| The stem of
a verb |
Verbs in a dictionary lists are
infinitive, which in Dutch always ends in -en.
Infinitive Infinitive
werken to work
By removing the -en from the infinitive you get the basic word of the
verb, which is called stem.
infinitive stem
werken werk
How to construct the present tense?
1. If the stem of the verb contains a long a, e, o, u,
this vowel is doubled, e.g.
Praten 'to talk' ik praat 'I talk', jij praat 'you talk', etc; Similarly
sprken 'to speak', ik spreek 'I speak', jij spreekt, etc; wonen 'to
live', ik woon 'I live', jij woont 'you live', etc; huren 'to rent', ik
huur 'I rent', jij huurt 'you rent', etc.
2. If the vowel of the stem is short, as shown by a double
consonant after it in the infinitive, the stem will be one consonant,
e.g.
bakken 'to bake', ik bak 'I bake', jij bakt 'you bake', etc; rennen 'to
run', ik ren 'I run', jin rent 'you run', etc.
3.Verbs whose stem would seem to end in v or z, after
remove the -en ending, chang v or z into f or s respectively, e.g.
schrijven 'to write', ik schrijf 'I write', jij schrijft 'you write',
etc; reizen 'to travel', ik reis 'I travel', jij reist 'you travel',
etc; verven 'to paint', ik verf 'I paint', jij verft 'you paint', etc.
4. Combination of rules 1 and 3.
lezen 'to read', ik lees 'I read', jij leest 'you read', etc; leven 'to
live', ik leef 'I live', jij leeft 'you live', etc; blozen 'to blush',
ik bloos 'I blush', jij bloost 'you blush', etc.
Note: A verb with the stem ends in t does not add another t, with
the stem d, do add t although the -dt is pronounced the same as t, e.g.
zitten 'to sit', ik zit 'I sit', jij zit 'you sit', etc; vinden 'to
find', ik vind 'I find', jij vindt 'you find', etc. |
| |
Rules: 1. Remember the made-up word 't
kofschip, if a stem ends with any of the consonants in this word, the
past participle will be added with -t, otherwise the past participle
will be added with -d.
2. But be careful, if a verb that has a v or z in the infinitive, but a
stem ends with f or z, for this kind of words, the past participle still
will be added with -d.
| Infinnitive |
Stem |
Past participle |
| reizen(travel) |
reis |
gereisd |
| leven(live) |
leef |
geleefd |
3. Verbs that start with unstressed be-,
her-, ont- and ver-, don't add ge-.
4. Verbs end with -t, don't add -t: gepraat, ontmoet.
| Infinnitive |
Stem |
Past participle |
| beloven(promise) |
beloof |
beloofd(promised) |
| gebaren(gesture) |
gebaar |
gebaard(gestured) |
| herhalen(repeat) |
herhaal |
herhaald(repeated) |
| ontmoeten(meet) |
ontmoet |
ontmoet(met) |
| vertalen(translate) |
vertaal |
vertaald(translated) |
|
The present tense
