Overlapping expertise in product strategy and operations | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik zag dat er op je badge productstrategie staat.

   I noticed your badge mentions product strategy.

   zag

   noticed; saw

   badge

   badge; name badge

   productstrategie

   product strategy

   staat

   is written; appears

   More detail

   zag is the past-tense form of zien (“to see”). With ik, it means “I saw”; in this sentence, the observation is naturally translated as “I noticed.” Present ik zie means “I see,” while past ik zag places the observation in the past. Example: Ik zag een fout. — “I saw a mistake.” badge is a noun meaning “badge,” including a badge that displays identifying or professional information. The possessive je means “your” here; it is the informal singular possessive form and does not itself state how many badges there are. Example: Mijn badge ligt op tafel. — “My badge is on the table.” productstrategie is a compound noun: product + strategie, meaning “product strategy.” Dutch commonly combines nouns into one written word, with the final part functioning as the head: strategie is the type of thing, and product specifies which kind. Example: We bespreken de productstrategie. — “We are discussing the product strategy.” staat is the present-tense form of staan (“to stand”) for het, hij, or zij, and also for a singular noun such as productstrategie. In this context, staan describes text being displayed or written somewhere, so productstrategie staat op je badge means that “product strategy” appears on your badge. It does not mean that the strategy is physically standing. Example: Mijn naam staat op de kaart. — “My name is written on the card.” The remaining structure connects these pieces. dat introduces what was noticed. In er op je badge productstrategie staat, er presents the displayed text, op je badge gives its location, and staat comes at the end because this is a subordinate clause. The pattern is reusable as Ik zag dat er ... op ... staat — “I noticed that ... appears on ...”. Together, Ik zag dat er op je badge productstrategie staat. means: “I noticed that your badge mentions product strategy.” The Dutch wording literally presents “product strategy” as text that stands or appears on the badge.

2. Dat is mijn belangrijkste werkterrein, al strekt mijn werk zich ook uit tot onderzoek en operations.

   That is my main area, though my work also crosses into research and operations.

   Dat

   That

   belangrijkste

   main; most important

   werkterrein

   area of work

   al

   though

   strekt … uit

   extends

   tot

   to; into

   werk

   work

   ook

   also

   onderzoek

   research

   operations

   operations

   More detail

   Dat is the demonstrative pronoun “that.” Its form is singular and points to something treated as a single topic, but the supplied sentence does not independently identify exactly what it refers to. Here it begins the statement translated as “That is my main area.” belangrijkste means “most important” and is the superlative of belangrijk (“important”): belangrijk, belangrijker, belangrijkste. In mijn belangrijkste werkterrein, the -e ending is the adjective form used in this noun phrase; it is not itself a separate marker of gender. werkterrein is a noun meaning a field or area of work. It is a compound used here in the singular: het werkterrein; its plural is de werkterreinen. The phrase mijn werkterrein means “my area of work.” al introduces a contrast and means “though” here. Dutch al can have other uses, including “already,” but that is not its meaning in this sentence. strekt ... uit belongs to the separable verb zich uitstrekken, “to extend” or “to reach.” The observed strekt is the present-tense third-person singular form of uitstrekken, matching singular mijn werk; the particle uit appears separately later in the clause. With zich, the reusable pattern is iets strekt zich uit tot ... (“something extends to ...”). Example: Het fietspad strekt zich uit tot het dorp. — “The cycle path extends to the village.” tot marks the scope or endpoint reached by the extension. In zich uitstrekken tot onderzoek en operations, it is naturally translated as “into” because the work reaches the fields named afterward. werk means “work” here and is the subject of the second clause in mijn werk. In this use it refers to the speaker’s work as an activity or professional domain, not to one specific task. ook means “also” and adds this extension to the main work area already mentioned. Its effect is on the proposition that the work extends to the following fields. onderzoek means “research.” It is commonly used as an uncountable field or activity, as in Onderzoek kost tijd. — “Research takes time.” operations is used here as the name of an additional work area, “operations.” It is a common business-related loanword in Dutch; the sentence keeps the English-looking plural form. Together, Dat is mijn belangrijkste werkterrein says “That is my main area.” The concessive clause al strekt mijn werk zich ook uit tot onderzoek en operations adds that, although this is the main area, the speaker’s work also extends into research and operations. The complete meaning is therefore: “That is my main area, though my work also crosses into research and operations.”

3. Die combinatie zal wel helpen wanneer productbeslissingen ingewikkeld worden.

   That mix must help when product decisions get complicated.

   Die

   that

   combinatie

   combination

   zal wel

   must/probably

   helpen

   help

   wanneer

   when

   productbeslissingen

   product decisions

   ingewikkeld

   complicated

   worden

   become

   More detail

   Die points to a specific combination already identifiable in the situation. With a singular common-gender noun such as combinatie, Dutch uses die; this form can function as a demonstrative determiner before the noun. combinatie means “combination” here: several elements considered together. The plural is combinaties. zal wel expresses a confident expectation or inference. zal is the present-tense form of zullen used here with the singular subject die combinatie; wel makes the prediction sound probable or evidently expected rather than simply stating a future fact. A reusable pattern is iets zal wel + infinitive, meaning that something will probably do or be a certain thing. helpen is the infinitive “to help.” After a modal or future auxiliary such as zal, the following lexical verb stays in the infinitive: zal helpen. For example, Dat zal helpen means “That will probably help.” wanneer introduces a time condition or situation: “when.” In the subordinate clause it sends the finite verb to the end. It can introduce a recurring situation, not only one single future event. productbeslissingen means “product decisions.” It is a plural compound: product specifies the type of beslissingen, the plural of beslissing (“decision”). The plural subject is why the present-tense verb later appears as worden. ingewikkeld means “complicated” or “complex.” After a verb meaning “become,” it describes the subject as a resulting state. As a predicate after worden, this adjective has no additional -e here: beslissingen worden ingewikkeld. worden means “become” in this clause. It is the present plural form of worden and has the same spelling as the infinitive. Because productbeslissingen is plural, the clause uses worden; the subordinate-clause order places it at the end: wanneer productbeslissingen ingewikkeld worden. Together, Die combinatie zal wel helpen means “That combination must/probably help,” with zal wel marking the speaker’s inference. The time clause wanneer productbeslissingen ingewikkeld worden adds the situation “when product decisions get complicated.” Thus the whole utterance means: “That mix must help when product decisions get complicated.”

4. Dat doet het, vooral wanneer een strategie afhangt van hoe teams in de praktijk werken.

   It does, especially when a strategy depends on how teams actually work.

   Dat doet het

   It does

   vooral

   especially

   wanneer

   when

   strategie

   strategy

   afhangt van

   depends on

   hoe

   how

   teams

   teams

   in de praktijk

   in practice

   werken

   work

   More detail

   Dat doet het is the reusable Dutch expression for “It does” in this context: it confirms that the thing just being discussed has the stated effect. Dat is a demonstrative subject (“that/it”), while doet is the present-tense form of doen (“to do”). The fixed translation supports the confirming meaning here; do not read this as the separate expression doet het meaning “is functioning” without considering context. vooral means “especially” and narrows the claim that follows. It can be placed before the condition or before another element being emphasized. wanneer introduces a condition or time clause, here meaning “when.” In this sentence it introduces the circumstances under which the preceding claim is particularly true. Dutch subordinate clauses commonly place the finite verb toward the end. strategie means “strategy.” Its base form is the noun strategie; here it appears with the indefinite article een. That article does not by itself assert a numerical count; the phrase presents a strategy as an unspecified instance of the type. afhangt van means “depends on.” The base verb is afhangen van. In a main clause, its separable form is commonly hangt ... af, as in Een strategie hangt van de context af. In this subordinate clause, the separable parts are written together in the finite form afhangt; the verb appears before its van complement here. Strategie is singular, so the verb is singular. The preposition van introduces what the dependence is based on. hoe introduces an embedded question or description of manner, meaning “how.” Here hoe teams ... werken means “how teams work,” not a direct question asking the listener how to work. teams is the plural of team, “team.” The plural ending is visible in teams; it is the subject of the embedded clause introduced by hoe. in de praktijk is a reusable phrase meaning “in practice,” referring to what happens in actual working conditions rather than only in theory. de praktijk is the noun phrase “practice,” with the definite article de. werken means “work.” Its base form is also werken, and here it is the present-tense plural form agreeing with teams. In the embedded clause it comes at the end: hoe teams werken — “how teams work.” Dutch uses the same form werken for the infinitive and the present-tense plural, so its role here comes from the clause structure. Together, vooral wanneer marks a particularly relevant condition, and een strategie afhangt van hoe teams in de praktijk werken means “when a strategy depends on how teams actually work.” The whole utterance therefore means: “It does, especially when a strategy depends on how teams actually work.”

5. Ik help kleine digitale teams om hun werkprocessen op orde te brengen.

   I help small digital teams clean up their workflows.

   Ik

   I

   help

   help

   kleine

   small

   digitale

   digital

   teams

   teams

   hun

   their

   werkprocessen

   workflows

   op orde

   in order

   brengen

   bring

   More detail

   Ik is the first-person singular pronoun “I.” It is the subject here: the speaker is the person who helps. The corresponding object form is mij or the shorter unstressed form me, as in Zij helpt mij (“She helps me”). help is the present-tense form of helpen, “to help.” With the subject ik, Dutch uses the stem without the present-tense ending: ik help; compare jij helpt (“you help”) and wij helpen (“we help”). kleine means “small” here. It is the attributive form of klein. Because it directly modifies plural teams, it has the -e ending: kleine teams. The same form also occurs before a singular common-gender noun or a definite noun phrase, while klein can occur in some other singular contexts, for example een klein team (“a small team”). digitale means “digital” and is the attributive form of digitaal. Like kleine, it takes -e before the plural noun teams: digitale teams. The two adjectives both describe the teams; kleine digitale teams means “small digital teams.” teams is the plural of team, “team.” The plural is formed with -s, not by changing the vowel: een team (“a team”), teams (“teams”). hun is the possessive determiner “their.” It refers to the teams as the owners or associated group of the following noun, so hun werkprocessen means “their workflows.” Hun is used with a plural possessor and does not change to agree with the number of the possessed noun; for example, hun team is “their team” and hun teams is “their teams.” werkprocessen means “workflows” or, more literally, “work processes.” It is the plural of the compound noun werkproces: werk (“work”) + proces (“process”). The compound is written as one word, and the plural form is werkprocessen. op orde is a fixed expression meaning “in order” or “organized.” In this sentence it is part of the expression iets op orde brengen, “to put something in order” or “to get something organized.” brengen is the infinitive of “to bring.” After om it appears in the pattern om ... te brengen, an infinitival construction expressing the purpose or intended result of the help. In op orde brengen, brengen contributes the idea of putting the workflows into an orderly state. For example, Ik probeer mijn administratie op orde te brengen means “I am trying to get my administration organized.” Together, Ik help gives “I help,” and kleine digitale teams identifies the teams receiving that help. hun werkprocessen means “their workflows,” while om hun werkprocessen op orde te brengen expresses the goal: “to get their workflows organized.” The complete utterance therefore means “I help small digital teams clean up their workflows.”

6. Dan lopen we waarschijnlijk tegen een aantal van dezelfde coördinatieproblemen aan.

   Then we are probably dealing with some of the same coordination issues.

   Dan

   then

   lopen

   walk; run

   we

   we

   waarschijnlijk

   probably

   tegen … aan

   run into; deal with

   een aantal van

   some of; a number of

   dezelfde

   the same

   coördinatieproblemen

   coordination problems

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here. It can link the situation to an earlier point in time or discussion: Dan beginnen we. — “Then we begin.” lopen is the base form “to walk,” but in tegen iets aanlopen it is part of a fixed expression meaning “to run into” or “to encounter” a difficulty. The literal walking sense is not intended here. The verb remains lopen because it follows the subject we in the present tense; Dutch present-tense plural forms use lopen. we is the subject pronoun “we.” It identifies the speaker together with at least one other participant. For comparison, ik loop means “I walk/run,” while we lopen means “we walk/run.” waarschijnlijk means “probably.” As an adverb, it expresses likelihood and modifies the situation as a whole: the encounter is presented as likely, not certain. tegen ... aan surrounds the object in the construction tegen iets aanlopen. In this sentence, tegen comes before the object phrase and aan comes after it: tegen een probleem aanlopen — “to run into a problem.” Together with lopen, these separated parts express encountering something, rather than physical contact alone. een aantal van means “some of” or “a number of.” Here it introduces a selection from a larger set and does not by itself specify an exact count. It is followed by the plural noun phrase dezelfde coördinatieproblemen. dezelfde means “the same.” Dutch uses dezelfde before plural nouns and before singular nouns with de; before a singular het-word, the form is hetzelfde. Example: We hebben dezelfde vraag. — “We have the same question.” coördinatieproblemen means “coordination problems.” It is a compound noun: coördinatie specifies the type of problemen, and problemen is the plural of probleem (“problem”). Example: We bespreken de coördinatieproblemen. — “We are discussing the coordination problems.” Taken together, Dan lopen we waarschijnlijk tegen een aantal van dezelfde coördinatieproblemen aan means: “Then we are probably dealing with some of the same coordination issues.” The structure is Dan + subject we + likelihood adverb waarschijnlijk + the separable encounter construction tegen ... aanlopen + een aantal van + dezelfde + the plural noun phrase. The sentence presents the same type of coordination problems as a probable difficulty for the group, without specifying an exact number.

7. Ik zou graag eens onze aanpakken vergelijken.

   I would like to compare approaches sometime.

   Ik zou

   I would

   graag

   gladly

   eens

   sometime

   onze

   our

   aanpakken

   approaches

   vergelijken

   compare

   More detail

   Ik zou combines the subject pronoun ik (“I”) with zou, the form of zullen used here to express “would.” This is a common way to frame a wish politely. Compare ik zal (“I will”) with ik zou (“I would”); the latter is less direct and presents the action as a desired possibility. graag means “gladly” here and, after zou, helps form the reusable pattern zou graag + infinitive: “would like to …” For example: Ik zou graag meer oefenen. — “I would like to practise more.” eens is a small adverb/particle meaning “sometime” in this utterance. It makes the proposed action less tied to a specific time; it does not by itself specify exactly when. In other contexts, eens can have other time-related uses, so its meaning here comes from the construction and the fixed translation. onze is the possessive form meaning “our.” Dutch uses onze with plural nouns and with singular de-nouns; with a singular het-noun, the corresponding form is ons. Here it modifies the plural noun aanpakken. aanpakken is the plural of the noun aanpak, meaning an approach or method. The plural is formed with -en: een aanpak — “an approach”; aanpakken — “approaches.” Do not confuse this noun with the separable verb aanpakken, which can mean “to tackle” or “to handle”; the form in this utterance is a noun because it follows the possessive onze and is the object of comparison. vergelijken is the infinitive “to compare.” The pattern iets vergelijken means “to compare something,” and A met B vergelijken means “to compare A with B.” For example: We vergelijken twee plannen. — “We compare two plans.” Together, Ik zou graag eens gives “I would like sometime,” onze aanpakken identifies the approaches as belonging to “us,” and vergelijken supplies the action: “to compare.” The complete utterance therefore means “I would like to compare approaches sometime.”

8. Dat kan nuttig zijn, vooral als we het gesprek praktisch houden.

   That could be useful, especially if we keep the conversation practical.

   Dat

   That

   kan

   can; could

   nuttig

   useful

   zijn

   be

   vooral

   especially

   als

   if

   we

   we

   gesprek

   conversation

   praktisch

   practical

   houden

   keep

   More detail

   Dat means “that” here: a demonstrative pronoun pointing to an already understood idea or situation. Its exact referent is not identified in the sentence itself. Dutch also uses dit for “this” and dat for “that”; the choice depends on the speaker’s demonstrative contrast, not simply on grammatical gender. kan is the present-tense singular form of kunnen, “can” or “to be able to.” With an infinitive, it expresses possibility or ability; here the fixed translation selects the possibility meaning “could.” The modal is followed by the infinitive zijn: kan ... zijn = “could be.” nuttig is an adjective meaning “useful.” In this sentence it is used predicatively after zijn, so it has the uninflected form nuttig. Before a noun, its ending can depend on the noun phrase: een nuttig idee means “a useful idea,” while het nuttige idee means “the useful idea.” Here it describes the situation referred to by Dat. zijn is the infinitive “to be.” After a modal such as kan, Dutch uses the infinitive rather than a finite form: Het kan nuttig zijn = “It can be useful.” vooral means “especially” or “above all.” It highlights the condition that follows, rather than changing the basic possibility expressed by kan. als introduces the condition “if” in this sentence. A useful pattern is als ... , ... = “if ..., ...”. In the subordinate clause beginning with als, the finite verb comes at the end: als we ... houden. we is the subject pronoun “we,” referring to the speaker together with at least one other participant. Its verb here is the plural form houden, not the singular form houdt. gesprek is the noun “conversation.” Dutch normally uses the neuter article with it: het gesprek; its plural is gesprekken. In the sentence, het gesprek is the object whose character is being maintained. praktisch is an adjective meaning “practical.” Here it describes the conversation as having a practical character. Dutch can place an adjective after the object in a pattern such as iets praktisch houden, literally “keep something practical,” meaning to maintain it in a practical form. houden is the infinitive “to keep” or “to hold”; with the plural subject we, the present-tense form is also houden. In het gesprek praktisch houden, it combines with an object and an adjective: “keep the conversation practical.” This is distinct from the modal construction earlier: kan carries the finite modal meaning, while houden is the finite verb of the als-clause. Together, Dat kan nuttig zijn means “That could be useful.” vooral als we het gesprek praktisch houden adds the condition “especially if we keep the conversation practical.” The complete utterance therefore means: “That could be useful, especially if we keep the conversation practical.”