Verbs might not be the most exciting part of a language but they are one of the most important. With that in mind, today we will take a look at the verb zijn, which means to be.
Here are some examples of the verb at work:
- Ik ben de lerares. (I am the teacher.)
- Zij zijn Nederlanders. (They are Dutch.)
- Zij is een meisje. (She is a girl.)
The conjugation of the verb zijn is irregular, just like in English. So, this is one of those verbs that you will need to learn by heart. In the present tense, there are four finite or conjugated verbs.
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Dutch
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English
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ik ben
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I am
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jij/je bent
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you are (informal, singular)
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u bent
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you are (formal, singular)
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hij, zij/ze, het is
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he, she, it is
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wij/we zijn
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we are
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jullie zijn
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you are (informal, plural)
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u bent
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you are (formal, plural)
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zij/ze zijn
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they are
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The verb zijn can be used for quite a few things. For example, you can use it to tell nationalities:
Ik ben Amerikaan. (I am American.)
You can also use it to identify things:
Jij bent een kind. (You are a child.)
And to give basic descriptions:
Zij is oud. (She is old.)
Some Opportunities for Practise:
Vul de goede vorm van het werkwoord ‘zijn’ in. (Fill in the correct form of the verb ‘to be.’)
- Ik _______ ziek.
- Wij _______ op school.
- U _________ aardig.
- Jullie ________ te laat.
- Zij __________ lerares.
Vul het persoonswoord en een vorm van ‘zijn’ in. (Fill in the subject pronoun and a form of ‘to be.’)
- De leraar kijkt naar ons. ____ ____ boos.
- Ik maak veel fouten. ____ _____ verdrietig.
- Moeder ligt in bed. ___ ____ ziek.
Goed of Fout? Omcirkel het juiste antwoord. (Right or Wrong? Circle the correct answer.)
- Ik is ziek. Goed / fout
- Wij zijn cursisten. Goed / fout
- Het meisje ben mooi. Goed / fout
Comments:
Joka:
“Vul de geode vorm van het werkwoord ‘zijn’ in.”
“Geode” should be “goede”. Probably just a typo.
heather:
@Joka Bedankt Joka! It was a typo. 🙂
Jack:
Is it U bent or u bent, I have seen in a few places that ‘u’ is capitalized?
Sten:
@Jack it does not really matter. I am Dutch, but I have seen both all the time. I guess “U” comes from Christianity, as the Lord is always capitalized as well. “U”, referring to God, is always capitalized too. So I suppose it has its roots there. Nonetheless, “u” is perfectly fine too.
Lene Burchardt:
When do you use ze or zij?
Sten:
@Lene Burchardt They are the same! Completely up to you. Mostly though, you hear “ze”. You can write both, though zij is a little more formal.
Probably due to language evolution 🙂
jimmy:
ik ben ziek, ik zie jou niet, ik ga naar…etc etc. But why not ik ben zie jou niet & ik ben ga naar…. ???? i am = ik ben ? then iam going to …. should be????? ik ben going to…. .