Understand spoken Dutch

"were" Practice Dutch lesson

Recording English Dutch Status
Their legs went by themselves, and they were all in the water; even the ugly, greyish duckling swam along. Hun poten gingen van zelf, en allen waren zij in het water; zelfs het lelijke, grauwe eendje zwom mee.
and as soon as they were out of his sight, he dived under the water until the bottom, and when he rose again he was almost beside himself with excitement en zodra deze niet meer te zien waren, dook het onder tot op de grond en toen het weer boven kwam, was het als buiten zich zelf
There were a lot of mosquitoes. Er waren veel muggen.
The loot was so large that they were surprised. De buit was zo groot dat ze verrast waren.
All those efforts came to nothing. Al die inspanningen waren tevergeefs.
There were enough princesses; but he could not find out if they were real princesses. Prinsessen waren er genoeg; maar of het echte prinsessen waren, kon hij niet te weten komen.
So now the little girl was walking barefoot, her feet were now red and blue from the cold. Daar liep nu het kleine meisje op blote voeten, die rood en blauw van de kou waren.
Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savoury smell of roast goose. Al de ramen waren helder verlicht, en het rook heerlijk naar ganzengebraad.
Around the cornfields and the pastures were vast forests, and in the middle of the forests deep lakes. Rondom de korenvelden en de weiden waren uitgestrekte bossen, en midden in de bossen diepe meren.
All the windows were brightly lit, and it smelled wonderfully of goose roast; because it was New Years Eve. Al de ramen waren helder verlicht, en het rook heerlijk naar ganzengebraad; want het was oudejaarsavond.
There were a lot of flies. Er waren veel vliegen.
How were the drawers attached? Hoe waren de lades bevestigd?
The answers were the same. De antwoorden waren eender.
The consequences were devastating. De gevolgen waren verwoestend.
All our efforts were in vain. Al onze inspanningen waren zinloos.
and up there, there was no cold, nor hunger, nor fear, they would be with God en daar boven was noch koude, noch honger, noch angst, zij waren bij God
for they believed themselves to be half the world, and the better half too. want zij dachten, dat zij de helft waren, en verreweg de beste helft
They were bright white and had long, flexible necks: they were swans Zij waren spierwit en hadden lange, buigzame halzen: het waren zwanen
“I have also been fooled like that and it caused me a lot of work with my young ones, because they were afraid of the water.” “Ik ben ook eens zo beetgenomen en had toen heel wat werk met mijn jongen, want zij waren bang voor het water!”
A chirp was heard, and all the animals of the eggs came alive and stuck their heads out of the egg shells. Een gepiep deed zich horen, en al de dooren van de eieren waren levend geworden en staken de kopjes uit de schalen.