Dutch Conversation-Grammar 1732 Studios

Dutch · Unit 33

Book III, Unit 6: Unit 6

Refresher Course, Books II and III

Unit 6

153 lines

Na de Overstroming

A conversation to listen to

A spontaneous conversation between two educated Dutch speakers, recorded in 1961 without a script. The text keeps what they said as they said it: hesitations, repeated words, words left out.

Listen first with the text, then without it. The aim is to follow the whole conversation by ear.

  1. 1

    Were you in Zeeland right after the flood? In July or August, or not?

    Bento be (irregular)
    jijyou
    inin
    ZeelandZeeland
    geweestto be (irregular)
    vlakjust (in front of it)
    naafter
    dethe
    overstroming?flood
    Inin
    juliJuly
    ofor
    augustus,augustus
    ofor
    niet?not
  2. 2

    No, I was there the following year.

  3. 3

    We went to Zeeland in August of '53, by train. So I saw cracks everywhere in the soil from the salt. And after that they started to fertilize and plow all over again, and that was a lot of work.

  4. 4

    Well, I was there a year later. Many houses had been rebuilt and you could see where the sea had been.

  5. 5

    You can still see it, because my grandparents live in Terneuzen and they had about 1 1/2 meters of water in the house, and I think it stood there one day, but the mud and the water they hauled out were terrible.

  6. 6

    I can well believe it. Because of the salt brought in by the sea, all the soil was spoiled by the salt and so, uh, nothing could be grown the first year.

  7. 7

    No, they had an awful lot of trouble making the land completely arable again.

I. Dialog for Listening

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 36. Na de Overstroming

This is a spontaneous conversation between educated and imaginative Dutch speakers. No scripts were used in recording. The result is natural spoken Dutch.

All the dialogs entitled Dialog for Listening have been reproduced in your text in such a way as to capture their spontaneity. This includes hesitation sounds, repetitions, omitted words and other features that are characteristic of unrehearsed, non-selfconscious, conversational-style speech.

The Dialog for Listening section is for oral comprehension. The student should follow this section in his text, as he listens to it on tape, until such time as he can dispense with the text and understand everything from the tape alone.
  1. 8

    And so, now they have better distribution of the land?

  2. 9

    Oh, it's a lot better, because when you see the farms now, in comparison with them before the flood, it's fantastic. They've become estates, the big farms.

  3. 10

    They, they were built up again with government funds?

  4. 11

    Not always with government funds, hm . . . of course, they received a lot of compensation, but the houses that were lost were mostly rebuilt larger and newer and more modern.

Universiteiten in Nederland

  1. 12

    Say, Shuul, where should I send my son for a good university education in the Netherlands?

  2. 13

    Eh, Leiden, I studied there myself and I know that they have a large biology department and that astronomy in Leiden is probably the best in the Netherlands.

  3. 14

    Is that the only one or . . .

  4. 15

    Oh, no, eh, Utrecht has astronomy, Amsterdam has astronomy and Groningen has astronomy.

  5. 16

    And Delft is only technical?

  6. 17

    Delft is a technical institute. They don't call it a university.

  7. 18

    Wageningen would be such an institute.

I. Dialog for Listening

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 37. Universiteiten in Nederland

This is a spontaneous conversation between educated and imaginative Dutch speakers. No scripts were used in recording. The result is natural spoken Dutch.

All the dialogs entitled Dialog for Listening have been reproduced in your text in such a way as to capture their spontaneity. This includes hesitation sounds, repetitions, omitted words and other features that are characteristic of unrehearsed, non-selfconscious, conversational-style speech.

The Dialog for Listening section is for oral comprehension. The student should follow this section in his text, as he listens to it on tape, until such time as he can dispense with the text and understand everything from the tape alone.
  1. 19

    Wageningen is an agricultural institute.

  2. 20

    And Eindhoven?

  3. 21

    Eindhoven and Delft are both technical institutes.

  4. 22

    Are these the only institutes?

  5. 23

    And then you have the economics institutes in Rotterdam and the Catholic one in Tilburg.

  6. 24

    Right. So one could find the real student atmosphere of a real university city only in Leiden?

  7. 25

    A university in the original sense of the word means the bringing together of several faculties. This is, of course, only the case with a university.

  8. 26

    Right, I myself am a journalist and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  9. 27

    Yes, indeed, that is totally different.

Alleen in de Stad

  1. 28

    Good evening, ma'am.

  2. 29

    Good evening. Here's my key, I think that I'll just have a look at the town. Could you, perhaps, recommend something to go to?

  3. 30

    There are a couple of good movies showing.

  4. 31

    Yes? How late does the show start?

  5. 32

    Well, I couldn't say, but I could just call if you're interested.

  6. 33

    If you would just do that, yes, please.

  7. 34

    Yes, well, well, they say that now it . . . starts in three quarters of an hour.

I. Dialog for Listening

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 38. Alleen in de Stad

This is a spontaneous conversation between educated and imaginative Dutch speakers. No scripts were used in recording. The result is natural spoken Dutch.

All the dialogs entitled Dialog for Listening have been reproduced in your text in such a way as to capture their spontaneity. This includes hesitation sounds, repetitions, omitted words and other features that are characteristic of unrehearsed, non-selfconscious, conversational-style speech.

The Dialog for Listening section is for oral comprehension. The student should follow this section in his text, as he listens to it on tape, until such time as he can dispense with the text and understand everything from the tape alone.
  1. 35

    In three quarters of an hour.

  2. 36

    Yes.

  3. 37

    So, I've still got three quarters of an hour time. And . . . and are there any stores in the neighborhood, where I can go window-shopping a little?

  4. 38

    Yes, of course.

  5. 39

    Are there stores open evenings, too?

  6. 40

    Well, that I couldn't say; generally, they have to be closed after six o'clock.

  7. 41

    Yes.

  1. 42

    But sometimes they do get permission to stay open.

  2. 43

    But you don't know if there are any stores open just now?

  3. 44

    No, I wouldn't be able to say.

  4. 45

    I really need a pair of shoes and tomorrow morning I have to catch the train again at nine-thirty, so . . .

  5. 46

    Yes, well, I can . . . I can call up if you like.

  6. 47

    If you would do that.

  7. 48

    Well, you're lucky, the first store I call just got permission this evening to stay open.

  1. 49

    Oh, until how late?

  2. 50

    They're open until nine-thirty.

  3. 51

    Nine-thirty, oh that I can manage easily and, then, after that I'll go to the movies.

  4. 52

    Yes, do you know the way to the theater?

  5. 53

    I think it's right around the corner here, isn't it?

  6. 54

    Yes, then you'll see the theater right away.

  7. 55

    Oh, then I can drop my shoes off before I go to the movies.

Klompen, Molens en Klederdrachten

  1. 56

    You always hear of foreigners, if they think about Holland, then they think about wooden shoes and windmills and costumes.

  2. 57

    Yes. They're usually surprised that we show up with normal shoes and a regular coat and then not even a tulip in the buttonhole.

  3. 58

    Yes, they think, when they arrive in Amsterdam at their hotels, that they're going to be served by, eh, by men in wooden shoes and in costumes. That, of course, isn't true at all. And they think, too, naturally, that all the windmills they see on so many pictures, really work, that they are still useful nowadays. Of course, that isn't true, either.

  4. 59

    No. Eh, I have heard that they're thinking of putting the windmills back into operation. Yes.

  5. 60

    I didn't know they were going to do that again. But costumes, of course, are all gone. Only the old people still wear them.

  6. 61

    Yes, that's true.

  7. 62

    And a few, in a few towns, well, in Spakenisse, Marken and Volendam, that's about all.

I. Dialog for Listening

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 39. Klompen, Molens en Klederdrachten

This is a spontaneous conversation between educated and imaginative Dutch speakers. No scripts were used in recording. The result is natural spoken Dutch.

All the dialogs entitled Dialog for Listening have been reproduced in your text in such a way as to capture their spontaneity. This includes hesitation sounds, repetitions, omitted words and other features that are characteristic of unrehearsed, non-selfconscious, conversational-style speech.

The Dialog for Listening section is for oral comprehension. The student should follow this section in his text, as he listens to it on tape, until such time as he can dispense with the text and understand everything from the tape alone.
  1. 63

    But there it's fallen into disuse. I remember that well.

  2. 64

    Well, it seems the foreigners have only the windmills to remind them of Holland, now that the wooden shoes and costumes are disappearing.

  3. 65

    Yes, but there are still the tulips.

  4. 66

    Yes, but they'll never disappear.

  5. 67

    Yes.

In de Herenafdeling

  1. 68

    Good morning, ma'am.

  2. 69

    Good morning, sir. Are you in this department?

  3. 70

    We're working in the men's department.

  4. 71

    Ah, that's fine. I want to buy something for my husband for Christmas.

  5. 72

    Is he a sportsman? What do you think of hunting, fishing?

  6. 73

    Well . . . hunting he doesn't care for at all; fishing, now and then, but he's not such an enthusiast that he'd need such a complete set of fishing tackle.

  7. 74

    No, but does he have a good rod?

I. Dialog for Listening

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 40. In de Herenafdeling

This is a spontaneous conversation between educated and imaginative Dutch speakers. No scripts were used in recording. The result is natural spoken Dutch.

All the dialogs entitled Dialog for Listening have been reproduced in your text in such a way as to capture their spontaneity. This includes hesitation sounds, repetitions, omitted words and other features that are characteristic of unrehearsed, non-selfconscious, conversational-style speech.

The Dialog for Listening section is for oral comprehension. The student should follow this section in his text, as he listens to it on tape, until such time as he can dispense with the text and understand everything from the tape alone.
  1. 75

    He doesn't have a rod at all.

  2. 76

    Look, here's one, that's a fairly lightweight model and with one of those modern reels on it. I think that that's a real nice gift.

  3. 77

    Yes, that's . . . it, seems nice to me, indeed. I mean, I hadn't thought of that at all. Now that's really great, just give me that. Is it possible to exchange it later?

  4. 78

    Oh, you can exchange it, and we guarantee, of course, that it has no defects, you have a whole year's guarantee.

  5. 79

    A year's guarantee, now that's excellent. Just wrap it up.

  6. 80

    Oh, excellent, then I'll have it wrapped for you.

  7. 81

    Fine, thank you very much.

  8. 82

    Good day, ma'am.

  9. 83

    So long.

Substitution drill 1, part 1

Substitution drills

A drill starts from one sentence of the dialogs. Each turn gives a new word or phrase to put in the sentence in place of one of its parts.

Say the whole sentence again with the new part in place. The shape of the sentence does not change. Only the one part does.

  1. 84

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om het helemaal bebouwbaar te maken.

    They had a lot of difficulty making it completely fertile again.

  2. 85

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om de luchtbrug te handhaven.

    They had a lot of difficulty maintaining the airlift.

  3. 86

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om hem ervan te overtuigen.

    They had a lot of difficulty convincing him of it.

  4. 87

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om genoeg drinkwater te krijgen.

    They had a lot of difficulty getting enough drinking water.

  5. 88

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om genoeg voedsel te krijgen.

    They had a lot of difficulty getting enough food.

  6. 89

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad met het evacueren van de gewonden.

    They had a lot of difficulty while evacuating the wounded.

  7. 90

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om de overstroming te vermijden.

    They had a lot of difficulty in avoiding the flood.

Substitution Drills

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 41. Substitution Drill 1.

Listen to and repeat the first sentence of the drill on tape. Your voice will be followed by a low voice on tape to correct any mistakes in your utterance. You will now immediately hear a word or phrase that you are to substitute into the original sentence. Without hesitating, say the entire sentence again, this time with the new element in place of an element in the original sentence. You will again be corrected. Then you will hear, as before, another element for substitution. Again you will repeat the entire sentence, dropping the old element and substituting the new element in its place.

They are based on the previous five dialogs. Their purpose is to give you fluency in controlling sentences of the dialogs with additional variations provided by the substitution elements. You will observe that the basic structure of the dialog sentences does not change in these drills.

Substitution drill 1, part 2

  1. 91

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om het helemaal bebouwbaar te maken.

    They had a lot of difficulty making it completely fertile again.

  2. 92

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om het paard te bedwingen.

    They had a lot of difficulty controlling the horse.

  3. 93

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om de brand te blussen.

    They had a lot of difficulty extinguishing the fire.

  4. 94

    Ze hebben er vrij veel moeite mee gehad om het helemaal bebouwbaar te maken.

    They had a lot of difficulty making it completely fertile again.

Substitution drill 2, part 1

  1. 95

    Ik zelf ben journalist en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am a journalist and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  2. 96

    Ik zelf ben een leraar en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am a teacher and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  3. 97

    Ik zelf ben een natuurkundige en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am a physicist and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  4. 98

    Ik zelf ben een scheikundige en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am a chemist and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  5. 99

    Ik zelf ben een ingenieur en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am an engineer and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  6. 100

    Ik zelf ben een dokter en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am a doctor and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  7. 101

    Ik zelf ben een advokaat en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am a lawyer and my son is going in a totally different direction.

Substitution Drills

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 41. Substitution Drill 2.

Listen to and repeat the first sentence of the drill on tape. Your voice will be followed by a low voice on tape to correct any mistakes in your utterance. You will now immediately hear a word or phrase that you are to substitute into the original sentence. Without hesitating, say the entire sentence again, this time with the new element in place of an element in the original sentence. You will again be corrected. Then you will hear, as before, another element for substitution. Again you will repeat the entire sentence, dropping the old element and substituting the new element in its place.

They are based on the previous five dialogs. Their purpose is to give you fluency in controlling sentences of the dialogs with additional variations provided by the substitution elements. You will observe that the basic structure of the dialog sentences does not change in these drills.

Substitution drill 2, part 2

  1. 102

    Ik zelf ben journalist en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am a journalist and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  2. 103

    Ik zelf ben een notaris en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am a notary and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  3. 104

    Ik zelf ben een officier en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am an officer and my son is going in a totally different direction.

  4. 105

    Ik zelf ben journalist en mijn zoon gaat dus een hele andere richting uit.

    I myself am a journalist and my son is going in a totally different direction.

Substitution drill 3, part 1

  1. 106

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel toestemming om open te blijven.

    But sometimes they get permission to stay open.

  2. 107

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel toestemming om later thuis te komen.

    But sometimes they get permission to come home later.

  3. 108

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel klachten over de slechte verzorging.

    But sometimes they get complaints about the poor service.

  4. 109

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel klachten over het lawaai van de motoren.

    But sometimes they get complaints about the noise of the motors.

  5. 110

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel klachten over de slechte verlichting 's avonds.

    But sometimes they get complaints about the bad lighting at night.

  6. 111

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel enige aanmerkingen.

    But sometimes they get some remarks.

  7. 112

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel een aantal aanvragen.

    But sometimes they get a few requests.

Substitution Drills

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 41. Substitution Drill 3.

Listen to and repeat the first sentence of the drill on tape. Your voice will be followed by a low voice on tape to correct any mistakes in your utterance. You will now immediately hear a word or phrase that you are to substitute into the original sentence. Without hesitating, say the entire sentence again, this time with the new element in place of an element in the original sentence. You will again be corrected. Then you will hear, as before, another element for substitution. Again you will repeat the entire sentence, dropping the old element and substituting the new element in its place.

They are based on the previous five dialogs. Their purpose is to give you fluency in controlling sentences of the dialogs with additional variations provided by the substitution elements. You will observe that the basic structure of the dialog sentences does not change in these drills.

Substitution drill 3, part 2

  1. 113

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel toestemming om open te blijven.

    But sometimes they get permission to stay open.

  2. 114

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel een aantal boeken en tijdschriften toegestuurd.

    But sometimes a few books and magazines are sent to them.

  3. 115

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel wat fruit en verse groenten toegestuurd.

    But sometimes fruit and fresh vegetables are sent to them.

  4. 116

    Maar soms krijgen ze wel toestemming om open te blijven.

    But sometimes they get permission to stay open.

Substitution drill 4, part 1

  1. 117

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om molens weer in bedrijf te brengen.

    I have heard that they are thinking about putting the windmills back into operation.

  2. 118

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om nog grotere schepen te bouwen.

    I have heard that they are thinking about building even bigger ships.

  3. 119

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om de invoertarieven te verhogen.

    I have heard that they are thinking about raising the import taxes.

  4. 120

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om de dollar te devalueren.

    I have heard that they are thinking about devaluating the dollar.

  5. 121

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om de exporttarieven te verlagen.

    I have heard that they are thinking about lowering the export taxes.

  6. 122

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om een tunnel onder het kanaal te graven.

    I have heard that they are thinking about building a tunnel under the Channel.

  7. 123

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om de maximum snelheid te verhogen.

    I have heard that they are thinking about raising the maximum speed.

Substitution Drills

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 41. Substitution Drill 4.

Listen to and repeat the first sentence of the drill on tape. Your voice will be followed by a low voice on tape to correct any mistakes in your utterance. You will now immediately hear a word or phrase that you are to substitute into the original sentence. Without hesitating, say the entire sentence again, this time with the new element in place of an element in the original sentence. You will again be corrected. Then you will hear, as before, another element for substitution. Again you will repeat the entire sentence, dropping the old element and substituting the new element in its place.

They are based on the previous five dialogs. Their purpose is to give you fluency in controlling sentences of the dialogs with additional variations provided by the substitution elements. You will observe that the basic structure of the dialog sentences does not change in these drills.

Substitution drill 4, part 2

  1. 124

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om molens weer in bedrijf te brengen.

    I have heard that they are thinking about putting the windmills back into operation.

  2. 125

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om het schoolgeld af te schaffen.

    I have heard that they are thinking about abolishing tuition.

  3. 126

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om de filmkeuring af te schaffen.

    I have heard that they are thinking about abolishing the film censorship.

  4. 127

    Ik heb wel gehoord dat ze eraan denken om molens weer in bedrijf te brengen.

    I have heard that they are thinking about putting the windmills back into operation.

Substitution drill 5, part 1

  1. 128

    Nee, maar heeft hij een goede hengel?

    No, but does he have a good fishing rod?

  2. 129

    Nee, maar heeft hij een modern jachtgeweer?

    No, but does he have a modern hunting rifle?

  3. 130

    Nee, maar heeft hij al de voorzorgen genomen?

    No, but has he taken all the precautions?

  4. 131

    Nee, maar heeft hij een snelle sportfiets?

    No, but does he have a fast racing bike?

  5. 132

    Nee, maar heeft hij een sterke motor in z'n auto?

    No, but does he have a powerful motor in his car?

  6. 133

    Nee, maar heeft hij er genoeg ervaring voor?

    No, but does he have enough experience for that?

  7. 134

    Nee, maar heeft hij een harde rechtse?

    No, but does he have a strong right fist?

Substitution Drills

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 41. Substitution Drill 5.

Listen to and repeat the first sentence of the drill on tape. Your voice will be followed by a low voice on tape to correct any mistakes in your utterance. You will now immediately hear a word or phrase that you are to substitute into the original sentence. Without hesitating, say the entire sentence again, this time with the new element in place of an element in the original sentence. You will again be corrected. Then you will hear, as before, another element for substitution. Again you will repeat the entire sentence, dropping the old element and substituting the new element in its place.

They are based on the previous five dialogs. Their purpose is to give you fluency in controlling sentences of the dialogs with additional variations provided by the substitution elements. You will observe that the basic structure of the dialog sentences does not change in these drills.

Substitution drill 5, part 2

  1. 135

    Nee, maar heeft hij een goede hengel?

    No, but does he have a good fishing rod?

  2. 136

    Nee, maar heeft hij een goede linkse?

    No, but does he have a good left fist?

  3. 137

    Nee, maar heeft hij een goede indruk opgewekt?

    No, but did he make a good impression?

  4. 138

    Nee, maar heeft hij een goede hengel?

    No, but does he have a good fishing rod?

Unit 6 test, part 1

The unit's test

Fifteen sentences from the unit's dialogs, heard once each.

Write the English for each. Any English that says the same thing is right. The test asks only whether the sentence was understood.

  1. 139

    Were you in Zeeland right after the flood?

  2. 140

    Many houses had been rebuilt and you could tell where the sea had been.

  3. 141

    Then they were built up again with government funds.

  4. 142

    Where would I have to send my son to get a good university education in the Netherlands?

  5. 143

    Eindhoven and Delft are both technical institutes.

  6. 144

    Wageningen is an agricultural institute.

  7. 145

    And then there is the business institute of Rotterdam.

Test on the Unit

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book III, Lesson 42. Test on Unit 6.

The test tape consists of a translation drill containing fifteen sentences taken from the dialogs of the unit. This is a test for comprehension.

Have pencil and paper ready. Listen to the sentences and write an English equivalent in the time allotted.

The test tape tests only your comprehension of dialog sentences. The English provided in these answers is an equivalent and not a literal translation. Any parallel English sentence would be acceptable.

Unit 6 test, part 2

  1. 146

    I couldn't say, but I could just call if you're interested.

  2. 147

    And are there any stores in the neighborhood where I can go window shopping a little?

  3. 148

    Are there stores open evenings, too?

  4. 149

    I have heard that they're thinking of putting the windmills back into operation.

  5. 150

    Only the old people still wear them.

  6. 151

    I want to buy something for my husband for Christmas.

  7. 152

    I think that that makes a very nice present.

  8. 153

    Excellent, then I'll have it wrapped up for you.

The particulars

The course
Valette, Dutch Conversation-Grammar (1913) and its Key (1893); Defense Language Institute, Dutch Refresher Course, Books I to III (1961). Public domain. The teaching pages, the readings' English, the answers to the conversations and the narration are ours.
Reading aloud
Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
The book
Max Havelaar, the work this course leads to, free to read here.
Data
JSON · Markdown · A guide for agents
Two whoopie pies and a pine. An inside joke.