The Small Change of Conversation™
I found the phrase in a book by Henry James. It's a useful concept for students of foreign languages. The pages in this series (and my website in general) will help you speak with Dutch people.
I hope you have the passive vocabulary to understand what people say or write to you - to comment on that, learn the phrases on this page that look useful to you, make them part of your active vocabulary.

Expectations ... and What Happens

 1. verwachtingen  - expectations
      verwachten  - to expect

(de) verwachting expectation verwachtingen 2 3 expectations (het) verwachtingspatroon 2 [pattern] set of expectations (de) weersverwachting weather forecast ‑>> Wat is de weersverwachting? 2 What is the weather forecast? geen hoge verwachtingen 2 3 no [high] great expectations de verwachtingen overtreffen 2 3 to [exceed] beat expectations in verwachting 2 expecting (a baby) - more 'in blijde verwachting' '(happily) expecting' onverwacht unexpected, unexpectedly (de) onverwachte wending 2 unexpected turn of events (often in fiction or in a narrative) - or- unexpected development geheel onverwacht 2 3 completely unexpected, out of the blue De verwachte groei bleef uit 2 3 The expected expansion didn't happen

verwachten 2		to expect
verwachten		to expect
ik verwacht		I expect, I'm expecting
wij verwachten		we expect, we're expecting
ik verwachtte		I expected, I was expecting
wij verwachtten		we expected, we were expecting
ik heb verwacht		I have expected

The past perfect tense is actully more common:
ik had verwacht 2 I had expected, I was expecting

Wij verwachten / wij verwachtten: despite the double T in the past tense of the plural, it sounds exactly the same as the present tense plural

'Verwachten' is derived from 'wachten' (to wait)
Ik zat te wachten op een telefoontje I was waiting for a phone call - more wachten

Ik verwacht een telefoontje 2	I'm expecting a ('little') phone call
Dat had ik niet verwacht 2 3	I had not expected that
Ik verwacht er niet veel van 2 3	I don't expect much of it, I don't have high expectations of it, I'm not getting my hopes up
Niet wat je zou verwachten	Not what you'd expect
Wie had dat verwacht? 2 3	Who had expected that? - Nobody. It is/was completely unexpected
Wordt er regen verwacht? 2	Is rain expected?
Werd dat verwacht? 2 3	Was that expected?
Dat werd verwacht	That was expected
Zoals je zou verwachten 2 3	As you would expect, as expected
Dat was te verwachten 2	That was to be expected
Dat staat ons ook te wachten 2	That is waiting for us too, we can expect that too

(het) vooruitzicht 'outlook, prospect' (what will the future bring?)
vooruitzichten prospects, reasonable expectations
'n prettig vooruitzicht 2 a nice prospect, ~a promising future event, something to look forward to

(het) voorproefje 2 3 4 'foretaste,' - a sample or suggestion of what lies ahead

voorspellen 2 'to predict' - or even 'to prophesy'
de toekomst voorspellen 2 predicting the future - more

Misschien komt dat nog 2 3 Maybe that's still coming, maybe that's still going to happen

  (de) hoop  - hope
  hopen  - to hope

hopen 2		to hope
hopen		to hope
ik hoop		I hope
wij hopen		we hope
ik hoopte		I hoped
wij hoopten		we hoped
ik heb gehoopt		I have hoped
2		more

The perfect past tense is more common:
ik had gehoopt 'I had hoped, I was hoping'

Het geeft de mensen hoop	It gives people hope
Hoop doet leven	Hope [makes] fuels life
een sprankje hoop 2	a glimmer of hope
Kaap de Goede Hoop 2	The Cape of Good Hope (South Africa)
Ik hoop dat 't op tijd is	I hope it's in time
Ik hoop dat je het niet erg vindt	I hope you don't mind, I hope it's OK with you
Ik hoop dat je d'r tijd voor hebt 2 3 4	I hope you have time for it
We hopen op een wonder 2	We're hoping for a miracle
Ik hoop van niet	I hope not (hoping that something isn't true or is not going to happen)
Ik hoop dat we 't droog houden	I hope we'll keep it dry (hoping it doesn't rain)

(de) wanhoop 2 3 4 5 despair ‑>>

  verlangen naar - to long for
  uitkijken naar  - to look forward to

Ik verlang naar m'n bed 2 3 I long for my bed - (sleep) het verlangen naar avontuur 2 3 4 5 the longing for adventure

'Uitkijken naar' 2 to look forward to, expecting to enjoy Ik kijk uit naar de Kerstdagen I'm looking forward to the Christmas Holiday Ik kijk uit naar de feestdagen I'm looking forward to the holidays Iets om naar uit te kijken 2 Something to look forward to 'n prettig vooruitzicht 2 a nice prospect, ~a promising future event, something to look forward to

  beloven  - to promise

beloven		to promise
ik beloof		I promise
wij beloven		we promise
ik beloofde		I promised
wij beloofden		we promised
ik heb beloofd		I have promised
2

loze beloften 2 worthless, empty promises veelbelovend 2 3 [much-] promising, 'having potential' beterschap beloven to promise [improvement] better behavior Ik herinnerde hem aan z'n belofte 2 I reminded him [of? about? his promise] that he'd made a promise

(de) afspraak 1. agreement - about a course of action
2. appointment ‑>> Ik herinnerde hem aan de afspraak I reminded him that there was an agreement (de) overeenkomst 2 1. agreement - about a course of action
2. similarity

 zich voorstellen  - to imagine (+)
 voorstellen  - to propose

(het) voorstel 'proposal, proposition'
voorstellen 2 to propose, submit a plan
het voorstel op tafel the proposal on the table, the proposal that was made

  plannen  - plans

(het) plan	plan, design, project
plannen 2	plans
plannen maken	to lay, develop plans
van plan zijn 2	to plan, to intend, to have in mind
We zijn van plan ...	We are planning ..., the plan is ...
We waren van plan om ...	We were planning ..., the plan was ...
We waren van plan om weg te gaan 2	We were planning on leaving, we were going to leave
We zijn van plan om morgen weg te gaan	We're planning to leave tomorrow
Ik was van plan om het huis wit te verven	I was [planning] going to paint the house white
Hij verzette zich tegen het plan 2	He opposed the plan
(de) lange-termijnplanning 2	long-term planning ('planning' - Dutch uses the English word)

  voorbereiden  - to prepare (for the future)

Dutch voorbereiden 2 ('to prepare') and (de) voorbereiding 2 ('preparation') refer to preparing for a future event. English 'to prepare' in the sense of 'to make, to create' is maken ‑>> or for food, a bit old-fashioned: bereiden 2 ‑>>

goed voorbereid 2	well-prepared (for future events)
Op alles voorbereid 2	prepared for anything
Op het ergste voorbereid 2	prepared for the worst
(de) voorzorgsmaatregelen	precautions - Emergency Preparedness

(het) uitstel postponement, delay
uitstellen 2 3 to postpone
Van uitstel komt afstel 2 3 'Postponement leads to cancellation' Laten we tot morgen wachten 'Let's wait till tomorrow' Laten we niet te hard van stapel lopen (saying) [Let's not launch too quickly] - Let's not go ahead too fast  ('van stapel lopen' was originally a phrase for launching ships)

  2. gebeuren  - to happen, occur, take place

gebeuren	to happen, occur, take place
(de) gebeurtenis	event, incident
(het) voorval 2	event, incident (old-fashioned)
(het) incident 2	incident
Wat zou er gebeuren? 2	What would happen?
't gebeurt	it happens (unfortunately)
't gebeurde	it happened
Wat er gebeurt 2 3	What happens
Wat er gebeurde 2 3	What happened, how it ended up
't Is gebeurd 2	[It has happened] - usually this means: 'The job is done'
't Is net gebeurd 2 3	It happened, came about just a moment ago
Zulke dingen gebeuren	Things like that happen (unfortunately)
't Kan gebeuren 2	It [can] may happen, things like that happen
't Zit er niet in 2 3 4	It's not going to happen
Wat is er gebeurd? 2 3	What [has] happened?
Er is een ongeluk gebeurd 2 3 4	[An accident happened] - There has been an accident (usually in traffic)
Hij vertelde mij wat er gebeurd was	He told me what [had] happened
Hij vertelde hun wat er gebeurd was 2	He told them what [had] happened
Ik wil weten wat er gebeurd is 2 3	I want to know what [has] happened
Ik wil precies weten wat er gebeurd is 2 3	I want to know exactly what happened
Ik wil weten wat er precies gebeurd is 2 3	I want to know what exactly happened
Zij denkt dat 't nog gaat gebeuren	She thinks it's still going to happen
't Kan elk moment gebeuren 2 3	It can happen any moment, anytime
Er schijnt iets gebeurd te zijn 2 3 4	It looks like something happened
Er is iets heel ergs gebeurd 2 3 4	Something [very] really bad happened
Hoe kan 't gebeuren? 2	How can it happen, how is it possible? (puzzled, frustrated)
Hoe kan 't gebeuren? 2 3 4	How can it happen? How is it possible that things like that happen? (lamenting too much bad luck)
't Had niet mogen gebeuren 2	It shouldn't have happened

't Ergste dat je kan overkomen 2 3 This could be a flat statement: 'The worst that can happen (to you)' but usually it's said to tell you there is no great risk
- more overkomen - 'happen to' - something happens to you

Dat heb ik nog nooit meegemaakt That has never happened to me
- more meemaken - to experience, witness, be present at

een nare ervaring 2 3 a very unpleasant, upsetting experience
- more (de) ervaring - experience

  aflopen  - stories or reporting ending

(de) afloop 2

aflopen

Hoe 't afloopt 2 3	How it turns out, what happens
Hoe 't afliep 2 3	How it turned out, what happened
't Is een aflopende zaak 2	a business or an endeavor heading downhill, on its last legs
Hoe zal 't aflopen?	How will it to end?
Hoe is 't afgelopen?	How did it end?
Ik wil weten hoe 't afloopt 2	I want to know how it (usually a story) will end
Ik ben benieuwd hoe 't afloopt 2 3	I'm curious, I wonder how it's going to end
't Loopt niet goed af 2	It's not ending well, it's not going to end well
Lang nadat de oorlog was afgelopen 2 3	Long after the war had ended
Ik ben blij dat het goed is afgelopen	I'm glad it ended well
Ik had kunnen weten dat 't slecht zou aflopen 2 3	I could have known that it would end badly
't Moet afgelopen zijn! 2 3	It has to stop! It can't continue
(de) ontknoping 2 3	denouement - ending where the various story lines are resolved, made clear, or a decision is taken

  better or worse than expected

't Valt mee It's not as bad as expected 't Valt niet mee 2 3 It's not easy 't Valt erg mee It's really not as bad as feared 't Valt tegen It's worse than expected, it's disappointing 't Zal wel meevallen 2 3 [It will not be as bad as expected] It won't be very bad 't Lijkt mee te vallen 2 3 It looks like it won't be that bad Misschien valt 't mee 2 3 4 Maybe it won't be as bad as we feared Misschien valt 't wel mee 2 3 Maybe it won't be as bad as we feared ‑>> Ik denk dat 't wel meevalt 2 3 I think it won't be that bad, I think it will be better than expected, I think it will be OK Als 't meevalt ... 2 3 If it goes well, if it's better than expected ... Als 't tegenvalt ... 2 3 If it doesn't go well, if it's worse than expected ...
See also: Splitting Verbs

meezitten 2 3 4
tegenzitten 2 3 4
(meaning explained in examples below)

(Wanneer is 't klaar? 2 3
When [is] will it be ready?)

Als 't meezit ... 2 If things go well, if we're lucky ... Als 't meezit is 't morgen klaar If things go well it will be ready tomorrow

Als 't tegenzit ... 2 if it doesn't go well, if we're not lucky, if things don't work out ... Als 't tegenzit kan 't nog wel een week duren If things don't work out, it may take a week

't Zit mee 2 3 It's going well 't Zit tegen 2 3 It's not going well 't Zit ons niet mee 2 3 It's not going well, we're having a lot of trouble, luck seems against us een onverwachte tegenvaller 2 3 an unexpected disappointing development more mee  and tegen

  (de) teleurstelling  - disappointment

(de) teleurstelling	disappointment
teleurstellend	disappointing
teleurgesteld 2 3	disappointed

Ik werd teleurgesteld 2 3	I was disappointed
Ik ben teleurgesteld geworden 2	I'm disappointed, I have been disappointed ‑>>
Ik wil je niet teleurstellen 2	I don't want to disappoint you
Ik moet je teleurstellen 2 3 4	I have to disappoint you
Het stelt me teleur	It disappoints me, I'm disappointed
teleurstellende resultaten 2 3	disappointing results
't is één grote teleurstelling 2 3 4	It's one big disappointment, all of it is disappointing
teleurstellingen verwerken 2 3	dealing with disappointment, to process, get over, accept

In Dutch newspaper headlines I've seen the word (de) deceptie  as 'disappointment.' I was not familiar with that word in Dutch, and it looks wrong to me, because English 'deception' means 'deceit, misleading' (Dutch (het) bedrog 2 3) - but I found it indeed as 'disappointment' in my Dutch dictionaries, though in very small entries. I guess it's Flemish, from French 'decepcion' - disappointment, an English-French faux ami.
With most newspapers in The Netherlands now in Flemish hands, more and more to me weird and strange words appear, like for instance beloftevol  instead of veelbelovend 2 3 4 ('promising, having potential') and Herpak U! 2 instead of Beheers je! 2 ('Get a grip on yourself!' - recover self-control)

  (de) verrassing  - surprise

The Dutch word (de) surprise 2 means a jokey Sinterklaas 2 3 ('Santa Claus') present. Plural: surprises 2

The Small Change of Conversation™
More pages like this:
Meet and Greet
Commenting on Statements and Opinions
Ziek - Talking about Not Feeling Well
Talking about Time
Chance, Luck, Outcomes and Risk
Why? - Because - The Reason - Cause & Effect

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