Clarifying dependencies in a tense priority discussion | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. De discussie werd gespannen toen mensen ieders prioriteiten begonnen te rangschikken.

   The discussion got tense once people started ranking everyone's priorities.

   discussie

   discussion

   werd

   got / became

   gespannen

   tense

   toen

   when

   mensen

   people

   ieders

   everyone’s

   prioriteiten

   priorities

   begonnen te

   started to

   rangschikken

   rank

   More detail

   discussie means “discussion” here. It is a common-gender Dutch noun; its plural is discussies. The article de in the sentence marks the definite noun phrase “the discussion.” werd is the past-tense singular form of worden, “to become” or “to get” in this change-of-state use. With the singular subject de discussie, Dutch uses werd; plural subjects use werden. Here it does not mean that someone made the discussion tense: it presents tension as a change in the discussion’s state. gespannen is an adjective meaning “tense” in this sentence. It describes the state reached by de discussie after werd. In a different context, gespannen can also describe a person or another situation that is tense, but the observed form specifically describes the discussion here. toen introduces a time clause and means “when” or “once” here. It links the change of state to the event in the following clause. Dutch also has wanneer for “when,” commonly used for a general or present/future condition; toen is especially suitable for a definite past event. mensen means “people.” It is the plural of mens, “person” or “human being.” The plural subject is why the finite past form is begonnen, not the singular past form begon. ieders is a possessive form meaning “everyone’s” or “each person’s.” It identifies the priorities as belonging to the people referred to in this clause; it does not itself state a numerical count. ieder means “each/every” as a determiner or pronoun, while ieders is the possessive form used before a noun, as in ieders mening (“everyone’s opinion”). prioriteiten means “priorities.” It is the plural of prioriteit, “priority.” The plural noun is the object being ranked. A useful contrast is een prioriteit (“a priority”) versus meerdere prioriteiten (“several priorities”). begonnen te is a reusable Dutch pattern meaning “started to.” Begonnen is the plural past-tense form of beginnen, “to begin/start”; its singular past form is begon. The following verb stays in the infinitive after te: te rangschikken. Together, begonnen te rangschikken says that the ranking activity began, without saying that it was completed. rangschikken is the infinitive “to rank” or “to arrange in order.” It is the lexical action after begonnen te; te is the infinitive marker, not part of the verb’s base form. For example, We rangschikken de opties means “We rank the options.” The whole sentence combines de discussie werd gespannen (“the discussion got tense”) with toen and the time clause mensen ... begonnen te rangschikken (“when people started to rank ...”). Ieders prioriteiten is the object of rangschikken, so the complete meaning is: “The discussion got tense once people started ranking everyone’s priorities.”

2. Het klonk alsof sommige teams het gevoel hadden dat hun werk opzij werd geschoven.

   It sounded like some teams felt their work was being pushed aside.

   Het klonk

   It sounded

   alsof

   as if

   sommige

   some

   teams

   teams

   gevoel

   feeling

   hadden

   had

   hun

   their

   werk

   work

   opzij

   aside

   werd geschoven

   was pushed

   More detail

   Het klonk means “it sounded” here. klonk is the past-tense singular form of klinken (“to sound”); het is the impersonal subject. Example: Dat klinkt vreemd. — “That sounds strange.” alsof introduces a comparison or impression: “as if” or, in this sentence, “like.” It introduces the subordinate clause describing what it sounded like. In Dutch, the finite verb of this subordinate clause normally comes at the end: alsof hij gelijk had — “as if he were right.” sommige means “some” and identifies only part of a larger group. It is followed here by the plural noun teams. Example: Sommige mensen wachten. — “Some people are waiting.” teams is the plural of team, “team.” The form is unchanged in this plural: een team — “a team”; drie teams — “three teams.” gevoel means “feeling” or “sense.” The useful expression here is het gevoel hebben dat ..., literally “to have the feeling that ...,” meaning “to feel that ...” or “to have the impression that ...”. hadden is the plural past form of hebben, “to have.” Because sommige teams is plural, the form is hadden, not singular had: De teams hadden tijd. — “The teams had time.” hun is the possessive form meaning “their” for a plural possessor. It refers here to the teams identified by sommige teams, so hun werk means “their work.” Hun does not change according to the number of the possessed noun: hun werk — “their work”; hun prioriteiten — “their priorities.” werk means “work.” In hun werk, it is the work belonging to the teams; the noun itself is singular and uncountable in this use. Example: Hun werk is belangrijk. — “Their work is important.” opzij means “aside” or “to one side.” With a verb of movement or change, it describes something being moved out of the way. In opzij schuiven, it forms the expression “push aside” or “set aside.” werd geschoven is a passive construction: werd is the singular past form of worden (“to become” or, in a passive, “to be”), and geschoven is the past participle of schuiven (“to push” or “to slide”). Together, werd geschoven means “was pushed.” The passive focuses on hun werk, which receives the action, without naming who pushed it aside. Example: De stoel werd opzij geschoven. — “The chair was pushed aside.” The sentence combines these parts as follows: Het klonk alsof introduces an impression; sommige teams hadden het gevoel dat says that some teams felt or had the impression that something was true; and hun werk opzij werd geschoven says that their work was being pushed aside. The full meaning is: “It sounded like some teams felt their work was being pushed aside.”

3. Dat kan het vertrouwen schaden, ook als niemand dat zo bedoelde.

   That can hurt trust, even if nobody meant it that way.

   Dat kan

   That can

   het

   the

   vertrouwen

   trust

   schaden

   harm

   ook als

   even if

   niemand

   nobody

   dat

   that / it

   zo

   that way

   bedoelde

   meant

   More detail

   Dat kan: Here dat means “that” and refers to the situation or action identified by the fixed translation; it is the subject. kan is the present-tense form of kunnen (“can”) for a singular subject. Dutch modal kunnen is followed by an infinitive: dat kan schaden = “that can harm.” het: This is the definite article “the.” It belongs with the following noun, vertrouwen; het does not itself mean “trust.” vertrouwen: Here this noun means “trust.” It is a het-word, so the definite form is het vertrouwen. The same word can also be used as a verb in other sentences, but in this utterance it is the thing that may be harmed. schaden: This is the infinitive “to harm” or “to damage.” Its base form is schaden; after the modal kan, Dutch keeps the infinitive rather than using a finite verb form. The object is het vertrouwen: iets schaden means “to harm something.” ook als: Together these words introduce a condition that does not cancel the main statement: “even if.” In this sentence, the possible harm remains possible under the condition that follows. niemand: This indefinite pronoun means “nobody” or “no one.” It functions as the singular subject of the subordinate clause, so the clause has one grammatical subject even though it refers to no person. dat: Here this pronoun is the object of bedoelde and is translated as “it” in the fixed translation. The sentence uses it for the thing or action that was meant; the surrounding text does not require naming a more specific referent. zo: This adverb means “that way” or “so.” In dat zo bedoelde, it describes the manner or intended interpretation: “meant it that way.” bedoelde: This is a past-tense form of bedoelen, “to mean” or “to intend.” In this clause, niemand bedoelde dat zo means “nobody meant it that way.” The imperfect form bedoelde is used here for a past meaning, and its ending is the same for several singular subjects, including ik, jij, and hij/zij/het; the subject niemand supplies the meaning “nobody.” In the subordinate clause introduced by ook als, the finite verb comes at the end: niemand dat zo bedoelde. Together, Dat kan het vertrouwen schaden means “That can hurt trust.” The subordinate clause ook als niemand dat zo bedoelde adds the concession “even if nobody meant it that way.” The complete utterance therefore says that the possible effect on trust exists even without that intention.

4. Misschien moeten we afhankelijkheden en belang uit elkaar halen voordat we de volgende vergadering hebben.

   Maybe we should separate dependencies from importance before the next meeting.

   Misschien

   maybe

   moeten we

   we should / we must

   afhankelijkheden

   dependencies

   belang

   importance

   uit elkaar halen

   separate

   voordat

   before

   volgende

   next

   vergadering

   meeting

   hebben

   have

   More detail

   Misschien means “maybe” and makes the proposal tentative rather than certain. It commonly appears at the beginning of a sentence: Misschien komt hij morgen means “Maybe he will come tomorrow.” moeten we combines the modal verb moeten with the subject pronoun we. Here moeten expresses what the group should do, and we means “we”; the fixed translation supports the reading “we should.” The infinitive governed by moeten is placed later: We moeten wachten means “We should/must wait.” In the question-like order Moeten we wachten?, the modal comes first, but this utterance is a statement, not a question. afhankelijkheden means “dependencies” here. Its base form is the noun afhankelijkheid (“dependency”); afhankelijkheden is its plural. The ending -heden is a common plural pattern for nouns ending in -heid, for example mogelijkheid → mogelijkheden (“possibility” → “possibilities”). belang means “importance” in this sentence. It is a noun used for the significance or priority of something, rather than for a person’s interest or a financial stake. For example, Het belang van duidelijkheid is groot means “The importance of clarity is great.” uit elkaar halen is a reusable verb construction meaning “to separate” or “to take apart.” halen is the infinitive verb “to take/get,” while uit elkaar contributes the idea of separation. In this sentence it applies to the two objects named before it: afhankelijkheden and belang. A related but different verb is scheiden, also meaning “to separate,” often with a more direct or formal separation sense. voordat introduces a clause meaning “before.” It connects the separating action with the later time reference. In a subordinate clause introduced by voordat, the finite verb comes at the end: voordat we vertrekken means “before we leave.” volgende means “next” here and describes vergadering. It is related to volgen (“to follow”), but in this expression it identifies the meeting that follows the current reference point. Dutch adjectives before a singular definite noun commonly take -e, as in de volgende vergadering; volgende already has that form here. vergadering means “meeting.” It is a common-gender noun used with de: de vergadering. Its plural is vergaderingen, as in twee vergaderingen (“two meetings”). hebben is the infinitive of hebben, “to have.” Here it is the finite verb of the subordinate clause we ... hebben, with we as its subject. In the present tense, this verb has different forms for ik and we: ik heb, but we hebben; hebben agrees with we here. In this clause, it is used in the expression een vergadering hebben, meaning “to have a meeting.” Together, moeten we afhankelijkheden en belang uit elkaar halen says that the group should separate dependencies and importance. voordat we de volgende vergadering hebben places that action before the group has the next meeting. With Misschien making the proposal tentative, the whole utterance means: “Maybe we should separate dependencies from importance before the next meeting.”

5. Sommige taken moeten eerst worden uitgevoerd.

   Some tasks need to happen first.

   Sommige

   some

   taken

   tasks

   moeten

   must; need to

   eerst

   first

   worden uitgevoerd

   be carried out

   More detail

   Sommige means “some”: it identifies part of a larger group without stating an exact number. It is the plural form used with taken; the singular counterpart is sommige only in certain uses, so here the visible plural noun is the important agreement cue. Example: Sommige vragen zijn moeilijk. — “Some questions are difficult.” taken means “tasks.” It is the plural of taak; the plural ending changes the spelling from taak to taken. Example: Ik heb drie taken. — “I have three tasks.” moeten expresses necessity here: the tasks need to be carried out. It is the present-tense form of moeten used with a plural subject such as sommige taken. With a singular subject, the corresponding form is moet: Deze taak moet wachten. — “This task must wait.” eerst means “first” in the time or sequence sense. It places the carrying out of these tasks before another relevant step or event; it does not itself say what that later step is. Example: Lees eerst de instructies. — “Read the instructions first.” worden uitgevoerd is a passive construction meaning “be carried out.” uitgevoerd is the past participle of uitvoeren, “to carry out” or “to perform”; worden is the passive auxiliary. In an active sentence, someone carries out the tasks: We voeren de taken uit. — “We carry out the tasks.” In the passive version, the tasks become the grammatical subject: De taken worden uitgevoerd. — “The tasks are carried out.” Together, sommige taken identifies an unspecified subset of the tasks, moeten adds necessity, eerst sets their priority in the sequence, and worden uitgevoerd presents the tasks as receiving the action rather than naming who performs it. The whole utterance therefore means: “Some tasks need to happen first,” more literally, “Some tasks must be carried out first.”

6. Maar daardoor zijn ze niet waardevoller.

   But that does not make them more valuable.

   Maar

   but

   daardoor

   because of that

   zijn ze

   they are

   niet

   not

   waardevoller

   more valuable

   More detail

   Maar introduces a contrast, like English “but.” It connects this statement with an earlier idea without changing the sentence’s polarity. Example: Ik wil komen, maar ik heb geen tijd. — “I want to come, but I don’t have time.” daardoor means “because of that” or “as a result of that.” daar- refers to a previously mentioned situation or fact; here, the fixed translation supports “that” without identifying a more specific referent. Compare daarom (“for that reason”), which usually introduces a conclusion or decision, while daardoor emphasizes an effect. zijn ze means “they are.” zijn is the present-tense plural form of zijn (“to be”); ze is the subject pronoun “they” here. The plural form is supported by the English translation’s “them,” but the supplied material does not identify exactly which entities ze refers to. Example: Ze zijn klaar. — “They are ready.” niet is the ordinary negation word “not.” It negates the following predicate here. Dutch commonly places niet before an adjective phrase: Ze zijn niet klaar. — “They are not ready.” waardevoller means “more valuable.” It is the comparative form of the adjective waardevol (“valuable”): waardevol → waardevoller (“more valuable”). The ending -er marks comparison; the form compares value, but the sentence does not state that the things are less valuable. Example: Deze informatie is waardevoller. — “This information is more valuable.” Together, daardoor gives the cause or result relation, zijn ze supplies the plural subject and “are,” and niet waardevoller says that the resulting state is not one of greater value. Thus the whole utterance means: “But that does not make them more valuable.”

7. Ik kan een overzicht van de afhankelijkheden maken voordat we weer bij elkaar komen.

   I can put together a dependency map before we meet again.

   Ik kan

   I can

   overzicht

   overview

   afhankelijkheden

   dependencies

   maken

   make; put together

   voordat

   before

   we

   we

   weer

   again

   bij elkaar komen

   meet; come together

   More detail

   Ik kan expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility: “I can.” kan is the singular present form of the modal verb kunnen; with ik, use kan, while plural subjects use kunnen. A modal is followed by another verb in its infinitive form, which is why maken comes later in the clause. overzicht means an overview or organized summary. It is a noun that can refer to a structured representation, so in this sentence it contributes to the intended meaning “map.” Example: Ik maak een overzicht. — “I am making an overview.” afhankelijkheden means dependencies. Its base form is the singular noun afhankelijkheid; the plural is formed with -en: afhankelijkheden. In een overzicht van de afhankelijkheden, van links the overview to what it represents: an overview of the dependencies. maken means to make or put together. Here it is the infinitive selected by kan, and together with overzicht it means “put together an overview.” Example: We kunnen een plan maken. — “We can make a plan.” voordat introduces a time clause meaning “before.” In the clause introduced by voordat, the finite verb appears at the end: voordat we weer bij elkaar komen. we is the first-person plural subject pronoun, “we.” It identifies the group that performs the action in the following clause; the supplied sentence does not specify which other people belong to that group. weer means “again” or “once more.” It modifies the meeting action here, so weer bij elkaar komen means meeting or coming together again. Example: We zien elkaar weer morgen. — “We will see each other again tomorrow.” bij elkaar komen is a reusable construction meaning “come together” or, in this context, “meet.” komen is the base form komen, but in we ... komen it is also the present-tense plural form; the spelling is identical. bij elkaar supplies the togetherness meaning. Example: We komen volgende week bij elkaar. — “We are meeting next week.” As a whole, Ik kan een overzicht van de afhankelijkheden maken means “I can put together a dependency map.” The time clause voordat we weer bij elkaar komen adds “before we meet again,” giving the complete meaning: “I can put together a dependency map before we meet again.”

8. Dat zou de discussie concreet moeten houden, in plaats van persoonlijk te laten worden.

   That should keep the discussion concrete instead of personal.

   Dat

   that

   zou

   should

   discussie

   discussion

   concreet

   concrete

   moeten

   need to

   houden

   keep

   in plaats van

   instead of

   persoonlijk

   personal

   te laten worden

   to let become

   More detail

   Dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” Here it functions as the subject of the sentence; the supplied translation supports that reading without identifying a more specific noun as its referent. Dutch also uses dat as a conjunction in other structures, but that is not its role here. zou is the form of zullen used here to express the intended “should” idea. It is followed by infinitives, so the verbs later in this clause remain in their base forms. In other contexts, zou can also contribute a conditional or tentative meaning; here the fixed translation establishes the intended recommendation or expectation. de discussie means “the discussion.” Discussie is a common-gender singular noun, shown here with the definite article de. The plural is discussies. concreet describes the desired character of the discussion: it should stay focused on concrete matters. In concreet houden, this adjective is used without an ending after the verb; compare the ordinary attributive form een concrete discussie (“a concrete discussion”). moeten is the infinitive of moeten, “must” or “need to.” Combined with zou, zou ... moeten gives the reusable pattern “should ...”: Dat zou helpen means “That should help.” Because moeten follows zou, it is not conjugated for person here. houden is the infinitive of houden, “to keep” in this construction. de discussie concreet houden means “keep the discussion concrete”: the object is de discussie, and concreet states the condition in which it is kept. The same verb has other uses, such as “hold” or “like,” depending on its construction. in plaats van is the fixed construction “instead of.” It introduces an alternative to the action just described. For example, in plaats van te wachten, ging zij verder means “instead of waiting, she continued.” persoonlijk means “personal” here. It describes the kind of discussion that is presented as the alternative to a concrete one. The form is also used in other contexts with meanings such as “personally,” so its exact role comes from the surrounding construction. te laten worden combines laten (“to let” or “have”) with worden (“to become”), both in an infinitive construction. laten worden means “let become” or “allow to become”; with te, it follows in plaats van: in plaats van persoonlijk te laten worden means “instead of letting [it] become personal.” The understood subject or affected thing is the discussion already mentioned, matching the fixed translation. Worden marks a change into a state, while zijn would describe simply being in a state. As a whole, Dat zou de discussie concreet moeten houden says that this would be expected to keep the discussion concrete. in plaats van persoonlijk te laten worden contrasts that with allowing the discussion to become personal. Together: “That should keep the discussion concrete instead of personal.”

9. Dan kunnen mensen de discussie op dezelfde informatie baseren, en niet alleen op hun frustraties.

   Then people can base the discussion on the same information, not just their frustrations.

   Dan

   Then

   kunnen

   can

   mensen

   people

   discussie

   discussion

   dezelfde

   the same

   informatie

   information

   baseren

   base

   niet alleen

   not only

   hun

   their

   frustraties

   frustrations

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here, linking this statement to the preceding situation. It can also introduce a consequence or next step: Dan gaan we. — “Then we’ll go.” kunnen is the present-tense form of kunnen (“can, be able to”) used with a plural subject such as mensen. The modal is followed by the infinitive: Mensen kunnen beginnen. — “People can start.” Here it expresses that the people are able to base the discussion in the stated way; it does not itself mean that they definitely do so. mensen is the plural of mens (“person, human being”). The plural form is used because the sentence speaks about people generally, without specifying a number. Een mens means “a person”; mensen means “people.” discussie is the noun “discussion.” In the sentence it appears with de: de discussie, “the discussion.” The noun is feminine in traditional grammatical classification, but that classification does not change the form of discussie here. dezelfde means “the same.” It identifies something as identical in relevant content or kind to something already understood. Dutch uses dezelfde before common-gender singular nouns and before plural nouns, while hetzelfde is used before a neuter singular noun: dezelfde informatie — “the same information”; hetzelfde plan — “the same plan.” informatie means “information.” It is commonly used as a mass or non-count noun, so dezelfde informatie refers to the same body or content of information rather than asserting a numerical count. Example: Ik heb meer informatie nodig. — “I need more information.” baseren is the infinitive “to base.” The reusable pattern is iets baseren op iets: to base something on something. After the modal kunnen, the infinitive remains at the end of its clause: We kunnen onze keuze op feiten baseren. — “We can base our choice on facts.” In this sentence, de discussie is what is based, and dezelfde informatie is what it is based on. niet alleen means “not only” or, in this context, “not just.” It limits the following basis introduced by op: the discussion is based on the same information, rather than on frustrations alone. Dutch often uses the larger pattern niet alleen ..., maar ook ... (“not only ..., but also ...”), but the second part need not be stated when the contrast is clear. hun is the possessive form meaning “their” for a plural third-person possessor. It does not change according to the gender or number of the thing possessed: hun frustraties means “their frustrations.” The fixed translation identifies the people as the possessors here; hun itself does not specify which individuals those people are. frustraties is the plural of frustratie, “frustration.” The plural marks multiple frustrations or frustrations considered collectively. The singular is frustratie: Zijn frustratie was duidelijk. — “His frustration was clear.” Together, mensen kunnen de discussie ... baseren means “people can base the discussion ...,” with kunnen expressing ability or possibility and baseren naming the main action. op dezelfde informatie gives the basis: “on the same information.” en niet alleen op hun frustraties adds the contrast: the basis should be the same information, and not merely their frustrations. The complete utterance is therefore: “Then people can base the discussion on the same information, not just their frustrations.”