Understand spoken Dutch

"could (singular)" in Dutch

kon
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Summary

The Dutch translation for “could (singular)” is kon.

Examples of "could" in use

There are 39 examples of the Dutch word for "could" being used:
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“What kind are you?” they asked, and the duckling turned in all directions and greeted them the best way he could. “Wat ben jij er voor één?” vroegen zij, en het eendje wendde zich naar alle kanten en groette zo goed het kon.
The duckling expressed as his opinion, that it could be different, but the chicken was not able to do that. Het eendje gaf als zijn mening te kennen, dat het toch ook wel eens anders zou kunnen zijn maar dat kon de kip niet velen.
Now it noticed that the door had come out of one hinge and slanted so badly that it could sneak through the gap into the room, and that is what it did. Nu bemerkte het, dat de deur uit het ene scharnier geraakt was en zo scheef hing, dat het door de reet in de kamer kon sluipen, en dit deed het dan ook.
She felt her knees tremble. Ze kon haar knieën voelen trillen.
And the tomcat, whom she called her son, could arch his back and purr; he even gave sparks, but then one had to stroke his hair the wrong direction. En de kater, die zij haar zoontje noemde, kon een hoge rug zetten en spinnen; hij gaf zelfs vonken van zich, maar dan moest men zijn haar de verkeerde kant opstrijken.
First later on the day it became quiet; but the poor duckling did not dare to get up yet; it waited several hours more, before it turned around, and then it rushed out of the swamp as fast as it could. Eerst laat op de dag werd het stil; maar het arme eendje durfde nog niet opstaan; het wachtte nog verscheidene uren, voordat het omkeek, en toen snelde het uit het moeras weg, zo vlug als het maar kon.
She was so shocked that she couldn’t speak. Ze was zodanig geschrokken dat ze niet kon praten.
He laughed so much that he could hardly move. Hij moest zo vreselijk lachen dat hij zich nauwelijks kon verroeren.
The Spanish police tried to stop people from voting in Catalonia. De Spaanse politie trachtte te verhinderen dat het volk in Catalonië kon stemmen.

Practice Lesson

"could (singular)" Practice (40)
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Lesson words
could (singular)
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Lesson phrases
And the tomcat, whom she called her son, could arch his back and purr; he even gave sparks, but then one had to stroke his hair the wrong direction.,
and then he began to feel such a great longing for a swim on the water, that he could not help telling the hen.,
before he could say anything else,
Bob could not control his anger.,
Do you ever wish you could experience something ‘for the first time’ again?,
First later on the day it became quiet; but the poor duckling did not dare to get up yet; it waited several hours more, before it turned around, and then it rushed out of the swamp as fast as it could.,
He asked me whether I could do him a favour.,
He laughed so much that he could hardly move.,
He studied hard so that he could succeed.,
I couldn't get them in; no matter how much it quacked, it didn't help me!,
I couldn’t anticipate that that would happen.,
I couldn’t find anybody.,
I didn’t know that Tom couldn’t speak French.,
I had no idea that you could cook so well.,
I was a child, how could I know that that would pass forever,
I wish you could make it into something else,
if only it could get the permit to lie in the reeds,
It was happy that the door was open and that it could slip out among the bushes into the newly fallen snow.,
It was the only thing I could do.,
No one else could be so sensitive than a true princess.
etc.

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Acknowledgements

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Joe van der Lee