Learn how to ask questions in polite form to send a package
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to DutchPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 3 - Sending a Package from the Netherlands. Michael here. |
| Jacob: Hallo. I'm Jacob. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask questions in polite forms using... |
| Jacob: Wilt u... |
| Michael: meaning “Would you…” and.. |
| Jacob: Mag ik... |
| Michael: “May I….” The conversation takes place at the post office. |
| Jacob: It's between Burt and a postal worker. |
| Michael: They’ll be using formal Dutch. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Burt: Goedemorgen. Ik wil graag iets opsturen per post. |
| Postbeambte: Natuurlijk meneer, waar moet het naartoe? |
| Burt: Naar Amerika. |
| Postbeambte: Mag ik het pakket wegen? |
| Burt: Ja natuurlijk. Hier is het. |
| Postbeambte: Het weegt 250 gram. Wilt u het gewoon of per snelpost opsturen? |
| Burt: Gewoon graag. |
| Postbeambte: Dan wordt het 14 euro en 50 cent. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Burt: Goedemorgen. Ik wil graag iets opsturen per post. |
| Postbeambte: Natuurlijk meneer, waar moet het naartoe? |
| Burt: Naar Amerika. |
| Postbeambte: Mag ik het pakket wegen? |
| Burt: Ja natuurlijk. Hier is het. |
| Postbeambte: Het weegt 250 gram. Wilt u het gewoon of per snelpost opsturen? |
| Burt: Gewoon graag. |
| Postbeambte: Dan wordt het 14 euro en 50 cent. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Burt: Good morning. I would like to send something by mail. |
| Postal worker: No problem sir, where do you want to send it? |
| Burt: To the United States. |
| Postal worker: May I weigh the package? |
| Burt: Yes, of course. Here you are. |
| Postal worker: It weighs 250 grams. Would you like to send it by standard mail or express? |
| Burt: Standard, please. |
| Postal worker: That will be 14 euros and 50 cents. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Michael: Many things about the postal service around the world have changed since the appearance of the Internet. And it’s same in the Netherlands, right? |
| Jacob: That’s right. These days you need a special reason to send a letter. Most communication happens via email, except for really important things, like legal documents. |
| Michael: But some people still like sending presents by mail, right? |
| Jacob: That’s right. Some people still prefer to send letters to their friends and family by post. The number is getting lower, but some people still do things the old-fashioned way. |
| Michael: But if you’re in the Netherlands, you might need to visit the post office to make a bank transfer. |
| Jacob: The postal service also offers financial services in the Netherlands, so that’s becoming one of the main reason to visit the post office. |
| Michael: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Jacob: graag [natural native speed] |
| Michael: please, gladly |
| Jacob: graag[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: graag [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: opsturen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to send |
| Jacob: opsturen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: opsturen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: per [natural native speed] |
| Michael: by, per |
| Jacob: per[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: per [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: naartoe [natural native speed] |
| Michael: where to |
| Jacob: naartoe[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: naartoe [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: pakket [natural native speed] |
| Michael: package |
| Jacob: pakket[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: pakket [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: wegen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to weigh |
| Jacob: wegen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: wegen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: gewoon [natural native speed] |
| Michael: standard |
| Jacob: gewoon[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: gewoon [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: snelpost [natural native speed] |
| Michael: express |
| Jacob: snelpost[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: snelpost [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: euro [natural native speed] |
| Michael: euro |
| Jacob: euro[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: euro [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Jacob: natuurlijk [natural native speed] |
| Michael: of course |
| Jacob: natuurlijk[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: natuurlijk [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Michael: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is.. |
| Jacob: Ik wil graag... |
| Michael: Which means "I would like to." You can use this to say what you want, just like in English. What’s the verb here? |
| Jacob: It’s willen, which means “to want.” You might hear this verb when someone says "Ik wil naar huis", |
| Michael: “I want to go home,” or “I’d like to go home.” |
| Jacob: When it’s being used to request something, it will be combined with the word "graag" meaning “gladly” or “please.” |
| Michael: In English we would translate it as “I would like” or “Could I please...” It makes the sentence sound more polite. |
| Jacob: Exactly. |
| Michael: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Jacob: Sure. For example, you can say.. Ik wil graag naar het strand. |
| Michael: ..which means "I would like to go to the beach." If you want to simply say “I want to go to the beach” you can say.. |
| Jacob: Ik wil naar het strand. I didn't use "graag" in this sentence. |
| Michael: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Jacob: Mag ik? |
| Michael: meaning "May I?" Can you break down this expression? |
| Jacob: Sure. "Mag" is a conjugation of the verb "mogen", which means “can, be allowed.” You can use it to ask for permission just like you’d say “may” in English. |
| Michael: For example, when a kid wants to go to the bathroom, he can say.. |
| Jacob: Mag ik naar de WC? |
| Michael: “Can I go to the bathroom?” |
| Jacob: In this sentence, I used "Mag ik", meaning “May I.” Or, in a formal situation, one person might ask the other "Mag ik uw toilet alstublieft gebruiken?" |
| Michael: “Could I please use your bathroom?”. As you can hear, this phrase can be formal and informal. Okay, what's the next word? |
| Jacob: Gewoon |
| Michael: Which means "standard.” This word has many related meanings, including “normal,” “standard,” “plain,” and “regular.” In the case of shipping something, it means shipping in the standard way, not express or registered. Can you give us an example using this word, Jacob? |
| Jacob: Sure. For example, you can say.. Laten we dit maar gewoon doen. |
| Michael: .. which means "Let's do this the normal way." Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask questions in polite forms using... |
| Jacob: Wilt u... |
| Michael: meaning “Would you...” |
| Jacob: .. and Mag ik... |
| Michael: meaning “May I...” We had some sentences using these in the dialogue. |
| Jacob: That’s right. In the dialogue, Burt starts the conversation by saying "Ik wil graag iets opsturen per post". |
| Michael: which means “I would like to send something by mail.” |
| Jacob: The postal worker then asks “Mag ik het pakket wegen?”, |
| Michael: which means “May I weigh the package?”. These are both polite forms that are commonly used in Dutch. You might hear these kinds of questions from an employee asking if you need anything or if you would like some help. Let’s see how to ask permission by using the verb "willen" first. |
| Jacob: As we explained earlier, to express needs or make requests in a less direct manner than with the verb "mogen", you can use the verb "willen", “to want,” in combination with the word graag, meaning “gladly” or “please.” |
| Michael: It’s similar to the English “I would like..”. For example, you can say “I would like” in Dutch as.. |
| Jacob: Ik wil graag. As you should know, "ik wil" means “I want” and graag means “please.” |
| Michael: What about “you would like”? |
| Jacob: For informal situations, you can say.. "jij wil graag" . For formal situations, it’s "u wilt graag". |
| Michael: Okay. Can you give us an example using the phrase? |
| Jacob: Sure. “They would like” in Dutch is "Zij willen". Using this, you can say "Zij willen graag vis eten". |
| Michael: "They would like to eat some fish." What about “He’d like”? |
| Jacob: "Hij wil graag". And “She’d like” in Dutch is "Zij wil graag". Using this, you can say "Hij wil graag weten wat tomaten per kilo kosten", |
| Michael: which means "He'd like to know the price per kilo of tomatoes.” And finally, how do you say “We’d like”? |
| Jacob: "Wij willen graag". Okay, now let’s take a look at how to ask permission by using the phrase "Mag ik.." |
| Michael: meaning “May I..”. For example, how do you say “May I borrow your bicycle?” |
| Jacob: It’s simple. You can say "Mag ik je fiets lenen?". When you’re asking a friend, you can use the verb "wil", meaning “to want,” but for formal situations it’s better to ask by using "Mag ik". |
| Michael: So we just need to say the phrase, then add what we need, right? |
| Jacob: That’s right. For example, "gaan zitten" is the phrase meaning “to sit down.” Using this, you can say "Mag ik gaan zitten?". |
| Michael: Which is “May I sit down?* What about “May I eat some fish?” |
| Jacob: Mag ik vis eten? |
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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