Ik lees de recensie en beslis daarna of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga.

I read the review and then decide whether I will go to the cinema hall.

Breakdown of Ik lees de recensie en beslis daarna of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga.

• ik: I
• lezen: to read
• gaan: to go
• naar: to
• en: and
• daarna: then
• of: whether
• beslissen: to decide
• de bioscoopzaal: the cinema hall
• de recensie: the review

Questions & Answers about Ik lees de recensie en beslis daarna of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga.

Why are lees and beslis in the present tense if I’m talking about something I will do (read the review, then decide, then go)?

Dutch uses the present tense very often for near‑future actions, especially when the sequence is clear from context or from adverbs like daarna (after that).

So Ik lees de recensie en beslis daarna… can mean:

• I read the review and then I decide… (general/habitual)
• I’m going to read the review and then I’ll decide… (future plan)

Both are covered by the same Dutch present tense. If you really want to stress the future, you can say:

• Ik zal de recensie lezen en daarna beslissen of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga.

but in everyday Dutch the simple present is usually enough.

Why is the word order Ik lees de recensie but of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga? Why does ga go to the end?

Dutch has different word order rules for main clauses and subordinate clauses:

• Main clause (statement): the finite verb is in second position (V2).

  • Ik lees de recensie.
    
    • Subject Ik (1st position)
    • Verb lees (2nd position)

• Subordinate clause (introduced by a conjunction like of, dat, als, omdat, etc.): the finite verb goes to the end.

  • of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga
    
    • of (subordinating conjunction)
    • ik (subject)
    • naar de bioscoopzaal (rest of the clause)
    • ga (finite verb at the end)

You cannot say *of ik ga naar de bioscoopzaal in standard Dutch; after of the verb must go to the end.

When do I use of and when als or wanneer? Why is it of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga?

In this sentence, of means whether / if (yes-or-no).

• Use of when you mean whether (a choice between alternatives, often yes/no):

  • Ik weet niet of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga.
    I don’t know whether I’ll go to the cinema.

• Use als or wanneer when you mean if/when (condition or time):

  • Als ik tijd heb, ga ik naar de bioscoop.
    If I have time, I’ll go to the cinema.
  • Wanneer ik tijd heb, ga ik naar de bioscoop. (more formal)

So here it’s of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga because you’re deciding whether or not you will go.

Why can the sentence say en beslis daarna without repeating ik? Is en ik beslis daarna also possible?

Yes, both are possible:

• Ik lees de recensie en beslis daarna…
• Ik lees de recensie en ik beslis daarna…

In Dutch, when two clauses share the same subject and are closely connected, you can leave out the repeated subject in the second clause, especially in informal speech and writing. English usually needs the second I, but Dutch can omit it.

Including ik in the second clause can sound a bit more emphatic or careful; omitting it sounds a bit more fluent and natural in many contexts.

What is the difference between beslis (beslissen) and besluit (besluiten)? Are they both “to decide”?

Yes, beslissen and besluiten both mean to decide, and often they can be used interchangeably.

• Ik beslis daarna of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga.
• Ik besluit daarna of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga.

Both are correct.

Some tendencies:

• beslissen is very common and neutral.
• besluiten can sound a bit more formal or “final” (like making a clear, firm decision), especially in official contexts:
  • De regering besluit nieuwe maatregelen te nemen.
    The government decides to take new measures.

In everyday speech here, beslis is perfectly natural.

Why is it de recensie and not het recensie?

Every Dutch noun has a grammatical gender: de‑word (common gender) or het‑word (neuter). The noun recensie is a de‑word, so you say:

• de recensie (the review)
• de recensies (the reviews)

There is no rule you can always apply to predict this; you mostly have to learn the article together with the noun. However, many nouns ending in -ie tend to be de‑words (e.g. de politie, de economie, de filosofie), and recensie fits that pattern.

What exactly does recensie mean, and in what contexts is it used?

Recensie means review in the sense of a written or spoken evaluation of a book, film, play, album, etc.

Typical uses:

• Ik lees een recensie van die film.
  I’m reading a review of that film.
• De recensie in de krant was heel positief.
  The review in the newspaper was very positive.

For informal online reviews (Amazon, Google, etc.), people might also say review (an English loanword), but recensie is the standard Dutch word, especially in newspapers, magazines, and more formal contexts.

What is the difference between daarna and dan? Could I say en beslis dan instead of en beslis daarna?

Both daarna and dan can relate to time, but they’re not always interchangeable.

• daarna literally means after that and clearly marks a next step in a sequence:

  • Ik lees de recensie en beslis daarna…
    I read the review and after that I decide…

• dan can mean then, at that time, or function in comparisons (beter dan = better than). As a time word it’s often a bit more flexible and can sometimes sound less precise than daarna.

In this sentence you can say:

• Ik lees de recensie en beslis dan of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga.

That is normal and idiomatic.
Daarna emphasizes the idea of after that step in the sequence, whereas dan is slightly more neutral then. In many everyday contexts, they overlap.

Why is it naar de bioscoopzaal? What is the difference between bioscoop and bioscoopzaal?

• de bioscoop = the cinema as a building or cinema business.
• de zaal = hall, room.
• de bioscoopzaal = the actual screening room where the film is shown.

So naar de bioscoop gaan usually just means to go to the cinema (in general).
naar de bioscoopzaal gaan is a bit more specific: you’re going to the actual room/theater where the movie is played.

In everyday speech, people almost always say:

• Ik ga naar de bioscoop.

Bioscoopzaal is correct but a bit more technical or precise.

Why is bioscoopzaal written as one long word and not bioscoop zaal?

Dutch writes compound nouns as one word, not separated by spaces.

Here:

• bioscoop (cinema)
• zaal (hall, room)
  → bioscoopzaal (cinema room / screening room)

Other examples:

• huis
  • deur → huisdeur (house door)
• auto
  • sleutel → autosleutel (car key)

So bioscoopzaal must be written as one word in correct Dutch spelling.

Why is the verb ga used here instead of something like zal gaan? Is it future, or movement, or both?

Gaan means to go (movement). In of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga, you’re literally talking about going somewhere.

Dutch often uses the present tense of gaan for future plans that involve going somewhere:

• Vanavond ga ik naar de bioscoop.
  I’m going to the cinema tonight.

You could say:

• of ik naar de bioscoopzaal zal gaan,
  but that focuses more on the future tense as such.
  of ik naar de bioscoopzaal ga feels more natural and is perfectly good for a future plan: the context (you’re deciding about a later action) already shows it’s about the future.

How is lees formed from lezen? Why not lez?

The infinitive is lezen. For ik forms, you normally use the stem (infinitive minus -en), but Dutch has a spelling rule about long vs. short vowels.

• Infinitive: lezen
• Stem based on pronunciation: lees (long ee sound)

Conjugation of lezen:

• ik lees
• jij/u leest
• hij/zij/het leest
• wij/jullie/zij lezen

You never write lez for the stem, because that would indicate a short e sound; lees shows the long ee vowel that the word actually has.

Why is the preposition naar used with de bioscoopzaal? Can I use another preposition?

For movement towards a place, Dutch usually uses naar:

• naar de bioscoop (to the cinema)
• naar huis (to home)
• naar school (to school)

So you say:

• Ik ga naar de bioscoopzaal.

Other prepositions like bij, in, op indicate different relationships:

• bij de bioscoop = near/at the cinema
• in de bioscoopzaal = in(side) the cinema room
• op school = at school

But combined with gaan to express going to, the standard choice is naar.