Lesson 8 – Momentje…

 

Intro

This lesson teaches you how to place and accept phone calls. There’s also some information on postal services in the Netherlands. Furthermore, you’ll learn how to make plurals and you’ll get some theory on passive sentences.

 

The first thing you should know about phoning in the Netherlands is that a lot of Dutch people find it quite rude that some people answer the phone without saying their names. So don’t answer with Hallo, Ja? or with your phone number, but with Met xxx, U spreekt met xxx or xxx, goedemorgen (or -middag or -avond).

Text 8.1 – Met Kees Vermeulen…
Met Kees Vermeulen, goedenavond.
Goedenavond, met Katja.
Ha, dag Katja. Alles goed?
Ja hoor, prima. En met jou?
Uitstekend.
Zeg, is Ineke er ook?
Ik zal even kijken. Momentje …
… nee, het spijt me, Ineke is net weg.
Weet je ook hoe laat ze thuis is?
Ik heb geen idee.
Kun je vragen of ze me terugbelt?
Ja, dat is goed.
Ik ben tot twaalf uur wakker.
Ik zal het doorgeven
Goed, bedankt.
Graag gedaan hoor. Dag Katja.
Tot ziens.

It’s quite common to ask Is … er ook, while ook just means ‘too, also’ and does not really make any more sense then saying Tot ziens at the end of a telephone conversation with someone you’ll probably hear before you see him or her. In the case of ook: just don’t translate it if it doesn’t make any sense – it means something like ‘by the way…’. In case of tot ziens: to most Dutch people, it seems less silly to use this common way of saying goodbye, than to use something like ‘tot horens’ – though some Dutch people do use this.

Just to check if you got it right, here’s the translation:

• (you’re speaking) with Kees Vermeulen, good evening.
• Good evening, (you’re speaking) with Katja.
• Hey, hi Katja. Everything o.k.?
• Yes, fine. And you?
• Excellent.
• Is Ineke there?
• I’ll take a look. One moment …
• … no, I’m sorry. Ineke has just gone out.
• Do you know what time she’s (going to be) home?
• I’ve no idea.
• Can you ask if she (could) return my call (‘calls me back’)
• Yes, that’s o.k.
• I’ll be awake untill twelve.
• I’ll pass it (the message) on.
• O.k., thanks.
• My pleasure. Bye Katja.
• Bye.

 

If you call a company, of course the phone is picked up with the company name, often followed by the name of the department (afdeling) and person. If you want to know what phrases to use to get to someone in a company, go to ‘Extra’ and click on ‘Phoning’.

Up untill the 1980’s telephone and mail services were exclusively delivered by the Dutch PTT. At the end of the 80’s, this company was completely privatized (so it’s no longer related to the gouvernment) and the telephone and postal services where seperated: the phone company is now called PTT Telecom and the postal services are into KPN(Koninklijke PTT Nederland).

As far as phoning is concerned, there is quite some competition now. But for regular postal services there hardly is, except for express mail. The regular mail boxes are emptied by KPN and the stamps on the letters are sold by the same company.

Some mail related words and phrases you might need:

Text 8.2 – Mail
het postkantoor	the post office
Mag ik tien postzegels van 80 cent?	Can I have ten 80 cent stamps?
Deze brieven moeten naar het buitenland.	These letters are to be going abroad
Wat voor postzegel moet er op deze brief?	What stamp should be on this letter?
Ik wil dit pakje aangetekend versturen.	I want to send this package by registered mail
per luchtpost	by air mail
per expresse	by express mail
drukwerk	printed paper
port betaald	postage paid
de postbus	P.O. Box
Op brievenbussen:	On postboxes:
streekpost	local mail
overige bestemmingen	other destinations
Hoe laat wordt de brievenbus geleegd?	At what time the postbox is being emptied?

In the phrases above, you can see the major two different kinds of plurals: on -s and on -en in postzegels and bestemmingen. Here’s the main rule for plurals – for more details, please study the pages on plural in the grammar section:

• Words that end on a syllable that includes a ‘toneless -e’ (like in de), usually get an -s:
• de tafel – de tafels
• de vader – de vaders
• • de haven – de havens
• Words that end on a vocal usually get an -s with an apostrophe (‘) to keep the sound ‘long’:
• de taxi – de taxi’s
• de agenda – de agenda’s
• • de radio – de radio’s
• Other words usually get -en:
• het boek – de boeken
• de krant – de kranten
• • de vrouw – de vrouwen

In text 2, this sentence may have drawn your attention:Hoe laat wordt de brievenbus geleegd?
This is called a ‘passive construction’. In English you use forms like ‘… is being…’, ‘…has been …’, when in Dutch you use the verb worden(more or less ‘to become’) or the verb zijn (for the perfect tense).Here’s an overview, comparing active phrases to passive equivalents. What happens in the first three sets is, that a dog is biting a man – in the last three, the man beats the dog:

Text 8.3 – Active & passive

Active	Passive
De hond bijt de man	De man wordt gebeten
De hond beet de man	De man werd gebeten
De hond heeft de man gebeten	De man is gebeten
De man slaat de hond	De hond wordt geslagen
De man sloeg de hond	De hond werd geslagen
De man heeft de hond geslagen	De hond is geslagen

The passive sentences would be tranlated in English as follows:

• De man wordt gebeten – The man is being bitten.
• De man werd gebeten – The man was being bitten.
• De man is gebeten – The man has been bitten.
• De hond wordt geslagen – The dog is being beaten.
• De hond werd geslagen – The dog was being beaten.
• De hond is geslagen – The dog has been beaten.

Vocabulary
aantekenen	to register (mail)
de agenda	the agenda, planner
de bestemming	the destination
betalen	to pay
bijten	to bite
de brievenbus	the postbox
het buitenland	foreign countries
het drukwerk	printed paper
de expresse	express mail
de haven	the harbour
de hond	the dog
het idee	the idea
legen	to empty
de luchtpost	air mail
het moment	the moment
net	just
ook	also
overig	other
het pakje	the packet
per	per, by
de port	the postage
de postbus	the P.O. box
het postkantoor	the post office
de postzegel	the stamp
de radio	the radio
slaan	to beat
de streekpost	local mail
de tafel	the table
de taxi	the taxi
terug	back, returned
thuis	home, at home
uitstekend	excellent
de vader	the father
versturen	to send away
wakker	awake
weg	away

More …

• Before you move on to the next chapter you should study
  • Extra: Phoning
  • Theory: On plural (+ exercises)
• You could exercise phoning by finding another student and practice simple phone calls in Dutch.
• Try to exercise passive sentence constructions buy changing as many active phrases to passive ones for a while.

Try to complete the test about this lesson!