Carefully checking an unfamiliar bank charge | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik zag op mijn rekeningoverzicht een afschrijving die ik niet herken.

   I noticed a charge on my statement that I don't recognize.

   Ik

   I

   zag

   saw

   op

   on

   mijn

   my

   rekeningoverzicht

   statement

   een

   a/an

   afschrijving

   charge

   die

   that/which

   niet

   not

   herken

   recognize

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It is used for the speaker, regardless of the speaker’s gender. Example: Ik lees. — “I read.” zag is the past-tense form of zien, “to see.” In this sentence, the past event is understood as noticing something on the statement, matching the fixed translation. The useful chain is zien (present) → zag (past). Example: Ik zag een fout. — “I saw a mistake.” op means “on” here: it places the statement as the surface or document where the charge was found. Dutch uses op in expressions such as op mijn rekeningoverzicht, “on my statement.” mijn means “my.” It is a possessive determiner referring to the speaker. Unlike some Dutch determiners, mijn does not change for the gender or number of the noun it modifies. Example: mijn kaart — “my card.” rekeningoverzicht is a compound noun meaning “account statement” or “statement.” Its parts are rekening, “account/bill,” and overzicht, “overview,” but the compound as a whole names the statement document. Example: Ik controleer mijn rekeningoverzicht. — “I check my statement.” een is the Dutch indefinite article, used here before the singular noun afschrijving. It introduces an unspecified charge; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Dutch also has de and het as definite articles, but article choice must be learned with the noun: de afschrijving means “the charge.” afschrijving means a charge or debit recorded on an account. It is a singular noun; its definite article is de: de afschrijving. The related verb afschrijven means “to debit” or “to write off,” but the observed form here is the noun, not that verb. Example: De afschrijving staat op mijn overzicht. — “The charge is on my statement.” die introduces the relative clause describing afschrijving: “that/which.” For a singular common-gender noun such as de afschrijving, Dutch uses die; die is also used with plural antecedents. This form is the relative pronoun here, not a demonstrative meaning “that” on its own. Example: Ik zie de betaling die ik verwachtte. — “I see the payment that I expected.” niet marks negation. In niet herken, it negates the speaker’s recognition of the charge. Its exact position can vary with sentence structure, but here it occurs inside the relative clause before the finite verb herken. herken is the first-person singular present form of herkennen, “to recognize.” The base form is herkennen; with ik, the present form is ik herken. Do not confuse this with kennen, which commonly means knowing or being familiar with someone or something, rather than identifying it when encountered. Example: Ik herken deze naam. — “I recognize this name.” The sentence builds as Ik zag (“I saw/noticed”) + op mijn rekeningoverzicht (“on my statement”) + een afschrijving (“a charge”) + die ik niet herken (“that I do not recognize”). The relative clause begins with die and gives information about the charge: the speaker does not recognize it. Together, the utterance means, “I noticed a charge on my statement that I don’t recognize.”

2. We kunnen een geschil openen nadat we de omschrijving van de handelaar hebben gecontroleerd.

   We can open a dispute after we check the merchant description.

   We kunnen

   we can

   geschil

   dispute

   openen

   to open

   nadat

   after

   omschrijving

   description

   handelaar

   merchant

   gecontroleerd

   checked

   More detail

   We kunnen means “we can.” In Dutch, kunnen is the modal verb “can/be able to”; with we, the present-tense form is kunnen. A modal verb is followed by an infinitive, so the main action appears later as openen, not as a conjugated verb. geschil means “dispute.” It is a neuter noun: het geschil. In this sentence, een introduces it without asserting a numerical count; the phrase refers to a dispute that could be opened. openen is the infinitive “to open.” After kunnen, Dutch keeps the lexical verb in the infinitive. Example: We kunnen de rekening bekijken. — “We can view the account.” nadat means “after” and introduces a subordinate clause. In the clause beginning with nadat, the finite verb comes at the end: we ... hebben gecontroleerd. omschrijving means “description.” The phrase de omschrijving uses the common-gender definite article de. Here it refers to the merchant description mentioned in the fixed translation and supported by the surrounding context. handelaar means “merchant.” The phrase van de handelaar means “of the merchant” or “the merchant’s”; van expresses the relation, rather than changing the noun into a possessive form. handelaar is a common-gender noun: de handelaar. gecontroleerd means “checked.” It is the past participle of controleren (“to check”). In hebben gecontroleerd, hebben is the finite auxiliary and gecontroleerd is the past participle; together they express that the checking is completed by the relevant point in time. The subject we is shared by the main clause and the subordinate clause. The structure is We kunnen een geschil openen (“We can open a dispute”) followed by nadat we de omschrijving van de handelaar hebben gecontroleerd (“after we have checked the merchant’s description”). Together: “We can open a dispute after we check the merchant description.”

3. De omschrijving is vaag, dus ik kan niet zien waar die vandaan komt.

   The description is vague, so I can't tell where it came from.

   omschrijving

   description

   vaag

   vague

   dus

   so

   ik kan

   I can

   niet

   not

   zien

   see; tell

   waar

   where

   die

   it; that

   vandaan komt

   comes from

   More detail

   omschrijving means “description” here. Its base form is omschrijving, a singular de-word: de omschrijving. The same noun can be used in compounds or other contexts, but this form names the description being discussed. vaag means “vague” or “unclear.” It is a descriptive adjective used after is, so it appears in its plain form here: De omschrijving is vaag = “The description is vague.” Example: De uitleg is vaag. — “The explanation is vague.” dus links the first statement to its result: “so” or “therefore.” It does not itself express the inability; it connects De omschrijving is vaag with what follows. ik kan is the reusable pattern ik kan + infinitive, “I can + verb.” kan is the first-person singular present form of kunnen; the infinitive is kunnen. Example: Ik kan helpen. — “I can help.” niet places negation on the following ability or action: ik kan niet ... = “I cannot ...” or, naturally here, “I can’t ...”. The short word itself means “not”; the inability comes from combining it with kan. zien is the infinitive “to see.” After a modal verb such as kan, Dutch uses the infinitive: ik kan zien. In this sentence, zien is understood more broadly as “tell” or “determine,” not merely visual perception. Example: Ik kan het verschil niet zien. — “I can’t tell the difference.” waar introduces a place-related embedded question: “where.” In zien waar ..., the whole clause means “tell where ...”. It is not a question about a person or thing’s identity. die is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “it” in this translation. Here it refers to the description, supported by the fixed translation and the surrounding context. Grammatically, die is used with a singular de-word such as de omschrijving; it can also refer to plural nouns. Its grammatical form does not by itself determine every possible real-world referent. vandaan komt belongs to the source-or-origin pattern waar ... vandaan komen: “where ... come from.” komt is the third-person singular present form of komen, whose infinitive is komen; vandaan adds the meaning “from there/from what source.” In the embedded clause, the verb appears at the end: waar die vandaan komt = “where it comes from.” Example: Ik weet niet waar dit geluid vandaan komt. — “I don’t know where this sound comes from.” Together, De omschrijving is vaag states the problem, and dus presents its consequence. ik kan niet zien says the speaker cannot determine something; waar die vandaan komt specifies that the unknown information is the description’s source or origin. The complete meaning is: “The description is vague, so I can’t tell where it came from.”

4. Sommige betalingsverwerkers gebruiken een naam die afwijkt van de winkelnaam die klanten zien.

   Some processors use a name that looks different from the shop customers see.

   Sommige

   some

   betalingsverwerkers

   payment processors

   gebruiken

   use

   naam

   name

   afwijkt van

   differs from

   winkelnaam

   shop name

   klanten

   customers

   zien

   see

   More detail

   Sommige means “some” and is used with a plural noun here: sommige betalingsverwerkers. It does not specify an exact number. Compare sommige klanten (“some customers”) with alle klanten (“all customers”). betalingsverwerkers means “payment processors.” It is the plural of betalingsverwerker; the compound combines betaling (“payment”) with verwerker (“processor”). The plural ending is -s: een betalingsverwerker → betalingsverwerkers. gebruiken is the present-tense plural form of gebruiken (“to use”). The subject here is plural, sommige betalingsverwerkers, so the verb has this form. Example: Bedrijven gebruiken verschillende namen. — “Companies use different names.” naam means “name.” In een naam, the indefinite article introduces a singular, non-specific name; it does not itself assert a numerical count as the main point. The plural is namen (“names”). afwijkt van comes from the separable verb afwijken van, “to differ from” or “deviate from.” In this sentence, afwijkt is the present-tense singular form, because the subject of this relative clause is die, referring to the singular naam. The fixed phrase is iets wijkt af van iets — “something differs from something.” Example: Deze kleur wijkt af van het origineel. — “This color differs from the original.” The first die in the source is the subject of afwijkt: een naam die afwijkt van ... means “a name that differs from ...”. Dutch die is used here with this singular common-gender noun. This relative pronoun is distinct from the later die. winkelnaam means “shop name” or “store name.” It is a compound noun: winkel (“shop”) + naam (“name”). Its plural is winkelnamen. Example: De winkelnaam staat op de bon. — “The shop name is on the receipt.” klanten means “customers,” the plural of klant. Example: Klanten zien de prijs. — “Customers see the price.” zien means “see.” It is the infinitive in the relative clause die klanten zien, where klanten is the subject and the second die is the object: “that customers see.” Dutch main-clause present forms include ik zie, jij ziet, and zij zien; the infinitive zien appears here because the clause has its own structure after the relative pronoun. The second die refers to winkelnaam, not to klanten. The sentence builds as Sommige betalingsverwerkers gebruiken een naam (“Some payment processors use a name”) + die afwijkt van de winkelnaam (“that differs from the shop name”) + die klanten zien (“that customers see”). Together, it says that some payment processors use a name different from the shop name visible to customers. The two occurrences of die have different roles: the first is the subject of afwijkt, while the second is the object of zien.

5. Ik controleer mijn recente kassabonnen voordat ik een formeel geschil indien.

   I'll check my recent receipts before filing a formal dispute.

   Ik

   I

   controleer

   check

   mijn

   my

   recente

   recent

   kassabonnen

   receipts

   voordat

   before

   formeel

   formal

   geschil

   dispute

   indien

   file

   More detail

   Ik is the Dutch first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out both actions here. A useful contrast is ik “I” versus jij or u “you”; the choice depends on the participant, not on grammatical gender. controleer means “check” here. It is the present-tense first-person singular form of controleren: ik controleer. Dutch present-tense forms commonly use the stem for ik, while other subjects may require another ending. Example: Ik controleer de naam. — “I check the name.” mijn means “my.” It is a possessive determiner placed before the noun: mijn kassabonnen — “my receipts.” Unlike forms that show the owner’s person, mijn itself does not change to show whether the owner is male or female; the following noun supplies its own number and other grammatical properties. recente means “recent” in this noun phrase. Its base form is recent; the -e form appears here because the adjective comes before the plural noun kassabonnen. Example: recente berichten — “recent messages.” kassabonnen means “receipts” here, specifically receipts from a cash register or shop. Its singular is kassabon, and the plural is kassabonnen. Example: Ik bewaar de kassabon. — “I keep the receipt.” voordat means “before” and introduces the event that must happen later than the checking in this sentence. It introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch, the finite verb of such a clause commonly goes to the end, as in voordat ik ... indien. formeel means “formal” here. Its base form is also formeel. It has no -e in een formeel geschil because it is attributive before a singular neuter noun with the indefinite determiner een. This spelling is not a general rule that adjectives never take -e; compare de formele brief — “the formal letter.” geschil means “dispute.” It is a neuter noun: het geschil. The phrase een formeel geschil presents one unspecified dispute as the object of filing; een marks an indefinite noun phrase, not necessarily a numerical claim that there is exactly one dispute in the broader situation. indien means “file” in this sentence. It is the first-person singular present form of the separable verb indienen, “to file” or “submit”: in a main clause, Ik dien een geschil in — “I file a dispute.” In the subordinate clause after voordat, the parts remain together at the end: voordat ik een formeel geschil indien. This verbal form should not be confused with the conjunction indien, which can mean “if” in a different construction. Together, Ik controleer mijn recente kassabonnen means “I’ll check my recent receipts” in the fixed translation’s intended future-oriented context; the Dutch present form can express a planned or scheduled action. voordat ik een formeel geschil indien means “before filing a formal dispute”: literally, the subordinate clause has ik as its subject and indien as its finite verb at the end. The complete utterance therefore means, “I’ll check my recent receipts before filing a formal dispute.”

6. Dat kan vertraging voorkomen als u de afschrijving herkent.

   That can prevent delays if you recognize the charge.

   Dat kan

   That can

   vertraging

   delay(s)

   voorkomen

   prevent

   als u

   if you

   afschrijving

   charge

   herkent

   recognize

   More detail

   Dat kan: dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” Here it refers to the situation or action understood from context, but the supplied sentence does not identify a more specific referent. kan is the present-tense form of kunnen for singular subjects and expresses ability or possibility: “can.” In the pattern Dat kan + infinitive, it states that something is capable of producing the following result. vertraging: This noun means “delay.” Its plural is vertragingen. In this sentence, the singular form is used for delay as a general outcome rather than asserting one specifically counted delay. voorkomen: This is the infinitive meaning “to prevent” in this context. It is also a separable Dutch verb in other constructions: ik voorkom vertraging means “I prevent delay,” while after kan the infinitive remains at the end of its verb phrase: kan vertraging voorkomen. als u: als introduces a condition and means “if” here. u is the formal second-person pronoun “you.” The combination als u ... introduces the condition under which the main clause applies. The formal pronoun does not itself state how many people are being addressed. afschrijving: This noun means “charge” here, specifically a debit or charge recorded against an account. Its plural is afschrijvingen. The related verb afschrijven can mean “to debit” in financial contexts, but the observed word is the noun afschrijving, not a verb form. herkent: This is the present-tense form of herkennen, “to recognize,” with u as its subject. In als u de afschrijving herkent, it means “if you recognize the charge.” The object is de afschrijving; the person doing the recognizing is u. A useful contrast is kent: “know” or “be acquainted with,” whereas herkent emphasizes identifying something as familiar or correctly identifying it. Together, Dat kan vertraging voorkomen means “That can prevent delays.” The conditional clause als u de afschrijving herkent adds the condition “if you recognize the charge,” so the complete utterance means: “That can prevent delays if you recognize the charge.”

7. Als het dan nog steeds niet duidelijk is, wil ik dat de transactie wordt onderzocht.

   If it still isn't clear, I want the transaction investigated.

   nog steeds

   still

   niet duidelijk

   not clear

   wil ik dat

   I want ...

   transactie

   transaction

   wordt onderzocht

   is investigated

   More detail

   nog steeds means “still”: it says that a situation continues up to the relevant time. The useful pattern is nog steeds + adjective or verb phrase, as in Zij woont nog steeds hier. — “She still lives here.” niet duidelijk means “not clear.” duidelijk is the adjective “clear” or “clear to understand”; niet makes it negative. Dutch commonly places niet directly before an adjective: Het antwoord is niet duidelijk. — “The answer is not clear.” In this utterance, het is the subject of is; the sentence does not specify a separate noun that het refers to. The clause beginning with Als means “if.” In Als het dan nog steeds niet duidelijk is, dan contributes “then” or “in that case,” while is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”). The complete conditional clause means “if it is still not clear.” wil ik dat contains wil, the first-person singular present form of willen (“to want”), followed by ik (“I”). The order wil ik occurs because the conditional clause comes first; after that initial subordinate clause, the finite verb comes before the subject in the main clause. dat introduces the content of the wish: “that ...”. Compare Ik wil dat je komt. — “I want you to come.” transactie is the noun “transaction.” Its usual article is de: de transactie. The noun itself does not state what kind of transaction it is; that is left unspecified here. wordt onderzocht means “is investigated” or “is examined.” wordt is the singular present form of worden (“to become/to be” in passive constructions), and onderzocht is the past participle of onderzoeken (“to investigate” or “to examine”). Together they form a present passive: De transactie wordt onderzocht. — “The transaction is being investigated.” Because de transactie is singular, the finite passive auxiliary is wordt; with a plural subject, Dutch uses worden, as in De transacties worden onderzocht. Together, Als het dan nog steeds niet duidelijk is sets the condition “If it still is not clear.” wil ik dat states the speaker’s wish, and de transactie wordt onderzocht expresses that wish through a passive clause. The whole utterance therefore means: “If it still isn’t clear, I want the transaction investigated.”

8. We leggen uw melding vast en starten de beoordeling.

   We'll document your concern and start the review.

   leggen … vast

   document, record

   melding

   concern, report

   starten

   start

   beoordeling

   review, assessment

   More detail

   leggen ... vast means “record” or “document” here. The two parts belong together even though they are separated in the sentence: leggen is the present-tense form used with we, while vast is the separable particle. A reusable pattern is we leggen [something] vast = “we record [something].” Example: We leggen de afspraak vast. — “We record the agreement.” melding is a noun for a report, notification, or concern submitted to an organization. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports “your concern.” The possessive uw means “your” in a formal or polite form; the noun itself does not encode that possessor. Example: Uw melding is ontvangen. — “Your report has been received.” starten means “to start” or “to begin.” Here it is another present-tense verb with the subject we, coordinated with leggen. Its infinitive and present form are both starten in this construction. Example: We starten de controle. — “We start the check.” beoordeling is a noun meaning “review” or “assessment.” The article de marks it as a common-gender noun in Dutch; it does not itself express a numeric quantity. In this sentence, de beoordeling is the review that the speakers are starting. Example: De beoordeling begint vandaag. — “The review begins today.” Together, We leggen uw melding vast says “We’ll document your concern,” and en starten de beoordeling adds “and start the review.” The present-tense verbs are understood here as a planned or immediate organizational action, as reflected by the fixed translation. The sentence therefore means: “We’ll document your concern and start the review.”