We’re human beings, not human doings, right? So let’s get doing!
There are so many delicious verbs in the Dutch language. So many, it’s hard to know where to start. Not to mention how to conjugate them all!
Luckily, over the years, Transparent Language’s Dutch bloggers have been amassing a treasure trove of posts on… drum roll, please… Dutch verbs!
Here’s a collection of some of our very best posts on Dutch verbs and how to use them.
The Verb Zijn (To Be)
To be or not to be…
Come on, you can’t tell me you didn’t see that one coming.
Here, we go through the many uses of zijn and let you try your hand at some conjugations at the end of the post.
The Verb Hebben (To Have)
Not only are we going to walk you through the meaning of the verb, how it can be used and how to conjugate it, we’re going to give you some practice exercises too!
Dutch Verb Bootcamp
Sounds scary, but, trust me, this post and those that follow are comprehensive, easy to digest, and will have you mastering Dutch verbs in no time. Here’s your intro.
Dutch Verb Bootcamp: The Present Tense
See Spot. See spot run. Learn which endings to put on verbs to conjugate them in the present tense. We even throw in an inversion or two.
Dutch Verb Bootcamp: The Simple Past Tense
Now that you’ve got the present tense under your belt, it’s time to dig back into the past. So hop into your time machine cause we’re about to get friendly with past tense weak verbs.
Simple Past and Present Perfect
A mouthful, I know, but you can do this! With the entertaining explanations and the concrete examples in this post, you’ll be perfecting your present simple past with the best of them.
Dutch D verbs
Do you know how to conjugate a verb whose stem ends in the letter ‘d’ (think rijden, houden, vinden) into the second or third person singular? You will after reading this post. Do you not have any earthly idea what I’m talking about? You will after reading this post 😉
Verbs That End in -n
Doen. Gaan. Where does the ‘n’ go? What happens to the second vowel? Where do I add the ‘t’? Tune in to find out.
Verbs Used When Giving Directions
Interestingly, this was one of the first things I learned in my very first Dutch class. And boy am I glad, because this is knowledge I have used about two gazillion times since I set foot in the Netherlands five years ago. I can tell you, it sure is nice to know how to respond. Bonus: after reading this post, you’ll be able to ask for directions too (heel belangrijk)!
Dutch Verbs for Housework
This is mandatory reading for Cinderella. For anyone who does cleaning, really. Or for people, like me, who prefer to use verbs like these to tell others what needs to be cleaned. And, at no additional cost, this post shows you how to clean windows Dutch-style.
How did we do? Is there anything we’re missing that you’d like us to cover in a future post? Anyone want to come over to my place om mijn ramen te wassen?
Photo credit: Jonathan Kos-Read (flickr user jonathankosread), Creative Commons, some rights reserved
