Spelling verbs seems very complicated and often causes problems. What about -dt again in the present tense? When was the coffee ship or ex-breeding sheep a tool and what are weak and strong verbs? By following a kind of route planner, many errors can be prevented and the exceptions become clear.
Terminology
For a start, it is useful if you know a number of terms that can be important in verb spelling.
Finite verb
For conjugation in the present tense it is useful if you know that this applies to the person form. You find the person form by making the sentence questioning. The word in front is the person form. For example:
- We have walked around regularly.
- Have we walked around regularly?
To have is therefore the person form. This explanation applies to this.
The whole verb
The whole verb is the word as you find it in the dictionary in the present tense. For example: walk, lose weight, name, kiss, fly. Usually this is also the we-form, except for compound verbs.
Compound verbs
Compound verbs consist of two words that can also be used separately (such as drive, deliver, shine). These words are written separately in the present tense and in a different order (he drives ahead, we excel). If the two parts of a compound verb are next to each other in a sentence, it is always written together (he has driven the car, we will deliver the house).
The I form
The I form of the verb is the conjugation used with the I in the present tense. For example with the whole verb fly they say I fly. Fly is the I form in this case. The fallacy here is that there are compound verbs that consist of two parts, such as enumeration. The I-form is then: name on.
Present tense
Everything that is happening NOW, right now. If you could add the word now in the sentence, it would be in the present tense.
Past
Everything that happened. You can recognize this by looking at whether there are time definitions in the sentence (then, earlier, last year, first) or adding the word yesterday in the sentence.
First, second, third person, singular and plural
When we talk about the first person we are talking about ourselves, the I (singular) or the we (plural). When we talk about the second person, it is about someone you are talking to: you (singular) or you (plural). When we mean the third person we are talking about someone else: he, she, it (singular) or she (plural)
Verbs in the present tense
In the Dutch language, verb conjugations are bound by rules. If you follow these rules you can hardly make mistakes. But as befits Dutch, there are a few points for attention and pitfalls. In addition, you use the normal spelling rules for the part of the verb that is not the conjugation. So it is important that you keep using the normal spelling rules for the I form, so none -v or -z at the end of the I-form, this never happens in Dutch. Also with the we-form you may have to double the consonant because there is a short sound at the end of a sound group (like with barking). If you want to conjugate the we form, remember that the I form has + and sometimes a modified I form. So I form float is in the we form (i-vom + and) don’t float but float because here the normal spelling rules apply again.
person | which exit | example ‘flying’ |
---|---|---|
I | I form | I fly |
you….. | i-form + t | you fly |
….you | I form | you fly |
he she it | i-form + t | he flies |
we, you, they | i-form + and | we fly |
There is never a double consonant at the end of a Dutch word. So if you conjugate a verb with a -t there will not be another one at the end of the I form -t Bee.
person | which exit | example ‘sitting’ |
---|---|---|
I | I form | I sit |
you….. | i-form + t (but that t is canceled because is already ends in at) | you sit |
….you | I form | are you sitting |
he she it | i-form + t (but that t is canceled because is already ends in at) | she sits |
we, you, they | I-form + en (here is added a t because according to the normal spelling rules) | you sit |
The most difficult conjugation is the one with -dt. This occurs with verbs with a -d at the end of the I form (become, tolerate, cut: become, tolerate, cut) Has the I form never a -dt. That -dt comes about through the conjugation in the second and third person. Because there is one -t added at the end of the conjugation. But watch out! If the verb precedes the person form in the second person singular, this is not the case! When in doubt, there is a mnemonic to remember this. Instead of using the word with a -d at the end of the I-form, the word walk. Do you belong to your conjugation of the verb walk a -t at the end, it must be conjugated with a -d can also be added at the end of the I-form.
person | which exit | example ‘become’ |
---|---|---|
I | I form | I become |
you…. | i-form + t | you will be |
….you | I form | become you |
he she it | i-form + t | it will be |
we, you, they | i-form + and | they become |
Then there are compound verbs that consist of two joined words. Think of: thinking, encountering, naming. When conjugating these verbs, they break down into the two original words: Name, encounter, think …
person | which exit | example ‘thinking’ |
---|---|---|
I | I form | I am thinking |
you…. | i-form + t | you think |
….you | I form | you think |
he she it | i-form + t | it thinks |
we, you, they | i-form + and | they think |
Gotcha: imperative
When you give someone an assignment you speak in the imperative way. For example: do this, indicate that, read aloud.
Here you always use the I-form!