De band is lek, dus ik ga niet fietsen.

Because band meaning tire/tyre is a de-word in Dutch: de band.

Be careful: band can have more than one meaning in Dutch, and the article can change with the meaning. For example:

• de band = tire, belt, bond, group
• het band = ribbon or tape in some contexts

So in this sentence, de band means the tire.

Here, lek means flat, leaking, or punctured.

In De band is lek, lek comes after is, so it is a predicate adjective. Predicate adjectives in Dutch usually do not take the -e ending.

Compare:

• de lekke band = the flat tire
• de band is lek = the tire is flat

So:

• before a noun: often -e
• after a form of zijn: usually no -e

Dus means so, therefore, or that’s why.

In this sentence, it connects the reason and the result:

• De band is lek = the tire is flat
• dus ik ga niet fietsen = so I’m not going cycling

Unlike some other Dutch linking words, dus does not force the verb to the end of the clause. The normal main-clause word order stays the same:

• dus ik ga niet fietsen

Compare that with a subordinating conjunction like omdat:

• Ik ga niet fietsen, omdat de band lek is.

So dus is a coordinating connector, and the word order remains normal.

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things.

• ik fiets niet = I don’t cycle / I’m not cycling
• ik ga niet fietsen = I’m not going cycling / I’m not going to cycle

The structure gaan + infinitive is very common in Dutch when talking about a planned or intended action, especially in everyday speech.

So here, ik ga niet fietsen sounds natural because it refers to the plan or intention to go cycling, and that plan is canceled because of the flat tire.

Gaan + infinitive is a very common Dutch structure. It can mean:

• to go and do something
• to be going to do something
• sometimes simply a planned future action

In this sentence:

• ik ga fietsen = I’m going cycling / I’m going to cycle

The conjugated verb comes first in the clause, and the main action stays as an infinitive at the end:

• ik ga fietsen
• wij gaan wandelen
• hij gaat koken

With negation:

• ik ga niet fietsen

So gaan is conjugated, and fietsen stays in the infinitive.

In ik ga niet fietsen, niet negates the action fietsen.

A useful beginner rule is that niet often comes:

• after the conjugated verb and
• before the infinitive, adjective, or phrase it is negating

So:

• ik ga niet fietsen
• wij willen niet wachten
• hij is niet moe

Here, niet says that the cycling is not happening.

If you said ik fiets niet, then niet comes after the conjugated verb because there is no infinitive at the end.

Here, fietsen is a verb in the infinitive form, meaning to cycle or to ride a bike.

Dutch infinitives often end in -en, so fietsen can look a bit like a plural noun to English speakers. But in this sentence it is definitely a verb:

• ik ga fietsen = I’m going cycling

As a noun, Dutch would usually show that differently in context, for example:

• het fietsen = cycling (as an activity)

But here it is part of gaan + infinitive.

Because after gaan, Dutch uses the bare infinitive.

English often uses to with infinitives, but Dutch often does not. After modal verbs and verbs like gaan, the second verb usually appears without any equivalent of to.

Examples:

• ik ga fietsen = I’m going to cycle / I’m going cycling
• ik wil fietsen = I want to cycle
• ik kan fietsen = I can cycle

So fietsen appears on its own, without a separate word meaning to.

Yes. Band is a common Dutch word with several meanings, including:

• tire
• belt
• bond/tie
• band (music group, from English)

The meaning depends on context. In De band is lek, only tire makes sense, because lek means leaking/flat.

So the context tells you that band here means tire.

Yes, absolutely. De fietsband is lek means the bicycle tire is flat.

That version is more specific, because band by itself can refer to different kinds of tires. In everyday context, though, De band is lek is perfectly natural if it is already clear that we are talking about a bicycle.

Dutch often uses compounds like this:

• fietsband = bicycle tire
• autoband = car tire

So de fietsband is lek is a very useful variation.

Because both parts are main clauses.

Dutch main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule: the conjugated verb comes in the second position.

First clause:

• De band = position 1
• is = conjugated verb in position 2
• lek

Second clause:

• dus
• ik = subject
• ga = conjugated verb
• niet
• fietsen

With dus, the second clause keeps normal main-clause order. That is why you get:

• dus ik ga niet fietsen

If it were a subordinate clause, the verb would move toward the end, for example:

• ..., omdat de band lek is.

So the sentence structure is normal for two linked main clauses.