310. Vragen

to ask, to inquire [verb] [vraagde, gevraagd] [‘vraa-gun’]

The noun that goes with "vragen" is "vraag": question. Note that "to ask a question" in Dutch is not "een vraag vragen" but "een vraag stellen".

Examples:
– "Pardon meneer, mag ik u iets vragen?"
("Excuse me sir, can/may I ask you something?")

– "Er is gelegenheid tot het stellen van vragen."
("There is opportunity to ask questions.")

– "Wist je dat je Sander en Marc altijd een vraag kan stellen over de Nederlandse taal?"
("Did you know that you can always ask Sander and Marc a question about the Dutch language?")

– "Als je een vraag stelt aan de DWOTD, dan wordt deze op de blog beantwoord als weekendvraag."
("If you ask the DWOTD a question, it will be answered on the blog as the weekend question.")

– "Er zijn geen domme vragen, alleen domme antwoorden."
("There is no such thing as stupid questions, there are only stupid answers.")

Expressions:
– "Erom vragen": to ask/call for it.
– "Om moeilijkheden vragen": to ask for trouble.

Related words:

– "Een vraag stellen": to ask a question.
– "Informeren": to inquire.
– "Beantwoorden": to answer.

2 thoughts on “310. Vragen

  1. Want ads. Help wanted.
    I understand ‘gevraagd’ can mean ‘help wanted:’
    Gevraagd: een boekhouder
    Or something you want to rent or buy:
    Gevraagd: een twijfelaar met 1 matras

    Or if something needs or requires time to develop, it takes time:
    Een instrument leren bespelen vraagt tijd.
    Perfectie vraagt tijd. Oefening baart kunst. Don’t these mean about the same thing?

    But what does it mean:
    “Ik ben gevraagd voor deze functie”?
    Does it mean the person did not apply but has been recruited by the employer for this position, because of o.a. previous work that person has done for someone else? The person has been “asked” to do a job, but may or may not have accepted the job yet, or what? And when would anyone ever say this other than in the passive voice, d.w.z. “Ze hebben mij gevraagd voor deze functie”?

    • Hello Bruce,

      When somebody is ‘asked’ for a job position, in Dutch: “iemand wordt/is gevraagd voor een functie”, it means that that person has been approached for a job position with the implication that if the person is interested, then he or she will get the job (barring some formalities).
      So it does not yet mean the person has accepted the job.

      You will mostly encounter it in the passive voice, however, it could happen that you are approached informally with the message that a job position is coming up and that the company will want to hire you. In which case you could tell your friends: “Ze gaan me (waarschijnlijk) vragen voor die functie.”

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