Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Gabriella:Hi everyone, Gabriella here! Welcome to DutchPod101.com. This is Lower Beginner Season 1, Lesson 23 – Explaining Situations in Dutch. We’re going to talk about explaining situations.
Jacob:Hallo! I'm Jacob. Welcome to the lesson. We’re going to listen to Carla and Leonard having a conversation while walking in the park.
Gabriella:They’ve just met two men and Carla notices they are wearing wedding rings, so she asks Leonard about it.
Jacob:Yes, and she grew up in a different place and it’s something she’s not used to. Anyway they’re friends and so they communicate using informal Dutch.
Gabriella:Let’s listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Carla: Ik denk dat Rik en Leon getrouwd zijn want zij dragen beiden een trouwring!
Leonard: Ja, dat klopt. Zij zijn getrouwd omdat zij van elkaar houden.
Carla: Kunnen twee mannen in Nederland met elkaar trouwen?
Leonard: Ja, dat is mogelijk sinds 2001.
Carla: Ik ben dat niet gewend omdat ik in Italië ben opgegroeid.
Leonard: In 2001 was zo’n huwelijk alleen mogelijk in Nederland, terwijl het nu ook mogelijk is in andere landen.
Gabriella: Let's hear the conversation one time slowly.
Carla: Ik denk dat Rik en Leon getrouwd zijn want zij dragen beiden een trouwring!
Leonard: Ja, dat klopt. Zij zijn getrouwd omdat zij van elkaar houden.
Carla: Kunnen twee mannen in Nederland met elkaar trouwen?
Leonard: Ja, dat is mogelijk sinds 2001.
Carla: Ik ben dat niet gewend omdat ik in Italië ben opgegroeid.
Leonard: In 2001 was zo’n huwelijk alleen mogelijk in Nederland, terwijl het nu ook mogelijk is in andere landen.
Gabriella: Now let's hear it with the English translation.
Carla: Ik denk dat Rik en Leon getrouwd zijn want zij dragen beiden een trouwring!
Gabriella: I think Rik and Leon are married; they are both wearing a wedding ring!
Leonard: Ja, dat klopt. Zij zijn getrouwd omdat zij van elkaar houden.
Gabriella: Yes, you’re right. They are married because they love each other.
Carla: Kunnen twee mannen in Nederland met elkaar trouwen?
Gabriella: Can two men get married in the Netherlands?
Leonard: Ja, dat is mogelijk sinds 2001.
Gabriella: Yes, it's been possible since 2001.
Carla: Ik ben dat niet gewend omdat ik in Italië ben opgegroeid.
Gabriella: I am not used to it because I grew up in Italy.
Leonard: In 2001 was zo’n huwelijk alleen mogelijk in Nederland, terwijl het nu ook mogelijk is in andere landen.
Gabriella: In 2001, such marriages were only possible in the Netherlands, but it's possible in other countries now as well.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Gabriella:So Leonard is explaining to Carla that in Holland two men or two women can easily get married.
Jacob:Yes, since 2001 it’s been possible in Holland, and it’s also possible in many other countries. But then again in some countries it’s unheard of and there are many who are still opposed to it.
Gabriella:Did they have to change the law for that?
Jacob:A little bit I think, but the constitution in Holland doesn’t say that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. So I think it was more about people’s thinking than about anything else.
Gabriella:Anyway, now a lot more countries approve of it. But Holland, being the liberal country it is, was one of the first countries to adopt it.
Jacob:Exactly. We’re supposed to be a very liberal country, but in times of bad economy, things sometimes change and there’s more discrimination, for example.
Gabriella:Really? That’s sad to hear. But it’s true of a lot of places. Okay, now let’s take a look at the vocabulary and phrases.
VOCAB LIST
Jacob: mogelijk [natural native speed]
Gabriella: possible
Jacob: mogelijk [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jacob: mogelijk [natural native speed]
Jacob: elkaar [natural native speed]
Gabriella: each other
Jacob: elkaar [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jacob: elkaar [natural native speed]
Jacob: sinds [natural native speed]
Gabriella: since
Jacob: sinds [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jacob: sinds [natural native speed]
Jacob: omdat [natural native speed]
Gabriella: because
Jacob: omdat [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jacob: omdat [natural native speed]
Jacob: gewend [natural native speed]
Gabriella: accustomed (to)
Jacob: gewend [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jacob: gewend [natural native speed]
Jacob: trouwring [natural native speed]
Gabriella: wedding ring
Jacob: trouwring [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jacob: trouwring [natural native speed]
Jacob: Italië [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Italy
Jacob: Italië [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jacob: Italië [natural native speed]
Jacob: opgroeien [natural native speed]
Gabriella: to grow up
Jacob: opgroeien [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jacob: opgroeien [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Gabriella:Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. So in Dutch you say een ring dragen, meaning “to wear a ring”?
Jacob:Yes. Do you remember in one of our earlier lessons we talked about clothes, and the verbs for putting them on and wearing them? Well, we can say Een trouwring omdoen, the word-for-word translation of which is “to do a wedding ring around”. Of course, that means to put it on your finger. But once you have it on you “wear” it. Een trouwring dragen in Dutch.
Gabriella:Yes, I remember now. The same as with a belt. A belt goes around your waist so you say een riem omdoen.
Jacob:Very good, you did your homework. But now let’s look at the word elkaar.
Gabriella:Yes! This is translated as “each other”, but in Dutch there’s just one word; elkaar.
Jacob:Right. “Each other” or “one another” are both correct translations of this, and the meaning is the same as in Dutch, but sometimes the preposition van is added, depending on the verb. For example, van elkaar houden is “to like each other”. But elkaar groeten is “to greet each other”. Here the preposition van is not needed.
Gabriella:And do you ever need any other prepositions with the word elkaar?
Jacob:Yes, sometimes, but then the meaning changes slightly. For example, twee touwtjes aan elkaar knopen, which means “to tie two strings together”, is used with a different preposition and so the meaning changes.
Gabriella:Let’s have a look at one more word here. I heard gewend, which is defined as an adjective, yet it could also be a verb, right?
Jacob:The verb wennen can only be translated as “to get used to” in English. So Ik wen aan het Italiaanse eten is “I'm getting used to Italian food.” But Carla uses the past participle when she says Daar ben ik niet aan gewend, and that means “I’m not used to it.” Here, the past participle becomes an adjective.
Gabriella:That explains things.
Jacob:Okay, now onto the grammar.

Lesson focus

Gabriella:In this lesson, we’re going to learn about the use of conjunctions. Conjunctions are words that connect two other words or phrases or sentences. Am I right, Jacob?
Jacob:Yes, you are. They’re important words, but sometimes it’s difficult to choose the correct conjunction.
Gabriella:Why don’t we start with a simple example?
Jacob:Good idea. Let’s look at the following example, with only the conjunctions en and maar. In English they are the conjunctions “and” and “but”. They’re both coordinating conjunctions.
Gabriella:Ah I see. But first, Jacob, let’s explain to our listeners what a conjunction is.
Jacob:It basically means that they connect two phrases or sentences that are of equal importance that can be used independently and still be grammatically correct.
Let’s look at the sentence Ik eet en ik drink. In English, this is “I eat and I drink”. Both clauses have a clear meaning and they can both be used without the other.
Gabriella:Yes. You can say Ik eet or ik drink, meaning “I am eating” or “I am drinking”. They’re both grammatically correct and they both give similar information.
Jacob:Exactly! And the same applies to the conjunction “but”. For example, “I eat but I don’t drink.” In Dutch that is Ik eet maar ik drink niet. The meaning is different, but the conjunction has the same role.
Gabriella:It does, yes. Both phrases are okay. And what are the other Dutch conjunctions, Jacob?
Jacob:The Dutch conjunction zodat can be translated as “so”, “so as”, or “so that”.
Gabriella:It can be used, for example, as in the English phrase “so that you don’t disturb people” or “so as not to disturb people”. Am I right?
Jacob:You’re completely right. And this conjunction is a subordinating conjunction. They join two different clauses; a main clause and a dependent clause, in this case.
The sentence Kom zachtjes binnen zodat je de baby niet wakker maakt, means “Come in quietly so you don’t wake the baby,” where “Come in quietly” can be used on its own. But…
Gabriella:…the second clause zodat je de baby niet wakker maakt, meaning “so you don’t wake the baby” would not be grammatically correct on its own.
Jacob:Yes, you’ve got it!
Gabriella:Okay, let’s give the listeners a couple more subordinating conjunctions to practice before we go.
Jacob:Ok. There are the conjunctions want and omdat which are both translated as “because”, although want can be translated as “for” too! You can read all about this in the Lesson Notes, so listeners, be sure to check them out! We wrote them especially for you!

Outro

Gabriella:That’s it for this lesson. Well everybody, thank you for listening and we look forward to you joining us in the next lesson.
Jacob:Tot ziens!
Gabriella:Daag!

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