Word
Haal je even een pond kaas bij de supermarkt?
Meaning
Could you just get half a kilo of cheese at the supermarket?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Haal je even een pond kaas bij de supermarkt?
een
a/an
de kaas
the cheese
de supermarkt
the supermarket
bij
at / near / by
Questions & Answers about Haal je even een pond kaas bij de supermarkt?
Why is it een pond kaas instead of "een pond van kaas"?
In English you say "a pound of cheese", but Dutch uses noun phrase juxtaposition for quantities. This means the measurement (een pond) is placed directly next to the noun it measures (kaas) without any preposition in between.
How much is een pond in the Netherlands? Is it the same as an English pound?
In the metric system used in the Netherlands, een pond is exactly 500 grams (half a kilo). The English pound is slightly lighter (about 454 grams). You will hear pond very often when buying cheese, meat, or vegetables in Dutch shops.
What does the word even do here?
Here, even is a modal particle that softens the request, making it sound casual and friendly, much like saying "Could you just..." or "Could you quickly..." in English. Without it, the question would sound much more direct.
Why do we use the preposition bij for "at the supermarket"?
When you buy, pick up, or do a general activity at a shop or someone's house, Dutch normally uses bij. If the sentence were about the physical direction of travelling there, you would use naar (Ik ga naar de supermarkt), but since you are acquiring something at the location, bij is correct.