Learn how to use the imperative to ask directions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to DutchPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 5 -Finding Your Way to a Delicious Feast in the Netherlands. Michael Here. |
| Jacob: Hallo. I'm Jacob. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the imperative in Dutch, and also how to make polite questions using a new verb. |
| Jacob: Which is "kunnen". |
| Michael: This conversation takes place at a hotel reception desk. |
| Jacob: This conversation is between Peter and the hotel receptionist. |
| Michael: The speakers will be using formal Dutch. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Peter: Neemt u mij niet kwalijk. Kunt u ons alstublieft zeggen hoe we bij restaurant Het Pannenkoekenhuis komen? |
| Receptionist: Ja, natuurlijk. Dat is heel makkelijk. Wilt u de bus nemen of anders lopen? |
| Peter: Liever met de bus. |
| Receptionist: Neem bus nummer 24 en vraag aan de chauffeur om u te waarschuwen bij de Grote Markt. |
| Peter: Kunt u dat even opschrijven? |
| Receptionist: Ja, natuurlijk. Op de Grote Markt ziet u naast de kerk een grote winkelstraat. Die loopt u in. Na 200 meter ziet u het restaurant aan uw linkerkant. |
| Peter: Hartelijk dank. |
| Receptionist: Graag gedaan en een prettige maaltijd. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Peter: Neemt u mij niet kwalijk. Kunt u ons alstublieft zeggen hoe we bij restaurant Het Pannenkoekenhuis komen? |
| Receptionist: Ja natuurlijk. Dat is heel makkelijk. Wilt u de bus nemen of anders lopen? |
| Peter: Met de bus liever. |
| Receptionist: Neem bus nummer 24 en vraag aan de chauffeur om u te waarschuwen bij de Grote Markt. |
| Peter: Kunt u dat even opschrijven? |
| Receptionist: Ja, natuurlijk. Op de Grote Markt ziet u naast de kerk een grote winkelstraat. Die loopt u in. Na 200 meter ziet u het restaurant aan uw linkerkant. |
| Peter: Hartelijk dank. |
| Receptionist: Graag gedaan en een prettige maaltijd. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Peter: Excuse me, could you tell us how to get to the restaurant The Pancake House? |
| Receptionist: Yes, of course. It's easy. Do you want to take a bus or walk all the way? |
| Peter: No, we’d rather take the bus. |
| Receptionist: Take the number 24 bus and ask the driver to drop you at Grote Markt. |
| Peter: Could you please write that down? |
| Receptionist: Yes, of course. Now when you get off at Grote Markt you'll see a wide shopping street next to the church. Walk down that street and after some 200 meters you'll find the restaurant on your left. |
| Peter: Thank you very much. |
| Receptionist: You're welcome, and enjoy your meal. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Michael: Jacob, how friendly are Dutch people towards foreigners? |
| Jacob: In general, you could say that the Dutch are quite open towards foreigners. There are a lot of immigrants from Turkey and Morocco living in Holland and generally speaking they do well and are fully integrated in Dutch society. |
| Michael: Ah yes, that might be one of the reasons why Dutch people are tolerant of foreigners. As a tourist you’ll always be treated well. |
| Jacob: That’s right. You could say that the Dutch feel most closely related to other Northern Europeans, but you’ll still feel comfortable no matter where you’re from. |
| Michael: Good to know. Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Jacob: Neemt u mij niet kwalijk. [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Please excuse me. |
| Jacob: Neemt u mij niet kwalijk.[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: Neemt u mij niet kwalijk. [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: pannenkoek [natural native speed] |
| Michael: pancake |
| Jacob: pannenkoek[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: pannenkoek [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: makkelijk [natural native speed] |
| Michael: easy |
| Jacob: makkelijk[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: makkelijk [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: nemen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to take |
| Jacob: nemen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: nemen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: lopen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to walk |
| Jacob: lopen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: lopen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: waarschuwen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to warn |
| Jacob: waarschuwen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: waarschuwen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: winkelstraat [natural native speed] |
| Michael: shopping street |
| Jacob: winkelstraat[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: winkelstraat [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: linkerkant [natural native speed] |
| Michael: left side |
| Jacob: linkerkant[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: linkerkant [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: graag gedaan [natural native speed] |
| Michael: my pleasure, you're welcome |
| Jacob: graag gedaan[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: graag gedaan [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Michael: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is.. |
| Jacob: Kunt u ons zeggen... |
| Michael: which means "Could you tell us...". Jacob, can you break down this expression? |
| Jacob: Sure. The verb "kunnen" means “could” and it’s used to make a request in a polite way. Kunt u ons zeggen is formal and polite. |
| Michael: I see. So it’s “Could you tell us…” but could also be translated as “Would you be kind enough to tell us...” to ask a favor in a more formal way. |
| Michael: Okay, what's the next expression? |
| Jacob: Met de bus liever. |
| Michael: Meaning "We prefer the bus." |
| Jacob: Here we have "liever", which means “rather”. It can also be translated as “prefer”. |
| Michael: Can you give us an example? |
| Jacob: Sure, if you get a question like "Wil je spinazie?". |
| Michael: Which means.. “Would you like spinach?” |
| Jacob: You can reply by saying.."Nee ik heb liever prei", |
| Michael: meaning “No, I'd rather have leek,” or “I'd prefer leek.” |
| Jacob: In this reply, I used the word "liever" after saying "ik heb" meaning “I have.” |
| Michael: Okay. Can you give us another example using the same pattern? |
| Jacob: Sure. For example, you can say.. Ik heb liever aardbeien. |
| Michael: .. which means "I'd rather have strawberries." Moving on, what's the next word? |
| Jacob: Naast. |
| Michael: meaning "Next to." It’s the preposition of place meaning “next” in “next to.” Unlike in English, you don't need the “to,” so for example, this phrase literally means “Next the church.” |
| Jacob: That's right. Just the use of "naast" and then a noun or personal noun is enough. The word "naast" is also used in the word "naasten" which describes the people close to you, as in" Naast vrienden" or “dearest friends.” |
| Michael: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson you’ll learn how to use the imperative in Dutch and about making polite questions using the new verb... |
| Jacob: kunnen. |
| Michael: Before we learn more about this verb, can you tell us how to form imperatives in Dutch? |
| Jacob: Sure. To use the imperative in Dutch, you only need to use the stem of the verb. For example, the verb "zitten" means “to sit” in English, and to make the imperative you only need to use the verb-stem, which is "zitten". |
| Michael: Okay. Like in English, the most common case of using the imperative is when you order someone to do something. |
| Jacob: That’s right. For example, a teacher can order his or her students to take a seat by saying "Ga zitten!", |
| Michael: meaning “Sit down!” |
| Jacob: You can see that the verb "zitten" was used in the imperative form. |
| Michael: But how about making a polite request? Do we still need to use the imperative form? |
| Jacob: Yes. The next step to making it more polite is adding a subject such as "Ga jij", making the meaning something like “Will you sit down” or “sit down, will you?”. |
| Michael: In Dutch, that is.. |
| Jacob: “Ga jij even zitten!” |
| Michael: “Will you sit down?” |
| Jacob: You can also use the imperative form when you're making an offer to someone in casual situations. For example, "Eet smakelijk". |
| Michael: “Enjoy your meal.” |
| Jacob: Or "Slaap lekker". |
| Michael: “Sleep well.” There are several cases when you can use the imperative forms to make a polite request, but you need some additional words. For example, |
| Jacob: alstublieft |
| Michael: meaning “please.” So listeners, make sure to check the lesson notes to get more details. Okay, now let’s move onto the second subject. |
| Jacob: Yes. The verb "kunnen". It means “could,” “can,” or “to be able to.” |
| Michael: When asking a polite question you use the verb, |
| Jacob: kunnen, |
| Michael: which means “could” then a main verb in the infinitive form. Can you give us an example? How about “Can you help me?”. |
| Jacob: It’s "Kunt u mij helpen?". The verb "kunnen" is irregular, so it's conjugated as "kunt" in second singular form. |
| Michael: So the order is almost the same as in English. |
| Jacob: Right. First is "kunt" meaning “could” in singular form, then the pronoun "u" meaning “you.” Then you can add extra words including a main verb such as "mij helpen" meaning “to help me.” |
| Michael: Okay. How does this verb conjugate depending on the pronouns? |
| Jacob: With the pronoun for the first singular person, it conjugates as "kan" as in "kan ik", |
| Michael: which means “Could I”. What about “Could you”? |
| Jacob: In singular and informal, it becomes "kan jij", or "kun jij". In formal situations, it becomes "kunt U". And in plural and informal cases, it becomes "Kunnen jullie". |
| Michael: Okay. What about with third person singular? |
| Jacob: “Could he” is "Kan hij", “Could she” is "Kan zij", and “Could it” is "Kan het". |
| Michael: What about “Could we”? |
| Jacob: That’s "Kunnen wij". And “Could they” in Dutch is ""Kunnen zij". |
| Michael: listeners, the lesson notes will clearly show you the conjugations, so please check them out. |
Outro |
| Michael: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Jacob: Tot ziens. |
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