{"id":25,"date":"2009-01-10T01:50:53","date_gmt":"2009-01-10T05:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=25"},"modified":"2009-01-10T01:50:53","modified_gmt":"2009-01-10T05:50:53","slug":"to-have-forgotten-times-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/to-have-forgotten-times-two\/","title":{"rendered":"To have forgotten times two."},"content":{"rendered":"

You might think to yourself\u2026 What a strange title! To have forgotten times two? What could\/ should you expect of a topic with that kind of title? <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Well, this morning I remembered a fall out I once had with a former colleague of mine.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To explain, I will tell you something about the work I used to do. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A couple of years back, I was a receptionist at an accountancy office in Emmeloord. I took incoming calls, distributed mail and correspondence, called advisors for their visiting clients AND edited the outgoing correspondence. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Many of these letters were pretty common, fabricated with pre-written templates and just changed a bit to match their need. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But, of course, some of my former colleagues who thought themselves so clever and brilliant in the Dutch language, handed in concepts that really needed A LOT of editing!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And some of them really seemed to take the corrections as a personal attack … or a jab at their brilliancy. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So, one day one of the senior accountants who ran her own division, came to me all blazing and blistering why I had the nerve to make a correction in a perfectly good Dutch sentence. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIk moet helaas bekennen dat ik helemaal ben vergeten uw aangifte af te werken.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, I have to admit that I forgot to complete your tax report.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Do you see the mistake? It\u2019s very minor, but it\u2019s there! <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

No? Don\u2019t worry, neither did she\u2026 Yes? Well, good for you! I\u2019m so proud! It\u2019s something I had to learn as well! <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For those who didn\u2019t see. Let\u2019s take a look at the verb \u2018vergeten\u2019 (to forget) in the sentence. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In Dutch, we say: <\/span>Ik heb<\/strong> vergeten <\/span>(I have forgotten) <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ik ben<\/strong> vergeten (I am forgotten, but usually it still means: I have forgotten, the only case \u2018Ik ben vergeten\u2019 literally means: \u201cI am forgotten\u201d is when someone else did in fact forget about you.)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Okay\u2026 so we have, \u2018ik heb<\/strong> vergeten\u2019 and \u2018ik ben<\/strong> vergeten\u2019\u2026 is there a difference?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes! A small one, but there is a difference!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In Dutch we say: \u201cIk heb<\/strong> vergeten\u2026\u201d when you forgot to DO something. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Examples: <\/span>Ik heb<\/strong> vergeten de deur op slot te doen (I forgot to lock the door). <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Ik heb<\/strong> vergeten het boek terug te brengen. (I forgot to return the book). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And we say: \u201cIk <\/span>ben<\/strong> vergeten\u2026\u201d when something slipped your mind, when you forgot about <\/span>a fact. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Examples: <\/span>Ik ben<\/strong> je verjaardag vergeten! (I forgot about your birthday!)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>Ik ben<\/strong> je telefoonnummer vergeten. (I forgot your phonenumber)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the sentence again. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ik ben<\/strong> vergeten uw aangifte af te werken.(I forget to complete your tax report.)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not like the tax report just slipped her mind\u2026 she forgot \u2018to complete\u2019 it, she forgot to DO something, she forgot an action in regard to the noun. So, obviously, it should have been:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ik heb<\/strong> vergeten uw aangifte af werken. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

When I pointed her out the subtle difference and even showed her the proof on a website about Dutch grammar, her jaw went rigid and she left in a huff. Me and my other colleague couldn\u2019t help but smile. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You might think to yourself\u2026 What a strange title! To have forgotten times two? What could\/ should you expect of a topic with that kind of title? Well, this morning I remembered a fall out I once had with a former colleague of mine. To explain, I will tell you something about the work I…<\/p>\n

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