Addressing an Unsustainable Workload | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ik ben productief geweest, maar het tempo wordt onhoudbaar.

   I have been productive, but the pace is becoming unsustainable.

   Ik ben

   I am

   productief

   productive

   geweest

   been

   tempo

   pace

   wordt

   becomes

   onhoudbaar

   unsustainable

   More detail

   Ik ben is the first-person singular form of zijn, “to be”: ik ben = “I am.” Here it is also the auxiliary in the completed-time construction ik ben ... geweest; the subject is ik (“I”), and ben agrees with that subject. Example: Ik ben thuis. — “I am at home.” productief means “productive” here. It is an adjective and does not take a special form for this singular first-person subject. In the sentence, it describes the speaker’s state or performance. Example: Zij is productief. — “She is productive.” geweest is the past participle of zijn (“to be”). The chain is zijn → ben (present first-person singular) and geweest (past participle). Together, ben ... geweest expresses “have been” here: a state or condition that has held up to the relevant present. The participle is separate from the adjective productief; it completes the time construction with the auxiliary ben. tempo is a noun meaning “pace” or “speed of progress.” Its basic form is tempo; Dutch nouns are capitalized only when they begin a sentence or are proper names, so this common noun appears in lowercase here. Example: Het tempo is hoog. — “The pace is high.” wordt is the third-person singular present form of worden, “to become” or “to get.” With het tempo as its subject, wordt means “is becoming” here. This is different from is: Het tempo is hoog describes the pace as high, while Het tempo wordt hoger describes it changing to a higher level. Example: Het weer wordt koud. — “The weather is becoming cold.” onhoudbaar is an adjective meaning “unsustainable” or “impossible to maintain.” In wordt onhoudbaar, it describes the new state toward which the pace is changing. Example: Deze situatie wordt onhoudbaar. — “This situation is becoming unsustainable.” The first chunk, Ik ben productief geweest, combines the first-person subject and auxiliary ben with productief and the past participle geweest: “I have been productive.” The conjunction maar then contrasts this with the next clause: het tempo wordt onhoudbaar, “the pace is becoming unsustainable.” Together, the utterance means: “I have been productive, but the pace is becoming unsustainable.”

2. Ik waardeer het dat je dit aankaart voordat de prestaties achteruitgaan.

   I appreciate you raising it before performance drops.

   waardeer

   appreciate

   het dat

   the fact that

   dit

   this

   aankaart

   raise; bring up

   voordat

   before

   prestaties

   performance

   achteruitgaan

   decline; deteriorate

   More detail

   waardeer is the present-tense form of waarderen (“to appreciate”). With ik, Dutch uses the first-person singular form: ik waardeer. The object being appreciated is introduced by the following het dat construction. het dat is a reusable pattern meaning “the fact that” or, naturally in English, “that”. Here het functions as an anticipatory object, while the dat-clause explains what is appreciated. In a Dutch subordinate clause introduced by dat, the finite verb typically occurs at the end of the clause. dit means “this” and is the neuter singular demonstrative form. Here it refers to the matter being raised, without the sentence itself specifying a more precise noun. Compare dit for a neuter singular noun with deze for a common-gender singular noun or a plural noun. aankaart is the present-tense form of aankaarten, “to raise” or “to bring up” a topic. It agrees with je here: je kaart ... aan is the ordinary main-clause order, while in this subordinate clause the separable verb appears together at the end as aankaart. Example: Zij kaart het probleem aan. — “She raises the problem.” voordat means “before” and introduces a subordinate time clause. The event after it is presented as a condition in time: the raising happens before the decline. prestaties means “performance” or “results” here and is the plural of prestatie. The plural is supported by the form of the following verb: the sentence refers to performance in the plural grammatical form, not to one singular performance. achteruitgaan means “to decline” or “to deteriorate”. Its base form is achteruitgaan; in this clause, prestaties achteruitgaan is the present-tense plural form, which happens to have the same spelling as the infinitive. The related expression achteruitgaan describes worsening, while vooruitgaan describes improving or progressing. Together, het dat je dit aankaart means “that you raise this”, with het linking the clause to waardeer. voordat de prestaties achteruitgaan means “before performance drops”. The complete utterance therefore means: “I appreciate you raising it before performance drops.” It presents the raising of the matter as something appreciated and places it before the possible decline in performance.

3. Ik kan resultaten blijven leveren, als we het aantal prioriteiten verminderen.

   I can continue delivering, provided priorities are reduced.

   Ik kan

   I can

   resultaten

   results

   blijven leveren

   continue delivering

   als

   provided that

   het aantal

   the number

   prioriteiten

   priorities

   verminderen

   reduce

   More detail

   Ik kan contains kan, the first-person singular present form of kunnen (“can, be able to”). Dutch modal verbs are followed by an infinitive: Ik kan werken. — “I can work.” Here, the following infinitives are blijven and leveren. resultaten is the plural of resultaat (“result”). It is the thing being delivered; Dutch commonly uses the combination resultaten leveren for “deliver results.” Example: Zij levert goede resultaten. — “She delivers good results.” blijven leveren means “continue delivering.” blijven is the infinitive of “continue/remain,” and leveren is the infinitive of “deliver/provide.” With kan, the sequence kan ... blijven leveren expresses ability to continue an activity. Example: We blijven samenwerken. — “We continue working together.” als introduces the condition for the main clause. In this sentence its intended meaning is “if” or, more strongly in this context, “provided that.” Its exact translation can vary with context; here it introduces the required condition. Example: Ik kom als je hulp nodig hebt. — “I’ll come if you need help.” het aantal means “the number” or “the quantity.” aantal is a singular neuter noun, hence het. It refers to how many items there are, rather than to the items’ content. Example: Het aantal fouten daalt. — “The number of errors is decreasing.” prioriteiten is the plural of prioriteit (“priority”). In het aantal prioriteiten, it specifies what is being counted: the number of priorities. Example: We hebben drie prioriteiten. — “We have three priorities.” verminderen means “reduce” or “decrease.” In the fixed clause it follows the explicit subject we, so it is the present-tense plural form: we verminderen. This form happens to look identical to the infinitive verminderen; the subject identifies its use here. Example: We verminderen de kosten. — “We reduce the costs.” Together, Ik kan resultaten blijven leveren says “I can continue delivering results.” The clause als we het aantal prioriteiten verminderen gives the condition: “provided that we reduce the number of priorities.” The Dutch wording explicitly presents we as the actor who reduces the number, while the fixed English translation expresses the same condition in a passive form: “provided priorities are reduced.”

4. We moeten onderscheid maken tussen dringend werk en werk dat vooral voor de zichtbaarheid wordt gedaan.

   We need to distinguish urgent work from work done mainly for visibility.

   We moeten

   we need to

   onderscheid maken

   distinguish; make a distinction

   tussen

   between

   dringend

   urgent

   werk

   work

   vooral

   mainly

   zichtbaarheid

   visibility

   wordt gedaan

   is done

   More detail

   We moeten combines we (“we”) with moeten, the present-tense form of the modal verb moeten for a plural subject. Here it expresses the need to do something: “we need to.” A modal is followed by an infinitive, often near the end of the clause: We moeten wachten = “We need to wait.” With a singular subject, moeten becomes moet: Ik moet wachten = “I need to wait.” onderscheid maken is the reusable Dutch combination “to distinguish” or literally “to make a distinction.” Maken is the infinitive of “to make,” and onderscheid is a noun meaning “distinction.” A common pattern is onderscheid maken tussen A en B = “to distinguish between A and B.” Example: We moeten onderscheid maken tussen feiten en meningen. — “We need to distinguish between facts and opinions.” tussen introduces the things being compared or distinguished and normally corresponds to “between.” In this sentence, the two sides are connected by en: tussen dringend werk en werk ... — “between urgent work and work ...” dringend describes something that requires prompt attention; here it means “urgent.” It is an adjective. In dringend werk, it has no -e ending because werk is used here as a bare mass noun phrase. This is not a plural form of werk; Dutch werk is commonly uncountable when it means work in general. A useful contrast is niet-dringend (“non-urgent”), when that is the intended meaning. Example: Dit is dringend werk. — “This is urgent work.” werk is a mass noun meaning “work.” In the first noun phrase, dringend werk means “urgent work.” The same word appears again later in the utterance, where it heads the second side of the distinction. Dutch can use one noun this way for work in general or a body of work; a specific task can instead be taak. vooral is an adverb meaning “mainly” or “especially.” Here it limits the purpose or motivation of the work: it is done mainly for visibility, not necessarily exclusively for that reason. Example: Zij werkt vooral 's avonds. — “She works mainly in the evening.” zichtbaarheid is a noun meaning “visibility,” the quality of being noticeable or seen. It is related to the adjective zichtbaar, “visible,” but the observed form is the noun zichtbaarheid, not an adjective. Example: De zichtbaarheid van het project neemt toe. — “The visibility of the project is increasing.” wordt gedaan is a passive construction: wordt is the present-tense singular form of worden (“to become; to be” in passive constructions), and gedaan is the past participle of doen (“to do”). Together here they mean “is done.” The singular form wordt fits werk, which is singular in this mass-noun use. The passive presents the work as the thing carried out, without stating who carries it out. The relative clause is introduced by dat: werk dat ... wordt gedaan = “work that is done ...” Putting the parts together, We moeten onderscheid maken tussen dringend werk en werk dat vooral voor de zichtbaarheid wordt gedaan means: “We need to distinguish urgent work from work done mainly for visibility.” The pattern is reusable as We moeten onderscheid maken tussen A en B: “We need to distinguish between A and B.” Here A is dringend werk, while B is werk dat vooral voor de zichtbaarheid wordt gedaan.

5. Sommige zichtbare taken kosten energie zonder de resultaten te veranderen.

   Some visible tasks consume energy without changing results.

   Sommige

   some

   zichtbare

   visible

   taken

   tasks

   kosten

   consume

   energie

   energy

   zonder

   without

   resultaten

   results

   te veranderen

   to change

   More detail

   Sommige means “some” here: it refers to an unspecified plural selection, without stating an exact number. Compare sommige taken (“some tasks”) with alle taken (“all tasks”). zichtbare means “visible” and describes taken. The base adjective is zichtbaar; before this plural noun it has the -e form: zichtbare taken. Example: zichtbare fouten — “visible errors.” taken means “tasks.” Its singular base form is taak; taken is the plural form. Example: De taak is duidelijk. — “The task is clear.” kosten means “consume” in this sentence, with taken as its plural subject. The infinitive is kosten. This verb can also mean “to cost,” as in Dat kost tijd — “That costs time”; the surrounding meaning here selects “consume” energy. energie means “energy.” It is a mass noun here, so the sentence does not specify separate units or an exact amount. Example: Dit werk kost energie. — “This work consumes energy.” zonder means “without.” The pattern zonder te introduces an action that does not happen alongside the main action: zonder te veranderen — “without changing.” resultaten means “results.” Its singular base form is resultaat; resultaten is plural. Example: We bespreken de resultaten. — “We discuss the results.” te veranderen means “to change.” The infinitive is veranderen; te marks this infinitive in the construction after zonder. Here the understood actor of changing is the same as the actor of kosten: the tasks consume energy without changing the results. Together, Sommige zichtbare taken is the subject, kosten energie says what those tasks consume, and zonder de resultaten te veranderen adds the excluded accompanying action. The complete meaning is: “Some visible tasks consume energy without changing results.”

6. Dan moeten we ze bewust schrappen of delegeren.

   Then we should cut or delegate them deliberately.

   Dan

   then

   moeten we

   we should

   ze

   them

   bewust

   deliberately

   schrappen

   cut

   delegeren

   delegate

   More detail

   Dan means “then” here and links this decision to the preceding situation. It can mark a consequence or next step in a sequence. Example: Dan beginnen we. — “Then we begin.” moeten we expresses the recommendation “we should.” moeten is the modal verb meaning “must/need to”; with we, its present-tense form is moeten, followed by an infinitive. The English “should” gives the intended recommendation in this sentence, rather than an absolute command. Example: We moeten kiezen. — “We must/need to choose.” ze is the unstressed Dutch object pronoun meaning “them” in this utterance. The fixed translation identifies the object as plural, while the surrounding context supports the intended reference to tasks. The same written form can have other grammatical roles in other contexts, so its role here comes from its position after the modal construction and the intended meaning. bewust means “deliberately” or “consciously.” It describes the manner of the two following actions: the removal and the delegation are intentional. Example: Kies bewust. — “Choose deliberately.” schrappen is an infinitive meaning “to cut” in the sense of removing something from a list, plan, or set of tasks. After moeten, the infinitive remains in this form. Example: We moeten die taak schrappen. — “We have to cut that task.” delegeren is an infinitive meaning “to delegate,” that is, to assign a task or responsibility to someone else. It is coordinated with schrappen by of (“or”), so both infinitives depend on moeten: moeten ... schrappen of delegeren. Example: We kunnen het werk delegeren. — “We can delegate the work.” Together, Dan moeten we sets up the next recommended action, ze supplies the plural object, and bewust says that the choice is deliberate. The coordinated infinitives schrappen of delegeren present the two alternatives: remove the tasks or assign them to someone else. Thus the whole utterance means: “Then we should deliberately cut or delegate them.”

7. Ik zou ook baat hebben bij duidelijkere momenten om te stoppen.

   I would also benefit from clearer stopping points.

   Ik zou

   I would

   ook

   also

   baat hebben bij

   benefit from

   duidelijkere

   clearer

   momenten

   moments; points

   om te stoppen

   to stop

   More detail

   Ik zou means “I would.” zou is the form of zullen used here to express a conditional or tentative result, together with the infinitive hebben later in the sentence. The subject form ik means “I”; Dutch also uses zou with other subjects, while the subject pronoun changes: Ik zou gaan. = “I would go.” ook means “also” and adds this idea to something already under discussion. Its position after Ik zou is natural here; it does not itself express the conditional meaning. baat hebben bij is a reusable Dutch construction meaning “to benefit from” or “to gain from.” The observed form hebben is the infinitive after zou; its base form is also hebben. The noun baat occurs in this fixed expression rather than being translated literally on its own. Example: Zij heeft baat bij rust. = “She benefits from rest.” duidelijkere means “clearer.” It is the comparative form related to duidelijk (“clear”): duidelijk → duidelijker → duidelijkere in this noun phrase. The extra -e is the attributive ending used here before the plural noun momenten; it belongs to duidelijkere, not to the noun. The comparison presents these points as clearer than some relevant alternative or standard, without stating exactly what they are clearer than. Example: Dit is een duidelijkere uitleg. = “This is a clearer explanation.” momenten is the plural of moment, meaning “moments” or, in this context, “points” in a process. Here it refers to points at which stopping can occur, as reflected by the fixed translation. The singular is moment; the plural ending is -en. om te stoppen is an infinitive purpose or specification construction: om te + infinitive. stoppen means “to stop,” and te marks the infinitive in this construction. For example, Het is tijd om te stoppen. = “It is time to stop.” Together, Ik zou ook baat hebben bij expresses “I would also benefit from,” and duidelijkere momenten om te stoppen specifies what would provide that benefit: clearer points at which to stop. The whole utterance therefore means “I would also benefit from clearer stopping points.”

8. Ik kan voor elke actieve taak criteria voor voltooiing vastleggen.

   I can define completion criteria for each active task.

   Ik kan

   I can

   voor elke

   for each

   actieve

   active

   taak

   task

   criteria

   criteria

   voltooiing

   completion

   vastleggen

   define

   More detail

   Ik kan means “I can.” kan is the present-tense form of kunnen used with ik; it expresses ability or possibility here. With a modal verb such as kunnen, the other verb appears as an infinitive later in the clause: Ik kan ... vastleggen = “I can define/record ...”. voor elke means “for each.” elke introduces one item at a time from a set and is used here with the singular noun taak. Compare the reusable pattern voor elke + singular noun: voor elke stap = “for each step.” actieve means “active” here. Its base form is actief; the attributive form has -e before taak: actieve taak. This adjective describes the task as currently active, not completed or inactive. taak means “task.” It is a singular noun; its plural is taken. The phrase elke actieve taak therefore means “each active task.” criteria means “criteria.” This is the plural form of criterium; it refers to standards or conditions used for judging something. Example: We gebruiken duidelijke criteria. — “We use clear criteria.” voltooiing means “completion.” It is a noun naming the state or event of something being completed. In criteria voor voltooiing, voor connects the criteria with their purpose: they are criteria for completion. vastleggen means “to define,” “establish,” or “record,” with “define” being the intended meaning here. It is an infinitive and a separable Dutch verb; in a finite main-clause form, the parts can separate, as in Ik leg de criteria vast. — “I define/record the criteria.” After kan, the complete infinitive remains together at the end: kan ... vastleggen. Taken together, Ik kan + voor elke actieve taak + criteria voor voltooiing + vastleggen gives: “I can define completion criteria for each active task.” The sentence presents this as the speaker’s ability or available action, without asserting that the criteria have already been defined.