imperative addresses the listener directly. Dutch examples: Vermeld de datum. — “Mention the date.” The form vermeld is also used in other contexts, so its imperative meaning here comes from its position as the sentence’s request. alstublieft is a polite “please.” It softens the request but does not change the action being requested. vloer means “floor.” With the definite article de, de vloer means “the floor,” referring here to the floor identified by the fixed translation. Dutch uses de with this noun; the indefinite form is een vloer (“a floor”). begint is the present-tense third-person singular form of beginnen (“to begin”). The subject is de vloer, so the singular form is used. The pattern iets begint te + infinitive means that something is beginning to do or undergo an action. For example, De verf begint te drogen. — “The paint is beginning to dry.” te vervormen consists of te plus the infinitive vervormen, “to warp” or “to deform.” Here it describes the process that is beginning. In the pattern begint te vervormen, begint carries the finite tense and vervormen remains an infinitive. Together, Vermeld alstublieft makes a polite request to mention something. dat de vloer begint te vervormen is the content to be mentioned: the floor is beginning to warp. The complete utterance therefore means: “Please mention that the floor is beginning to warp.”

8. Dat detail hoort in het rapport te staan.

   That detail should go in the report.

   Dat

   that

   detail

   detail

   hoort … te staan

   should be included

   rapport

   report

   More detail

   Dat is the demonstrative determiner meaning “that” here. It points to the specific detail identified in the translation; with the noun detail, it has the neuter singular form dat. A useful contrast is dit detail “this detail” versus dat detail “that detail.” detail means “detail.” Its Dutch article is het: het detail. The plural is details. In this sentence, the noun is the thing whose intended place is being described. hoort ... te staan is a construction meaning “should/ought to be located.” The finite form hoort is the present-tense singular form of horen; in this construction, horen te expresses what is expected or appropriate, rather than simply “hears.” The infinitive is staan, preceded here by te: te staan. With a document or piece of information, staan can describe its being written or included in a particular place. For example: De naam hoort hier te staan. — “The name should be here.” rapport means “report.” It is a neuter noun: het rapport. The phrase in het rapport means “in the report”; in introduces the location, and het agrees with the neuter noun rapport. Together, Dat detail identifies the relevant item, hoort ... te staan says that its expected or appropriate location is being stated, and in het rapport gives that location. The complete meaning is: “That detail should go in the report.” Here “go in” expresses intended inclusion or placement, not necessarily physical movement.

9. Het heeft gevolgen voor de veiligheid en het reparatieplan.

   It affects safety and the repair plan.

   Het

   it

   heeft gevolgen voor

   affects; has consequences for

   veiligheid

   safety

   reparatieplan

   repair plan

   More detail

   Het is the third-person singular neuter pronoun. Here it refers back to dat detail (“that detail”) in the preceding sentence, so the sentence says that detail has an effect. Dutch pronouns must match the grammatical features of their referent; het is not a general replacement for every singular noun. heeft gevolgen voor is a useful Dutch construction meaning “affects” or literally “has consequences for.” heeft is the present-tense third-person singular form of hebben (“to have”): ik heb, hij/zij/het heeft. The plural noun gevolgen means “consequences” or “effects,” and voor introduces what is affected. For example: Dat heeft gevolgen voor de planning. — “That affects the planning.” veiligheid means “safety” or “security” here. It is a noun commonly used with the article de: de veiligheid. The phrase gevolgen voor de veiligheid therefore means “consequences for safety.” reparatieplan means “repair plan.” It is a compound noun: reparatie (“repair”) + plan (“plan”). The compound is treated as a neuter noun, shown here by het reparatieplan; in Dutch compounds, the grammatical behavior is generally determined by the final part. Together, Het heeft gevolgen voor introduces what is affected. The two coordinated noun phrases after it are de veiligheid and het reparatieplan, joined by en (“and”). Thus the complete meaning is: “It affects safety and the repair plan.”