Following up after a job interview | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kunt u de volgende stappen in het proces toelichten?

   Could you clarify the next steps in the process?

   Kunt u

   could you

   volgende

   next

   stappen

   steps

   proces

   process

   toelichten

   clarify

   More detail

   Kunt u is a polite request pattern meaning “could you...?” Kunt is the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with formal u. In a yes/no question, the conjugated verb comes before the subject: Kunt u ...? The infinitive of the requested action comes later in the sentence. volgende means “next” here. Its base form is volgend; before the plural noun stappen in the definite phrase de volgende stappen, it has the -e form. Compare de volgende stap (“the next step”) and de volgende stappen (“the next steps”): the adjective form is the same in these two phrases. stappen is the plural of the noun stap, “step.” The plural ending is -en: één stap, twee stappen. In this sentence it refers to the steps to be taken in the relevant process. proces means “process.” It is a neuter noun, so the definite article is het: het proces. The prepositional phrase in het proces means “in the process.” toelichten means “to clarify” or “to explain.” It is the infinitive of the separable verb toelichten; in a finite clause it can appear as licht ... toe, as in Ik licht het plan toe (“I explain the plan”). After kunt, the infinitive remains toelichten and is placed at the end: Kunt u het plan toelichten? — “Could you explain the plan?” Together, de volgende stappen in het proces means “the next steps in the process.” The question structure Kunt u ... toelichten? asks the addressee politely to make those steps clear. The complete utterance therefore means: “Could you clarify the next steps in the process?”

2. De commissie zal uw materiaal beoordelen en beslissen of er nog een gesprek nodig is.

   The panel will review your materials and decide whether another conversation is needed.

   commissie

   panel or committee

   zal

   will

   uw

   your

   materiaal

   material or materials

   beoordelen

   review or assess

   beslissen

   decide

   of

   whether

   er

   grammatical placeholder in this construction

   nog

   another; additional

   gesprek

   conversation

   nodig

   needed

   is

   is

   More detail

   commissie means a committee or panel: a group assigned to consider something. The fixed translation supports “panel” here. A useful related form is commissies, the plural. zal is the present-tense form of zullen used here for a future action: “will.” Dutch commonly places zullen before an infinitive: zal beoordelen = “will review.” The subject De commissie is singular, so the form is zal; plural subjects use zullen. uw is the formal possessive determiner “your.” It is the form used for formal u and does not change for the gender or number of the possessed noun. In this sentence it belongs with materiaal. materiaal means material or materials. Dutch often uses this word as a mass noun for submitted material, so the English plural “materials” does not require a plural form here. The plural materialen is possible when separate materials or types are being counted or emphasized. beoordelen is the infinitive “to review” or “to assess.” It follows the auxiliary zal, and its form does not show the committee’s person or number. Example: Wij zullen het voorstel beoordelen. — “We will assess the proposal.” beslissen means “to decide.” It is another infinitive coordinated with beoordelen after zal: zal beoordelen en beslissen = “will review and decide.” Example: De commissie beslist morgen. — “The committee decides tomorrow.” of introduces an indirect yes-or-no question, so here it means “whether.” The same Dutch word can also coordinate alternatives as “or”; the surrounding structure determines which function it has. er is an existential or expletive element in er ... nodig is, a Dutch construction used to express that something is needed. Its role here is grammatical, not a reference to a specific physical place. nog means “another” here because it indicates an additional conversation: nog een gesprek = “another conversation.” In other contexts it can mean “still” or “yet,” so its meaning comes from the construction and context. gesprek means “conversation.” Its plural is gesprekken. The plural uses the regular -en ending, with k doubled in the spelling to preserve the short vowel: gesprek → gesprekken. In this sentence, the translation identifies the intended sense as “conversation.” nodig is the adjective “needed” or “necessary.” In nodig zijn (“to be needed”), it describes necessity rather than a person’s need. Example: Een handtekening is nodig. — “A signature is needed.” is is the present-tense form of zijn, “to be,” used with the singular noun phrase een gesprek. In the subordinate clause, Dutch places the finite verb at the end: of er nog een gesprek nodig is. Together, De commissie zal uw materiaal beoordelen en beslissen means “The panel will review your materials and decide.” The clause of er nog een gesprek nodig is means “whether another conversation is needed.” The complete utterance therefore means: “The panel will review your materials and decide whether another conversation is needed.”

3. Ik kan de gevraagde voorbeelden via het sollicitatieportaal uploaden.

   I can upload the requested samples through the application portal.

   Ik kan

   I can

   gevraagde

   requested

   voorbeelden

   examples; samples

   via

   through; via

   sollicitatieportaal

   application portal

   uploaden

   to upload

   More detail

   Ik kan combines Ik (“I”) with kan, the present-tense form of kunnen (“can; be able to”). Here it expresses ability or possibility: “I can …”. The infinitive uploaden names the action. Example: Ik kan morgen komen. — “I can come tomorrow.” gevraagde means “requested” here. It is the adjective form of gevraagd, the past participle of vragen (“to ask”), used before the definite noun phrase de gevraagde voorbeelden. The -e form is required here because the noun is plural and the phrase has the definite article de; plural nouns take this adjective form in this construction. Example: de gevraagde informatie — “the requested information.” voorbeelden is the plural of voorbeeld (“example”). In this sentence, the fixed translation presents these examples as “samples.” Singular and plural: een voorbeeld — “an example”; voorbeelden — “examples.” Example: Ik geef twee voorbeelden. — “I give two examples.” via introduces the route or channel used for an action and means “through” or “via.” Example: We sturen het via e-mail. — “We send it by email.” sollicitatieportaal is a compound noun meaning “application portal”; here it is the portal used for the application process. Its plural is sollicitatieportalen. Example: Het sollicitatieportaal is geopend. — “The application portal is open.” uploaden is the infinitive “to upload.” Dutch uses this infinitive after kan: Ik kan ... uploaden means “I can upload ...”. This borrowed verb takes the Dutch infinitive ending -en; its past participle is geüpload. Example: U kunt het bestand uploaden. — “You can upload the file.” Together, Ik kan + the noun phrase de gevraagde voorbeelden + via het sollicitatieportaal + uploaden gives: “I can upload the requested samples through the application portal.” The modal verb kan frames uploaden as an ability or possibility, while via identifies the portal as the route for the upload.

4. De samenvatting van het project die u noemde, zou bijzonder nuttig zijn.

   The project summary you mentioned would be especially useful.

   samenvatting

   summary

   project

   project

   die

   that; which

   noemde

   mentioned

   zou … zijn

   would be

   bijzonder

   especially

   nuttig

   useful

   More detail

   samenvatting means “summary” here: a condensed account of information. Its base noun is samenvatting; the related verb is samenvatten (“to summarize”), but the noun itself is the form used in this sentence. It is a de-word, which helps explain the later relative pronoun die. Example: De samenvatting is kort. — “The summary is short.” project is the noun “project.” The compound projectsamenvatting is also possible for “project summary,” but here the two nouns remain separate: de samenvatting van het project means “the summary of the project.” project is a het-word, shown by het project. die links the noun phrase to the information that follows it. In this sentence it refers to de samenvatting: “that/which you mentioned.” Dutch uses die with a singular de-word or with plural nouns; with a singular het-word, the corresponding relative form is generally dat. Example: De brief die ik stuurde was kort. — “The letter that I sent was short.” noemde is the past-tense form of noemen, “to mention” or “to name.” Here it means “mentioned,” with u as the person who did the mentioning. The past form is the same for the different persons: ik noemde, u noemde, zij noemde. Example: U noemde een belangrijk punt. — “You mentioned an important point.” zou and zijn form the separated construction zou ... zijn, meaning “would be.” zou is a past-tense form of zullen used here to express a conditional or tentative result, while zijn is the infinitive “to be.” The intervening words belong to the description of what would be useful. Example: Dat zou handig zijn. — “That would be useful.” bijzonder modifies nuttig here by strengthening it: “especially” or “particularly.” As an adjective, bijzonder can also mean “special,” so its exact meaning comes from its position and combination in this sentence. Example: Dit is bijzonder belangrijk. — “This is especially important.” nuttig is the adjective “useful.” Its comparative is nuttiger (“more useful”) and its superlative is het nuttigst(e) (“the most useful”), with the ending in the superlative depending on its grammatical use. Example: Deze informatie is nuttiger. — “This information is more useful.” Together, De samenvatting van het project is “the project summary.” The relative clause die u noemde identifies it as the summary that you mentioned. The modal construction zou ... zijn presents the judgment as “would be,” and bijzonder nuttig says that it would be especially useful. The complete meaning is: “The project summary you mentioned would be especially useful.”

5. Ik kan context geven zonder vertrouwelijke informatie over klanten vrij te geven.

   I can include context without exposing confidential client information.

   Ik kan

   I can

   context

   context

   geven

   give

   zonder

   without

   vertrouwelijke

   confidential

   informatie

   information

   over

   about

   klanten

   clients

   vrij te geven

   release or expose

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can.” kan is the present-tense form of kunnen for ik; it expresses ability or possibility here. After a modal verb such as kunnen, the next verb appears as an infinitive without te: Ik kan helpen = “I can help.” context is the noun “context.” Dutch uses this loanword much as English does, but its pronunciation and article must be learned with Dutch usage rather than inferred from English. geven means “give.” In this sentence, context geven is the reusable combination “provide/include context,” not necessarily handing over a physical object. The infinitive follows kan. zonder means “without.” It introduces what is absent or avoided. A common pattern is zonder te + infinitive, as in zonder te wachten = “without waiting.” vertrouwelijke means “confidential” here. Its base form is the adjective vertrouwelijk. The -e form appears before informatie, a singular noun with the definite article de: de vertrouwelijke informatie. This adjective describes the information, not the clients. informatie means “information.” It is a mass noun in this use, so the sentence does not present it as a countable item. The phrase vertrouwelijke informatie means “confidential information.” over means “about” here. The pattern informatie over + a topic is reusable: informatie over het project = “information about the project.” klanten means “clients” or “customers.” Its singular base form is klant; klanten is the plural. In informatie over klanten, the clients are the topic of the information, not the people being directly addressed. vrij te geven means “to release or expose.” The base verb is the separable compound vrijgeven; in the te-infinitive after zonder, its parts appear as vrij te geven. This is different from simply geven: informatie geven is “give information,” while informatie vrijgeven is “release information,” often implying that it had been restricted or confidential. Together, zonder vertrouwelijke informatie over klanten vrij te geven means “without exposing confidential information about clients.” The structure is zonder + te-infinitive: the speaker can provide context while avoiding the release of that client-related confidential information. The complete utterance is: “I can include context without exposing confidential client information.”`

6. Dat beoordelingsvermogen bij het omgaan met vertrouwelijke informatie is hier belangrijk.

   That kind of judgment when handling confidential information is important here.

   Dat

   that

   beoordelingsvermogen

   judgment

   bij het omgaan met

   when dealing with

   vertrouwelijke

   confidential

   informatie

   information

   belangrijk

   important

   hier

   here

   More detail

   Dat is a demonstrative determiner here: it comes directly before beoordelingsvermogen and means “that” in the intended phrase “that kind of judgment.” Its form is neuter singular, matching the het-word beoordelingsvermogen; this grammatical agreement does not by itself identify a particular real-world referent. beoordelingsvermogen means the ability to make sound judgments or assessments. It is a compound noun built around vermogen (“ability, capacity”), with beoordeling (“assessment, judgment”) specifying the kind of ability. Dutch compounds are written as one word, so this form should not be treated as two independently spaced words. bij het omgaan met expresses the situation “when dealing with” or “in handling.” In this construction, omgaan met is the reusable verb pattern “deal with,” and het omgaan nominalizes the infinitive, literally making it “the dealing with.” For example: Bij het omgaan met geld is voorzichtigheid belangrijk. — “When dealing with money, caution is important.” vertrouwelijke means “confidential” in this sentence. The adjective is vertrouwelijk; its attributive form has the -e ending before informatie. The ending belongs to the adjective, not to the noun. A useful contrast is predicative De informatie is vertrouwelijk. — “The information is confidential.” informatie means “information.” It is commonly used as a mass or uncountable noun, so Dutch does not normally use it as a plural count of individual pieces in this context. The plural informaties can occur when distinct items or kinds of information are meant, but the sentence here presents information as a general domain. belangrijk means “important.” Here it is a predicate adjective after is, describing the subject dat beoordelingsvermogen; it therefore has the uninflected form belangrijk, not attributive belangrijke. Compare belangrijke informatie (“important information”) with De informatie is belangrijk (“The information is important”). hier is the adverb “here,” locating the importance in the relevant present situation or setting. It does not modify informatie; it applies to the whole statement that the judgment is important here. Together, dat beoordelingsvermogen identifies the judgment or judgment-making ability being discussed, bij het omgaan met vertrouwelijke informatie specifies the situation in which it matters, and is hier belangrijk states its importance in this setting. The complete meaning is: “That kind of judgment when handling confidential information is important here.”

7. Wanneer kan ik iets horen over de uitkomst van de beoordeling?

   When should I expect to hear the outcome of the review?

   Wanneer

   when

   kan ik

   can I

   iets

   something

   horen

   hear

   over

   about

   de uitkomst

   the outcome

   van

   of

   de beoordeling

   the review

   More detail

   Wanneer means “when” and asks for a time. It can introduce a direct question: Wanneer begint de vergadering? — “When does the meeting start?” kan ik uses kunnen (“can, be able to”) in the present tense. kan is the first-person singular form, and ik is the subject. In a Dutch question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Kan ik helpen? — “Can I help?” Here, kan ik asks when it will be possible or appropriate for the speaker to hear the information; the fixed translation presents this naturally as asking when the speaker should expect to hear it. iets is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something.” In a question, it can refer generally to some information without specifying exactly what: Heb je iets gehoord? — “Have you heard anything?” It is not a stated quantity here. horen is the infinitive of horen, “to hear.” After the finite modal kan, the second verb stays in the infinitive: Ik kan het horen — “I can hear it.” In this sentence, horen is understood as receiving information or hearing news, rather than merely perceiving a sound. over is a preposition meaning “about” or “concerning” here. The pattern horen over + topic means “hear about a topic”: We horen over de beslissing. — “We hear about the decision.” de uitkomst means “the outcome.” Uitkomst is a common-gender noun, so it takes the definite article de. It can describe the result of a process: De uitkomst is bekend. — “The outcome is known.” van means “of” here and links de uitkomst to what produced or defines that outcome. The pattern de uitkomst van + noun phrase means “the outcome of + noun phrase.” de beoordeling means “the review” or “the assessment” in this context. Beoordeling is a common-gender noun and therefore takes de; it refers to the process or result of evaluating something. The related verb beoordelen means “to assess” or “to review,” but the observed form beoordeling is the noun, not the verb. Together, Wanneer kan ik ... horen asks “When can I hear ...?”, while iets horen over de uitkomst van de beoordeling means “hear something about the outcome of the review.” The complete utterance therefore asks when the speaker can expect to receive information about the review’s outcome: “When should I expect to hear the outcome of the review?”

8. We nemen contact met u op nadat de commissie haar bespreking heeft afgerond.

   We will contact you after the panel finishes its discussion.

   We

   we

   nemen … contact met u op

   contact someone

   nadat

   after

   commissie

   committee; panel

   haar

   its

   bespreking

   discussion

   afgerond

   finished; completed

   More detail

   We is the first-person plural subject: “we.” Dutch uses this form for a group including the speaker. The corresponding singular form is ik (“I”). nemen contact met u op is the fixed separable verb construction contact opnemen met iemand, meaning “to contact someone.” In this sentence, nemen and op surround the other material, while u is the formal or polite second-person pronoun “you.” The construction is not simply the general verb nemen (“take”); together with contact ... op it expresses making contact. For example: Ik neem morgen contact met u op. — “I will contact you tomorrow.” nadat introduces a subordinate time clause and means “after.” The event in that clause is presented as completed before the main-clause event. For example: Bel me nadat je bent aangekomen. — “Call me after you have arrived.” commissie means “committee” and, in this translation, corresponds to “panel.” It is a noun with the article de: de commissie. A noun with de is not thereby necessarily masculine or feminine in every grammatical respect; the article mainly identifies its Dutch article class here. haar is the possessive form meaning “its” here. It refers to the committee as the owner of the discussion, as specified by the fixed translation. In haar bespreking, it agrees with the possessor’s grammatical reference, not with the noun bespreking that follows. The same form can also mean “her” in another context, but “its” is the intended meaning here. bespreking means “discussion” or “review meeting” in this context. It is a noun formed from the verb bespreken (“discuss”), but the observed word itself is the noun. For example: De bespreking begint om tien uur. — “The discussion starts at ten o’clock.” afgerond is the past participle of afronden, “to finish” or “complete.” With heeft, it forms the perfect construction heeft afgerond: “has finished” or “has completed.” The object being completed is haar bespreking, so the clause says that the panel has finished its discussion. The participle does not itself mark the subject as singular or plural here; heeft is the form used with this third-person singular subject de commissie. Together, nadat de commissie haar bespreking heeft afgerond means “after the panel finishes its discussion.” The main clause We nemen contact met u op means “we will contact you.” Thus the complete utterance is: “We will contact you after the panel finishes its discussion.”