Learn how to use indefinite pronouns and how to combine different verbs with a direct object
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Gabriella:Hi everyone, Gabriella here! Welcome to DutchPod101.com. This is Lower Beginner Season 1, Lesson 14 - Calling the Police in the Netherlands. |
| Jacob:Hallo! I'm Jacob. We are going to listen to a woman calling the police because somebody is breaking into the bank. On the other end of the line is Klaas, a police officer. |
| Gabriella:With us, you’ll learn about some important phone calls you may have to make. |
| Jacob:This conversation takes place on the phone. Linda is a woman reporting the crime and Klaas is a police officer. Their language is fairly formal, but not very formal. |
| Jacob:OK. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Linda: Spreek ik met de politie? |
| Klaas: Ja, kan ik u helpen? |
| Linda: Ik zie iemand inbreken in de ING bank op de Rijnstraat! |
| Klaas: Waar bent u? |
| Linda: Ik ben thuis. Mijn huis is tegenover de bank. |
| Klaas: Kunt u nu iemand zien in de bank? |
| Linda: Ik zie nu niemand. Maar zonet zag ik iemand met een baard. Hij is nu in de bank. |
| Klaas: Kunt u nog iets anders zien? |
| Linda: Het raam van de bank is kapot. |
| Klaas: De politie is onderweg! |
| Gabriella: Let's hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Linda: Spreek ik met de politie? |
| Klaas: Ja, kan ik u helpen? |
| Linda: Ik zie iemand inbreken in de ING bank op de Rijnstraat! |
| Klaas: Waar bent u? |
| Linda: Ik ben thuis. Mijn huis is tegenover de bank. |
| Klaas: Kunt u nu iemand zien in de bank? |
| Linda: Ik zie nu niemand. Maar zonet zag ik iemand met een baard. Hij is nu in de bank. |
| Klaas: Kunt u nog iets anders zien? |
| Linda: Het raam van de bank is kapot. |
| Klaas: De politie is onderweg! |
| Gabriella: Now let's hear it with the English translation. |
| Linda: Spreek ik met de politie? |
| Gabriella: Is this the police? |
| Klaas: Ja, kan ik u helpen? |
| Gabriella: Yes, how can I help you? |
| Linda: Ik zie iemand inbreken in de ING bank op de Rijnstraat! |
| Gabriella: I see somebody breaking into the ING bank on the Rijnstraat. |
| Klaas: Waar bent u? |
| Gabriella: Where are you? |
| Linda: Ik ben thuis. Mijn huis is tegenover de bank. |
| Gabriella: I am home. My house is in front of the bank. |
| Klaas: Kunt u nu iemand zien in de bank? |
| Gabriella: Can you see anyone in the bank now? |
| Linda: Ik zie nu niemand. Maar zonet zag ik iemand met een baard. Hij is nu in de bank. |
| Gabriella: I don't see anyone now. But I just saw someone with a beard. He is in the bank now. |
| Klaas: Kunt u nog iets anders zien? |
| Gabriella: Can you see anything else? |
| Linda: Het raam van de bank is kapot. |
| Gabriella: The window of the bank is broken. |
| Klaas: De politie is onderweg! |
| Gabriella: The police is on their way! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Gabriella:Aren’t people formal when they talk to the police? |
| Jacob:It depends on the situation. When you report something or give information, you have to be polite, but you don’t have to be very formal. |
| Gabriella:What about other official relations, such as between teachers and students? |
| Jacob:There was a time when even junior high and senior high school students would use the teacher’s first name, when addressing him. |
| Gabriella:Really? Is it still like that? |
| Jacob:No, I think in most places it has changed. Pupils will say ‘meneer’ (sir) or ‘mevrouw’ (madam). But at universities the relationship between students and teachers or lecturers is not very formal. I called my University teachers by their first name, and sometimes we would go out for a beer with the teacher. |
| Gabriella:Sounds like fun! Okay, now let’s take a look at the vocabulary and phrases. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jacob: onderweg [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: on its way |
| Jacob: onderweg [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: onderweg [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: niemand [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: no one, nobody |
| Jacob: niemand [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: niemand [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: bank [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: bank |
| Jacob: bank [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: bank [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: kapot [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: broken |
| Jacob: kapot [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: kapot [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: iemand [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: someone |
| Jacob: iemand [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: iemand [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: inbreken [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: to break in |
| Jacob: inbreken [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: inbreken [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: politie [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: police |
| Jacob: politie [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: politie [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: zonet [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: just |
| Jacob: zonet [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: zonet [natural native speed] |
| Jacob: tegenover [natural native speed] |
| Gabriella: opposite |
| Jacob: tegenover [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jacob: tegenover [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Gabriella:Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jacob:This conversation is an interesting mix of formal and informal, it’s always polite, and no slang is used. For example: Spreek ik met de politie? which means “Is this the police?” is quite formal. She doesn’t say Is dit de politie? |
| Gabriella:What about the verb praten we learned before? Is that the same as spreken? |
| Jacob:Yes, they have the same meaning, though spreken is somewhat more formal and is also used to mean “to address”. For example, when you want to say “He addresses the crowd” you say Hij spreekt de menigte toe. |
| Gabriella:At one point, Linda says Ik ben thuis. Mijn huis is tegenover de bank which means “I’m at home. My house is in front of the bank”. What is the difference between thuis and huis? |
| Jacob:The word thuis is used for one’s place. It’s more than just a house, it’s your own place. Ik ben thuis means “I’m at home. Ik voel me hier thuis is “I feel at home here”. Huis is just a word for the physical object as in the building. You can hear Linda say mijn huis is tegenover de bank, which means “my house is opposite the bank”. |
| Gabriella:OK, I think I understand. And what does anders mean exactly ? |
| Jacob:The word has several meanings. Here iets anders means “something else”. But when somebody visits you, you could ask Wilt u koffie, of iets anders? meaning “Would you like some coffee, or something else?” And finally when you say something or somebody is anders, it means that it, he, or she is different. For example Dit boek is heel anders; “This book is very different.” |
| Gabriella:Thank you for that explanation, Jacob! Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Gabriella:In this lesson, we’re going to learn about indefinite pronouns. |
| Jacob:That’s right. |
| Gabriella:Linda is always talking about iemand, but at one point she switches to the word niemand. |
| Jacob:Yes, iemand means “someone” or “somebody”, and niemand means “no one” or “nobody”. In other words, it’s the negative form of iemand. They’re both indefinite pronouns which means they refer to unspecified people, objects, or places. |
| Gabriella:Oh! That sounds complicated. |
| Jacob:No, not really! Linda sees some person breaking into the ING bank and calls the police. As she doesn’t know who the person is, she uses the indefinite pronoun iemand which is the same as the word “somebody” in English. |
| Gabriella:Yes, I understand that, but why does she use niemand later on? |
| Jacob:It’s a negative answer, as in “I can’t see anybody”, so in Dutch the word iemand becomes niemand, like how in English ‘some one’ becomes ‘no one’. |
| Gabriella:So you couldn’t say Ik zie niet iemand, like the English phrase “I don’t see anybody”? |
| Jacob:Exactly. Instead, the negative word niet combined with iemand makes the word niemand. Easy as pie, isn’t it? |
| Gabriella:Do you have any more of these easy examples? |
| Jacob:Yes, there is also the indefinite pronoun iets which means “something”. Klaas, the police officer asks Linda Kunt u nog iets anders zien? |
| Gabriella:Which apparently means “Can you see anything else?” So iets is the indefinite pronoun refering to anders? |
| Jacob:Right! Iets anders means “something else”, while niets anders means “nothing else”. |
| Gabriella:So, let’s try to summarize these indefinite pronouns. Iemand means “someone” or “somebody”, am I right? |
| Jacob:Yes, that’s right. |
| Gabriella:And then Niemand means “no one” or “nobody”, as in “I see nobody in the bank right now.” |
| Jacob:Perfect! Now you’ve got it. |
| Gabriella:And then there’s iets anders which means “something else”. |
| Jacob:And niets anders means “nothing else”. |
Outro |
| Gabriella:That’s it for this lesson. Well, thank you all for listening! And please check the dialogue once again. |
| Jacob:We’ll see you back here next time. Daag! |
| Gabriella:Tot ziens! |
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