Dutch A2.14 Listening Practice: Say What Is Available
Listen to a A2 Dutch dialogue about say what is available, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
Podcast listening pages are in beta while chapter audio, transcripts, and discussion flows are still being completed.
Level
A2.14
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
17 segments
A short Dutch listening chapter with transcript.
Ask whether there is a free table and report that two tables or one problem are present.
Read while you listen.
1. Marieke · Teacher
Welcome back! I'm Marieke, your teacher. Today we're mastering how to point out that something exists or is available in Dutch using 'er is' and 'er zijn'.
Audio ready
2. Marieke · Teacher
Let me introduce our native speakers, Bram and Lotte. Listen to their conversation at a busy café.
Audio ready
3. Bram · Native Speaker 1
Hallo Lotte, er is een probleem bij het café.
Audio ready
4. Lotte · Native Speaker 2
O jee Bram, is er een tafel vrij?
Audio ready
5. Bram · Native Speaker 1
Jawel, er zijn twee tafels vrij achterin.
Audio ready
6. Lotte · Native Speaker 2
Wat fijn, want er is vandaag erg veel drukte.
Audio ready
7. Bram · Native Speaker 1
Kom, laten we snel een plekje nemen!
Audio ready
8. Marieke · Teacher
Let me break that down line by line for you.
Audio ready
9. Marieke · Teacher
First, Bram said: 'Hallo Lotte, er is een probleem bij het café.' He uses 'er is' to introduce a singular noun that wasn't mentioned before: 'een probleem'.
Audio ready
10. Daan · Student
So we use 'er is' whenever we talk about one new thing being present?
Audio ready
11. Marieke · Teacher
Exactly, Daan. 'Er is' introduces a singular indefinite noun phrase.
Audio ready
12. Marieke · Teacher
Next, Lotte asked: 'O jee Bram, is er een tafel vrij?' Here, the verb and 'er' swap places to form a question: 'Is er...?' and 'vrij' means available.
Audio ready
13. Daan · Student
Does 'vrij' always come at the end of that question pattern?
Audio ready
14. Marieke · Teacher
Yes, when checking bounded availability, 'vrij' naturally settles at the end of the phrase, like 'Is er een tafel vrij?'
Audio ready
15. Marieke · Teacher
Then Bram answered: 'Jawel, er zijn twee tafels vrij achterin.' Notice how he changes from 'er is' to 'er zijn'.
Audio ready
16. Daan · Student
Because 'twee tafels' is plural, so we must use 'er zijn'?
Audio ready
17. Marieke · Teacher
Spot on! Plural nouns always require 'er zijn'. Keep practicing these patterns and you'll be expressing availability naturally in Dutch!
Audio ready