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estaWednesday 10th of August 2005 03:24:35 PM
translation - OK, this was acctualy started in another topic but no one has carried it on :( soo...

could one of you natives or someone with a fair bit of dutch write simplish scentances for us begginers to translate? :D bedankt, esther
DaanWednesday 10th of August 2005 04:44:42 PM
- Ik ga naar de winkel om fruit te kopen!

Mijn auto is groen. Ik rij ermee op de snelweg.

Ik heb een boek over de grammatica van het Nederlands.

Dit forum is een goed forum!

Ik ben een Chinees.

Nederlanders wonen vaak in steden.

Is that about the level you meant? :)
PsycheWednesday 10th of August 2005 06:40:14 PM
- lol, nice :D

This level is beyond me yet, but I would like to try anyway :p

I go to the store if I want to buy fruit..
My car is green. I ** ** ** ** **...yeah :p
I have a book over the Dutch grammar.
This forum is a good idea!
I am Chinese..:p
The Dutch lives ** in **

:) :)
MathieuWednesday 10th of August 2005 07:50:15 PM
- Should I correct it or should we let other students give it a try first? Hmm, it seems I can't write upside down here so I think it's best if we just save the corrections for later.. :) Maybe there should be a seperate topic for solutions.
Anyway, here's the lot that goes by the name of #2 (to avoid miscommunications later on):

Nederlanders eten veel kaas

Daans auto staat in de file, net als de andere auto's.

Winkels zijn in Nederland nooit ver weg

Lezen is saai, behalve als het over taal gaat.

Deze zinnen zijn moeilijker dan de vorigen.
HayleyThursday 11th of August 2005 12:34:35 PM
ok i'll try... - I am a real beginner but I'll have a go anyway :)
1. The Dutch eat a lot of cheese
2. Daan's car is in good condition (?), just like the others.
3. Shops in Holland are never far away
4. Reading is boring, unless it's about languages (*?)
5. This sentence is harder than the others

Please correct my sentences thanks :)
DaanThursday 11th of August 2005 06:18:08 PM
- I'll PM you with the corrections for your sentences, so that other students can still use these examples.
iandominicp77Thursday 11th of August 2005 06:23:53 PM
- Let me try some.....

Ik ga naar de winkel om fruit te kopen!
(I go to the shop to buy fruit!)

Mijn auto is groen. Ik rij ermee op de snelweg.
(My car is green. I drive on the highway or expressway)

Ik heb een boek over de grammatica van het Nederlands.
( I have a book about Dutch grammar)

Dit forum is een goed forum!
(This forum is a good forum!)

Ik ben een Chinees.
( I am chinese)

Nederlanders wonen vaak in steden.
( Dutch oftentimes live in ....(geen idee).)


Nederlanders eten veel kaas.
( Dutch eat a lot of cheese...- This is true indeed!!!)

Daans auto staat in de file, net als de andere auto's.
( The same)

Winkels zijn in Nederland nooit ver weg
(Shops are not far away in Nederland.)

Lezen is saai, behalve als het over taal gaat.
( The same)

Deze zinnen zijn moeilijker dan de vorigen.
(These sentences are more difficult than the previous)


nostromoThursday 11th of August 2005 06:40:43 PM
- The first sentence seemed to give odd trouble, perhaps folk are not aware of the 'om...te..' construction meaning: 'in order to...'
You native Dutch are cruel masters with some of those 'beginners' sentences...
DaanThursday 11th of August 2005 10:21:39 PM
- welcome to the dark side....;)
tomnjSaturday 13th of August 2005 10:30:20 PM
- This is the only one not fully translated.

Nederlanders wonen vaak in steden.

Dutch people often live in cities.

You guys probably had trouble with this one because staad, wich means city in Dutch has irregular pluralization with internal vowel change.

staad = steden

another example:

schip = schepen

These come up here and there, and just have to be learned as they come.
MathieuSaturday 13th of August 2005 10:42:50 PM
- It's stad instead of staad.
Had to dedicate a whole post to this to prevent people from learning it incorrectly, otherwise I have nothing to add; fine explanation :)
DeanaraMonday 15th of August 2005 09:31:17 PM
More Sentences for Translation: -
1 - In de zomer gaan de meeste Nederlanders op vakantie.

2 - Sommige gaan naar zonnige landen.

3 - Sommige mensen gaan kamperen.

4 - En sommige Nederlanders blijven lekker thuis.
MichaelMonday 15th of August 2005 11:29:33 PM
- Very good Deanara, no spelling mistakes at all. :)
MathieuTuesday 16th of August 2005 12:04:28 AM
- Well, I would say:

2 - Sommige[b]n[/b] gaan naar zonnige landen.

Using 'sommige' in such a context results in over many pages of results on Google though, so I wouldn't mark it as a true 'mistake' either, although 'sommigen' is better :)
estaTuesday 16th of August 2005 01:33:21 AM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by Deanara[/i]



1 - In de zomer gaan de meeste Nederlanders op vakantie.

2 - Sommige gaan naar zonnige landen.

3 - Sommige mensen gaan kamperen.

4 - En sommige Nederlanders blijven lekker thuis. [/quote]

1 in the summer most Dutch go on holiday

2 some go to other countries

3 some people go camping

4 and some Dutch stay at home

I hope this isn't VERY BAD! :)
estaTuesday 16th of August 2005 02:47:04 AM
- can winkel be used as a verb to?
DaanTuesday 16th of August 2005 03:15:35 AM
- Yes, it can, although it would usually only be used as a full verb and not inflected. Its usual context would be something like "Ik ben aan het winkelen" or "Ik ga winkelen". "Ik winkel" is rarely ever found.

Your translations were correct but for one thing: zonnig = sunny, so it would not be "other countries" but "sunny countries" :)
MathieuTuesday 16th of August 2005 07:43:23 AM
- Winkelen can be inflected just as other verbs, it is actually a pretty accurate equivalent of 'to shop' - you don't say 'I shop' to point out you're in the process of shopping either, but you could say, 'I have been shopping', which would be 'Ik heb gewinkeld'

I notice that 'lekker' hasn't been translated in this one;

4 - En sommige Nederlanders blijven lekker thuis

'Lekker' is hard to translate (if you thought of it yourself in that context Deanara, very well done), it's used to point out that it's nice. You use it for food when it tastes good, or in this example to stress that it's a nice and comfortable idea of staying at home :)
TulipankaWednesday 17th of August 2005 05:29:19 AM
- Anyone of you did some thinking about the word "gezellig"?
Hehehe,this is though,isn't it?We use that a lot here in Holland.:-D
estaThursday 18th of August 2005 12:46:01 AM
English - Dutch - hey, same idea but the other way round how about some english sentances to be translated into Dutch to. (but not too soon. I cant get back on till Sept! );)
DeanaraThursday 18th of August 2005 09:41:08 PM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by esta[/i]
1 in the summer most Dutch go on holiday

2 some go to other countries

3 some people go camping

4 and some Dutch stay at home

I hope this isn't VERY BAD! :)[/quote]

Sorry Esta, I was away for a few days. Yes your translations are correct, except for the "sunny" portion someone else pointed out.

Well done!
DeanaraThursday 18th of August 2005 09:46:45 PM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by Teup[/i]I notice that 'lekker' hasn't been translated in this one;

4 - En sommige Nederlanders blijven lekker thuis

'Lekker' is hard to translate (if you thought of it yourself in that context Deanara, very well done), it's used to point out that it's nice. You use it for food when it tastes good, or in this example to stress that it's a nice and comfortable idea of staying at home :)[/quote]


Yes, I thought of it myself.

I suppose I should point out that I followed a course for "Dutch as a second language" when I lived in Holland. I'm not a beginner.

I came to Phrasebase to maintain my Dutch, if not improve it, but there aren't a lot of resources for advanced speakers.


tomnjTuesday 23rd of August 2005 10:48:31 AM
- One thing I seem to be having trouble with is thranslating sentences with "om...te" going on.

Here's two examples:


Misschien ook goed om met mij te oefenen op schrijven en lezen.

I think this read something like:Maybe it would also be good for me to practice writing and reading. It's my understanding that om...te is supposed to mean "in order to" but I don't see how it fits here.


Hier in Finland praat ik constant engels, dus voor mezelf ook goed om mijn nederlands een beetje bij te houden.

I know the first part reads "Here in Finland I speak English constantly, but the second part has me totally lost. I'm reading it the same way an online translator would, only able to translate individual words here.

I'm finding that om...te comes up pretty often so it's definitly worth looking at.
MathieuTuesday 23rd of August 2005 05:04:05 PM
- [quote]Hier in Finland praat ik constant engels, dus voor mezelf (is het) ook goed om mijn nederlands een beetje bij te houden. [/quote]

"Here in Finland I constantly talk English, so for myself it would also be good to keep up my Dutch"

Yeah, 'om...te' might be a bit hard. I'd say, use it at least in all the 'in order to' contexts, then you at least got that bit covered. Furthermore, it also just means 'to', as in,
It's hard [to do (that)]
Het is moeilijk [om (dat) te doen]

It would be a good idea [to change (that)]
Het zou een goed idee zijn [om (dat) te veranderen]

It seems that it sort of turns a verb, like 'veranderen', in an adverbial phrase.. it doesn't however replace 'to' in all cases

I want [to go to the city]
Ik wil [naar de stad gaan]

In this case, the constituent in the brackets is the [b]direct object[/b] of the sentence:
I want [to go to the city]
I want [that]

As opposed to the ones we gave an 'om...te':

It's hard [to do that]
It's hard [that] ----> X

To back up this theory, look at this:

I love [to walk in the forest]
Ik hou van [lopen in het bos]
---> constituent in brackets is direct object, no 'om...te'

I love it, [to walk in the forest]
Ik hou er van, [om in het bos te lopen]
(probably not a grammatical English sentence but the Dutch one is)
----> not the direct object, so here we do get 'om...te', all other features of the sentence remain unchanged so that must be it.


Concluding, I suggest you use 'om...te':
1. In the 'in order to' context, or like 'meant for':

I'm going to the city [to buy clothes]
Ik ga naar de stad [om kleding te kopen]

That isn't [meant for eating]
Dat is niet [om te eten]

2. For the 'to's in English; except for the ones where the phrase that starts with this 'to' is in fact the direct object of the sentence.

I am just trying to make sense out of this on the spot; I might be wrong but you could try to follow this advice and see where it leads you :) Any further questions or hesitations, just ask :)

estaSaturday 03rd of September 2005 01:20:42 AM
- hey, where are these translations people. i expected loads for when i got back!
estaMonday 05th of September 2005 10:57:10 PM
- people. im disappointed in you. what is happening to this thread. keep it up. laat het niet sterven- or is it- laat het sterven niet- or- laat niet het sterven... or is all that totally wrong?
you see, we definitely need more on here.
MathieuMonday 05th of September 2005 11:50:09 PM
- "Laat het niet sterven" would be grammatically OK :) What do you need exactly? Why don't you just go ahead? I'll correct and explain of course :)
MathieuTuesday 06th of September 2005 03:17:35 AM
- Very well then esta, but these are the last I'm posting, from then on it's just correcting & explaining, I'm not some free course you see :p

1. Amsterdam is de hoofdstad van Nederland, maar de regering zit in Den Haag.

2. Veel mensen in Amsterdam eten op zaterdag brood als avondeten.

3. Van Utrecht naar Amersfoort is ongeveer net zo lang als van Utrecht naar Hilversum.

4. De steden in Noord-Holland en Zuid-Holland bij elkaar wordt ook wel de Randstad genoemd.

5. In het oosten van het land wonen relatief weinig mensen.

6. In België spreken meer mensen Nederlands als moedertaal dan Frans.

There, I didn't feel like posting easy sentences, let's see where this gets us :D
estaWednesday 07th of September 2005 01:42:09 AM
- hmm, i havnt found a free course with long hair yet. and as im not going to pay i'll have to give up on you

*Amsterdam is the capital city of holland, but the government sits in The Hague

*many people in amsterdam eat bread as an evening meal on saterday

*the cities in north holland and south holland ... each other....is named (nasty person)

*in the east of the land, relatively few people live

*in belgium speak more people dutch as motherlanguage than french.

hmmm, not too bad but i needed my dictionary sometimes there, i think you are in a nasty mood today so i wont make you do any more (only cause i know you wont) :p thanks for being nice enough to do it then though.

estaWednesday 07th of September 2005 01:58:52 AM
- o i missed one

from utrecht to amersfoot is (not?) so long as from utrecht to hilversum.

that is a lot of guessing
MathieuWednesday 07th of September 2005 06:29:09 AM
- That's good, best translation for 3 would be:

From Utrecht to Amersfoort is just as long as from Utrecht to Hilversum
('net', it means 'just' in this context)

I'm not yet giving 4 away completely, but you're on the right track ;) Maybe someone else likes to try.
isnTuesday 13th of September 2005 10:14:41 PM
Trying 4 - The cities of North Holland and South Holland, taken together, are also called the Randstad.

Anywhere near?
MathieuWednesday 14th of September 2005 05:08:04 AM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by isn[/i]


The cities of North Holland and South Holland, taken together, are also called the Randstad.

Anywhere near?[/quote]

Great :D

Footnote, I'm not sure about 'wordt' or 'worden' here - most Dutchmen do the inflection wrong in complicated or unusual constructions like these, so it doesn't matter.
isnWednesday 14th of September 2005 05:29:22 PM
Wordt/Worden - Is the question whether (a) "taken together" makes them all one and singular or (b) they remain plural because there are lots of them? That would affect the subject and so whether it is "(it)het wordt" or "(they)zie worden".
More basically, and showing my true level of competence, what does "worden" mean and why is it used here?
MathieuThursday 15th of September 2005 01:16:18 AM
- I think, in this case 'worden' means 'are being' (which doesn't exist in Dutch otherwise, to my knowledge).

Yeah, I don't know whether it is singular or plural. I think singular, like this one:
Een aantal mensen is aanwezig
A number of people "is" present

Whereas English would have plural (which makes little sense if you ask me). However, nobody would correct you - or even notice - if you'd use plural in Dutch. There are many other constructions conceivable in which people structurally get it wrong. If you're writing maybe you want to be little more cautious with this, but in spoken language it doesn't matter if you get it wrong. The example sentence I have is even more opaque, so I'd say don't worry about it :)
isnThursday 15th of September 2005 04:38:09 AM
A number of people is/are present - So "worden" isn't being used for "become" in that sentence. It seems like a very flexible verb.

I agree people would usually use "are" there in English.

Btw I just checked this out in a cheap modern reprint of the first edition of H.W Fowler's "A Dictionary of Modern English Usage" (1926 - so not really modern ;)) published by Wordsworth Reference in 1994.

He sees "number" as a "noun of multitude" (entry number 6 under "Number") and says you can use either plural or singular verb form. I think most people see the plural as mre " natural" in examples like yours but either is OK.

Old Fowler, a master pedant with a quirky old fashioned style, gives this example of when the use of one or other might make a difference to meaning:

"'More money will be wanted if the number of teachers are to be adequate.' No-one will misinterpret that; yet everyone will admit that the singular would have been what the plural is not, foolproof; the writer meant if there are to be enough teachers; he did not mean what his words ought to mean - if the numerous teachers are to be skillful enough."

Notice the use of the dying art of the semi-colon - I could never figure out that one myself.

So this is just an example of English and Dutch going different ways on the actual popularity of the use of is/are.

MathieuThursday 15th of September 2005 02:08:43 PM
- I also looked it up, it seems in English plural is right, in Dutch singular is. So yeah, just a difference between the languages. More generally, Dutch tends to be very principial when it comes to these singular nouns, so also words like 'police' get singular. 'The police is..' instead of the 'The police are..'. If you would you plural there (as opposed to the more complex cases that we talked about), then people will find it sounding awkward.

About worden, yes, it's sort of a flexible verb apparently. I never consciously thought about it though, and still I'm having no problems in English - so I guess it'll come automatically after some time. I think it could translate as "become / is becoming", "gets / is getting" (as in: getting crazy), and "is being", something like that.


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