{"id":2023,"date":"2012-05-03T17:24:03","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T17:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=2023"},"modified":"2012-05-03T17:24:03","modified_gmt":"2012-05-03T17:24:03","slug":"dutch-verb-boot-camp-the-present-tense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/dutch-verb-boot-camp-the-present-tense\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch Verb Boot Camp: The Present Tense"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today we will take a look at the present tense in Dutch. The good news is that to form the present tense in Dutch, you just apply the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb. Don\u2019t remember how to find the stem? Have a look at our <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/dutch-verb-boot-camp\/\">introduction post on Dutch verbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cBut which endings?\u201d<\/em> I hear you ask. These ones:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the first person singular has no ending<\/li>\n<li>the second and third person singular add <em><strong>\u2013t<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li>and the plural forms add <em><strong>\u2013en<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Still with me? Good. Let\u2019s see an example, shall we?<\/p>\n<table class=\"aligncenter\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\" valign=\"top\" width=\"616\">\n<p align=\"center\"><strong>kijken = to view, look (at)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\" valign=\"top\" width=\"616\">\n<p align=\"center\"><strong>stem = kijk<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>ik<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">kijk<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>wij<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">kijken<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>jij<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">kijkt<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>jullie<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">kijken<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>u<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">kijkt<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>u<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">kijkt<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left\" valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>hij, zij, het<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: left\" valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">kijkt<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: left\" valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>zij<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">kijken<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>\u00a0Notes:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The polite form <strong>\u201cu\u201d<\/strong> takes a singular ending even in the plural form.<\/li>\n<li>Technically you can use <em><strong>\u2013en<\/strong><\/em> or <em><strong>\u2013t<\/strong><\/em> for the second person plural (e.g. <em>jullie kijkt<\/em> or <em>jullie kijken<\/em>) but the <em><strong>\u2013en<\/strong><\/em> ending tends to be used more often.<\/li>\n<li>If a verb\u2019s infinitive form ends in <em><strong>\u2013n<\/strong><\/em> rather than <em><strong>\u2013en<\/strong><\/em>, use only <em><strong>\u2013n<\/strong><\/em> when conjugated in the plural (<em>staan<\/em> &#8211;&gt; <em>sta<\/em> (stem) &#8211;&gt; <em>ik sta<\/em> &#8211;&gt; <em>wij staan<\/em>). Hopefully you also noticed that when we remove the <em><strong>\u2013n<\/strong><\/em> to find the stem, we also get rid of one of the double a\u2019s. Have a look at the <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/spelling-in-dutch-part-one\/\">spelling rules part one<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/spelling-in-dutch-part-two\/\">part two<\/a>, if you need a refresher as to why.<\/li>\n<li>You may also need to adjust the spelling in other words (see <em>praten<\/em> below), again see the spelling rules if you need a refresher.<\/li>\n<li>You do not add the <em><strong>\u2013t<\/strong><\/em> ending onto the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> or 3<sup>rd<\/sup> person singular because the stem ends in a <strong><em>\u2013t<\/em><\/strong> already. In Dutch, words to not end with double consonants.<span style=\"text-align: center\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table class=\"aligncenter\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\" valign=\"top\" width=\"616\">\n<p align=\"center\"><strong>praten = to talk, chat<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\" valign=\"top\" width=\"616\">\n<p align=\"center\"><strong>stem = praat<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>ik<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">praat<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>wij<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">praten<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>jij<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">praat<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>jullie<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">praten<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>u<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">praat<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>u<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">praat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>hij, zij, het<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">praat<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\"><strong>zij<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"154\">praten<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Exceptions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Of course, as will all languages, there are some exceptions. Two examples are the verbs <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-verb-hebben-to-have\/\">hebben<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-verb-zijn-to-be\/\">zijn<\/a>, which we have covered before.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Inversions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In inversions, such as questions, the <strong><em>\u2013t<\/em><\/strong> ending is dropped on the second person singular.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>jij kijkt<\/em> becomes <em>kijk je?<\/em> when inverted<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Function<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Dutch present tense works basically the same way that present tense works in English. However, in Dutch there is only one present tense form. Therefore there is no extra form equivelant to the English progressive form \u201cshe is looking\u201d or the emphatic form \u201cshe does look.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Dutch, <em>zij kijkt<\/em> may mean \u201cshe looks,\u201d \u201cshe is looking\u201d or \u201cshe does look\u201d \u2013 it depends on the context.<\/p>\n<p>If extra emphasis is needed to show that the action is currently in progress, then the Dutch will typically do one of two things:<\/p>\n<p>1. use the inflected verb \u201cto be\u201d and a prepositional phrase starting with<em> \u201caan\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Zij is aan \u2018t kijken.<\/em> (She is watching\/looking.)<\/p>\n<p>2. combine an inflected verb indicating position (<em>staan, zitten, liggen<\/em>) with <em>te<\/em> + the infinitive<\/p>\n<p><em>Zij staat naar ons te kijken.<\/em> (She is looking at\/watching us.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today we will take a look at the present tense in Dutch. The good news is that to form the present tense in Dutch, you just apply the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb. Don\u2019t remember how to find the stem? Have a look at our introduction post on Dutch verbs. \u201cBut which&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/dutch-verb-boot-camp-the-present-tense\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[27710,3590,27711],"tags":[117769,132174,3356],"class_list":["post-2023","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-dutch-grammar","category-dutch-language","category-dutch-vocabulary-2","tag-dutch-grammar-2","tag-dutch-verbs","tag-present-tense"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2023"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2031,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023\/revisions\/2031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}