Plannen voor het weekend

Literal What want you this weekend do?

A natural opener to ask a friend about their weekend plans, using 'willen' (to want) with an infinitive verb at the end.

• willen + infinitive: 'wil jij ... doen' = 'do you want to ... do'
• Inverted word order after a question word: 'wil jij' not 'jij wil'

Literal Shall we Saturday to the cinema go?

'Zullen we...?' is the standard Dutch way to make a suggestion to do something together. The infinitive 'gaan' moves to the end of the clause.

• zullen we + infinitive: the core Dutch suggestion structure
• Time expression 'zaterdag' placed before the destination: 'zaterdag naar de bioscoop'

Literal I hold of walking in the park.

'Hou van' (sometimes spelled 'houd van') means 'to love' something. The infinitive 'wandelen' acts as a noun here, meaning 'walking' or casual hiking.

• hou/houd van + infinitive or noun: 'I love (doing) ...'
• Infinitive used as a gerund-noun: 'wandelen' = 'walking'

Literal Have you Friday-evening time?

A direct, friendly way to ask about someone's availability. 'Vrijdagavond' is a compound word combining 'vrijdag' (Friday) and 'avond' (evening).

• Yes/no questions open with the verb: 'Heb jij...' not 'Jij hebt...'
• Dutch compound words: vrijdag + avond = vrijdagavond (written as one word)

Literal That sounds good, how late begin we?

'Dat klinkt goed' is a warm, natural way to accept a suggestion. 'Hoe laat?' literally means 'how late?' but is the standard Dutch phrase for asking 'what time?'

• 'Dat klinkt + adjective': expresses how something sounds
• 'Hoe laat?' = what time? — a fixed question phrase, not a comment on lateness

Literal We can each-other meet at the café.

'Elkaar' means 'each other'. 'Bij' is used for locations like shops or cafés — it signals nearness to a place rather than being inside it.

• kunnen + infinitive: 'we kunnen ... ontmoeten' = 'we can ... meet'
• 'bij' = at (near a specific place or person), distinct from 'in' (inside) or 'op' (on/at a surface)

Literal I would rather outside be than inside.

'Zou liever' expresses a preference, equivalent to 'would rather' in English. 'Buiten' (outside) and 'binnen' (inside) are common everyday words.

• zou + liever + infinitive: conditional preference structure
• buiten vs. binnen: outside vs. inside — useful paired vocabulary

Literal Would we next week also something can do?

'Zouden we...kunnen?' is a polite way to float a future plan without pressure. 'Volgende week' means 'next week'.

• zouden ... kunnen: double modal for polite possibility or suggestion
• volgende week: next week — time expression placed early in the sentence

Literal Sorry, I can Sunday not, but Saturday is fine.

A polite way to decline one option while offering an alternative. 'Niet' comes after the time word 'zondag' to negate the verb.

• Negation: 'niet' follows the time expression — 'ik kan zondag niet'
• 'prima': very common informal Dutch word for 'fine' or 'great', signalling easy agreement

Literal I look there already toward out!

'Uitkijken naar' is a separable verb meaning 'to look forward to'. When the object is not named, 'er' acts as a placeholder pronoun. 'Al' (already) adds enthusiasm.

• Separable verb 'uitkijken naar': the prefix 'uit' moves to the end — 'kijk ... uit'
• 'er ... naar': required when the object is a general referent, not an explicit noun