Dutch Back To Those Little Words...

Phrasebase Archive

tomnj

Monday 21st of November 2005 02:24:38 AM

Back to those little words... - I got a pretty good worksheet from my Dutch teacher concerning those little connecting/softening words. It gives some good examples of how to use the following words.

-EENS- once, some/one day, ever, sometime, for once/a change
(or polite request)
Eens, heel lang geleden- Once upon a time

Eens zullen we oud zijn.- Some/one day we will be old.

Eet je wel eens haring?- Do you ever eat herring?

Bel me eens op.- Call me sometime

Ik wou graag eens naar Italie.- I'd like to go to
Italy for once.
(or a change)
(as polite request)
Kijk eens!- (Hey) look!

Kom eens kijken!- Please come and look!

Wacht eens even.- Hey, wait a minute.

Vertel eens?- Please tell./Tell me.

Hou eens op!- Oh please, stop it.

-EVEN- just (for) a moment/while
(or for casualness)

Ik zal haar even bellen.- I'll just call her.

Ik ga even winkelen.- I'll just go shopping for a
while.

Jaap is even weg.- Jaap is away for a moment.

Nou, even dan.- Well OK, just for a second.

He' lekker! Even zitten.- Mmm, nice! I'll just sit
a minute.
(adding casualness)
Wilt u dit even lezen?- Could you read this please?

Ga je even mee?- Wanna come along?

Kom eens even hier? Could you come over here please?

Wil jij mijn koffie even betalen?- Would you mind
paying for my
coffie?

-MAAR- but, only, just, however
(or to give encouragement or permission)

Hij wil dit maar zij wil dat.- He wants this but she
wants that.

Als het maar niet regent.- If only it doesn't rain.

Zij was maar 1.50 m.- She was only 5 ft.

Zeg maar nee.- Just say no.
(for encouragement/permission)
Ga maar kijken!- Just go and look!

Zeg maar Anneke.- You can call me Anneke.

Ik ga maar even koffie zetten.- I'll just go make
some coffie.

Geef maar hier.- Just give it to me.

Toe maar.- Go ahead(don't be afraid).

Je doet maar!- Go ahead(see if I care)!

-TOCH- after all, still, anyhow/way, nevertheless
(or for urgency or to remind)

Ik doe het (lekker) toch!- I'm gonna do it anyway.

Je had toch gelijk.- You were right after all.

Je kunt het hem wel vragen,- You can ask him,
maar hij doet het toch niet. nevertheless he won't
it.

Wat leuk dat je toch nog- How nice you could still
kon komen. come.
(for urgency, reminding, or emphasis on ANOTHER word)
Jij komt toch ook?- You're coming TOO, right?

Je komt toch wel?- You Are coming aren't you?

Hoe is het toch met je?- So how ARE you?

Hou toch op!- Oh stop it already!

Ik heb toch zo'n hunger- I'm so hungry.

Als ik de loterij win, dan- If I win the lottery, boy
geef ik me toch een feest. am I gonna throw a party.

't is toch niet waar?- That's not true is it?/
You're kidding right?

-WEL- opposite of a negation(niet of geen).
(or for reassurance or to show willingness)

Ik hou niet van thee,- I don't like tea,
maar zij wel. but she does.

Hij heeft geen broers,- He has no brothers,
wel zussen. but he does have sisters.

Ik vind wel dat je moet- I do think you should go.
gaan.

Ik wil wel kaarsjes op- I do want candles on my cake.
mijn taart.
(for reassurance)
Hij zal zo wel komen.- I'm sure he'll be right there.

Hij is wel 2 meter lang.- He is at least 2 meters
tall.

Ik wil wel 10 kaarsjes- I want at least 10 candles
op mijn taart. on my cake.

Ik hoop het wel.- I do hope so

Ik hoop van wel.- I do hope so.

Weet je wel?- You know?

Toe maar, je kan het wel.- Go ahead, you can do it.

Dat kun je nou wel zeggen,- That's easy for you to
maar. say, but...

As you can see these words have a lot of meaning and can be very tricky. I might have made a mistake or two, but you get the idea.

Mathieu

Monday 21st of November 2005 03:13:49 AM

- Thanks for sharing that, I'm sure it'll be most useful. It's indeed examples that may be the best way of getting the hang of it, since it's rather silly to explain without :p And the more typical examples you see, the more you'll be able to grasp the words and use them yourself in your own contexts :) I'd like to add that if anyone wants to discuss em, please go [b][url=http://www.phrasebase.com/forum/read.php?TID=2873]here[/url][/b]. And let's keep this topic for examples only, in case someone would like to add more :)

A little correction;

"Hij is wel 2 meter lang"
The correct translation for this is:
"He is no less than two meters tall"
(so you don't mean to stress 'this or longer', he in fact [i]is[/i] 2 meters tall and you're stressing that that is much)

"He is at least 2 meters tall."
Corresponding Dutch translations for this one could be:
"Hij is [b]ruim/minstens/dik/zeker/op z'n minst[/b] 2 meter lang."