De dagelijkse stand-up
Running a stand-up · a free Dutch immersion capsule
Useful sentences · 10
Phrases you'll actually use today. Tap Explain for the why behind each one.
Goedemorgen iedereen, laten we beginnen met de dagelijkse stand-up.
Good morning everyone, let's start with the daily stand-up.
Literal Good morning everyone, let us begin with the daily stand-up.
A standard opening for a stand-up meeting. 'Laten we' means 'let's' and is used to propose a shared action.
- 'Laten we + infinitive' expresses a collective suggestion or soft imperative
- 'Dagelijks' (daily) inflects to 'dagelijkse' before a de-word noun
Wie wil er als eerste zijn update geven?
Who wants to give their update first?
Literal Who wants as first their update to give?
A facilitator question to open the round. 'Als eerste' means 'as the first one'. The infinitive 'geven' goes to the end of the clause.
- Modal verb 'willen' (to want) + infinitive at clause end
- Question word 'Wie' triggers inversion: 'wil er' not 'er wil'
Gisteren heb ik de loginpagina afgerond en de tests geschreven.
Yesterday I finished the login page and wrote the tests.
Literal Yesterday have I the login page finished and the tests written.
Past tense report of completed work using the perfectum. Two past participles are joined with 'en'. 'Gisteren' at the start triggers inversion.
- Perfectum: 'hebben' (conjugated) + past participle at sentence end
- Two participles can be coordinated: 'afgerond en geschreven'
- Time adverb 'gisteren' in first position triggers subject-verb inversion: 'heb ik'
Vandaag ga ik werken aan de nieuwe API-integratie.
Today I'm going to work on the new API integration.
Literal Today go I work on the new API integration.
'Gaan + infinitive' expresses a near-future plan, equivalent to English 'going to'. 'Werken aan' means 'to work on' as a fixed verb-preposition pair.
- Near future: 'gaan' (conjugated) + infinitive
- 'Vandaag' first position causes inversion: 'ga ik' not 'ik ga'
- 'Werken aan' is a fixed prepositional verb phrase
Ik loop tegen een blokkade aan omdat de documentatie ontbreekt.
I'm running into a blocker because the documentation is missing.
Literal I run against a blocker on because the documentation is missing.
'Aanlopen tegen' is a separable verb meaning 'to run into a problem'. 'Omdat' (because) introduces a subordinate clause where the verb moves to the end.
- Separable verb 'aanlopen tegen': stem 'loop' stays, prefix 'aan' moves to clause end
- 'Omdat' triggers subordinate word order: verb goes to end of the clause
Hoe gaat het met jouw deel van het project?
How is your part of the project going?
Literal How goes it with your part of the project?
A standard check-in question using the fixed formula 'Hoe gaat het met...?' which asks how something is progressing.
- 'Hoe gaat het met + noun phrase' is a fixed progress-check formula
- Question word 'Hoe' triggers inversion: 'gaat het' not 'het gaat'
Kan iemand mij helpen met dit technische probleem?
Can someone help me with this technical problem?
Literal Can someone me help with this technical problem?
A polite request using the modal verb 'kunnen' (can). 'Iemand' means 'someone'. The infinitive 'helpen' goes to the end.
- Modal verb 'kunnen' + infinitive at end of clause
- Indirect object 'mij' (me) follows the modal and precedes the infinitive complement
Zijn er nog andere blokkades die we moeten bespreken?
Are there any other blockers we need to discuss?
Literal Are there still other blockers that we need to discuss?
The existential construction 'zijn er' (there are) checks for remaining issues. 'Die' introduces a relative clause. 'Moeten' expresses obligation.
- Existential: 'zijn er + noun' = 'there are'
- Relative pronoun 'die' agrees with de-word 'blokkades'
- Modal 'moeten + infinitive' expresses necessity; infinitive at clause end
Ik zal een taak aanmaken in het projectbord.
I will create a task on the project board.
Literal I will a task create in the project board.
'Zullen + infinitive' expresses a future commitment or promise. 'Aanmaken' is a separable verb; its prefix 'aan-' moves to the end of the main clause.
- Future tense commitment: 'zullen' (conjugated) + infinitive
- Separable verb 'aanmaken': 'maak...aan' in present, but here 'zal aanmaken' keeps it together after the modal
Bedankt iedereen, de stand-up is klaar.
Thank you everyone, the stand-up is done.
Literal Thanks everyone, the stand-up is ready/done.
A closing formula signalling the end of the meeting. 'Klaar' (done/ready) is a versatile adjective. 'Bedankt' functions as an invariable interjection.
- 'Bedankt' is an invariable past participle used as an interjection for thanks
- 'Is klaar' = 'zijn' (to be) + predicate adjective 'klaar' (done)
New words · 10
Themed vocabulary, each with an example you can borrow.
de stand-up
the stand-up (meeting)
De stand-up begint elke ochtend om negen uur.
The stand-up starts every morning at nine o'clock.
Borrowed from English; widely used in Dutch tech and agile workplaces
de blokkade
the blocker / obstacle
Ik heb een blokkade in mijn werk.
I have a blocker in my work.
More formal than informal 'blokker'; common in professional agile contexts
afronden
to finish / to wrap up
Ik heb de taak gisteren afgerond.
I finished the task yesterday.
Separable verb: 'ronden...af'; past participle: 'afgerond'
gisteren
yesterday
Gisteren heb ik de tests geschreven.
Yesterday I wrote the tests.
When placed first in a sentence, triggers subject-verb inversion
vandaag
today
Vandaag ga ik een bug oplossen.
Today I'm going to fix a bug.
Key word for announcing today's plan in stand-ups; also triggers inversion
bespreken
to discuss
We moeten dit punt nog bespreken.
We still need to discuss this point.
Non-separable verb; past participle: 'besproken'
de voortgang
the progress
Hoe is de voortgang van het project?
How is the progress of the project?
Compound: 'voort' (forward) + 'gang' (going/movement)
de taak
the task
Ik maak een nieuwe taak aan in het bord.
I create a new task on the board.
Plural: 'taken'; core vocabulary for task tracking
oplossen
to solve / to resolve
We proberen het probleem vandaag op te lossen.
We're trying to resolve the problem today.
Separable verb: 'lossen...op'; in infinitive after 'te': 'op te lossen'
klaar
done / finished / ready
De stand-up is klaar, bedankt iedereen.
The stand-up is done, thank you everyone.
'Klaar zijn met' = to be done with something; very common closing signal
Short reading
A tiny story stitched from today's words. Translation is hidden, tap to peek.
Het team van vijf ontwikkelaars begint elke ochtend met een korte stand-up van vijftien minuten. Roos vertelt dat ze gisteren de database heeft gemigreerd en vandaag verder gaat met de gebruikersinterface. Tom loopt aan tegen een blokkade: de externe API geeft foutmeldingen en hij weet niet waarom. De rest van het team besluit samen na de stand-up vijf minuten extra te overleggen om Toms probleem op te lossen.
Sentence by sentence
Het team van vijf ontwikkelaars begint elke ochtend met een korte stand-up van vijftien minuten.
The team of five developers starts every morning with a short fifteen-minute stand-up.
'Begint' is the present tense of 'beginnen' (to start); 'elke ochtend' (every morning) sets a recurring routine.
Roos vertelt dat ze gisteren de database heeft gemigreerd en vandaag verder gaat met de gebruikersinterface.
Roos says that she migrated the database yesterday and will continue with the user interface today.
Reported speech using a 'dat' clause; the verbs move to the end. Past 'heeft gemigreerd' contrasts with near-future 'gaat...verder'.
Tom loopt aan tegen een blokkade: de externe API geeft foutmeldingen en hij weet niet waarom.
Tom is running into a blocker: the external API is throwing error messages and he doesn't know why.
Separable verb 'aanlopen tegen' is split: 'loopt...aan'. The embedded clause with 'waarom' (why) places its verb at the end.
De rest van het team besluit samen na de stand-up vijf minuten extra te overleggen om Toms probleem op te lossen.
The rest of the team decides to spend five extra minutes consulting together after the stand-up to resolve Tom's problem.
'Om...te + infinitive' expresses purpose (in order to). Separable 'oplossen' splits as 'op te lossen' inside the infinitive construction.
Pattern of the day
One grammar move, explained once, that unlocks dozens of sentences.
Reporting Completed Work: Perfectum with 'hebben + past participle'
In Dutch stand-ups, you report what you finished using the perfectum tense: conjugate 'hebben' (or 'zijn' for motion/state verbs) to match your subject, then place the past participle at the very end of the clause. This is the standard spoken past tense in Dutch.
[subject] + hebben/zijn (conjugated) + [objects/complements] + [past participle]
Ik heb de tests geschreven.
I wrote the tests.
Zij heeft de bug opgelost.
She fixed the bug.
We hebben de sprint afgerond.
We finished the sprint.
Gisteren heb ik de code gereviewd.
Yesterday I reviewed the code.
Mini practice · 5
Low-pressure, never graded. Just enough to make it stick.
Translate to Dutch: 'Yesterday I finished the login page and wrote the tests.'
Hint Use the perfectum: heb + past participle. Both verbs go at the end!
Complete the sentence: 'Ik loop tegen een ___ aan omdat de documentatie ontbreekt.'
Hint It's what stops your progress in a sprint — a key stand-up word.
Translate to English: 'Zijn er nog andere blokkades die we moeten bespreken?'
Hint 'bespreken' = to discuss; 'nog andere' = any other
Which sentence correctly reports completed work using the perfectum?
Rewrite this sentence in the perfectum to report it as something you did yesterday: 'Ik maak een taak aan in het projectbord.'
Hint 'aanmaken' is a separable verb — its past participle is 'aangemaakt'.
That’s today’s phraseberry.
Nice work, you understood something real today. Come back tomorrow for a fresh one.
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