{"id":4135,"date":"2016-04-06T16:52:30","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T16:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=4135"},"modified":"2016-04-06T16:52:30","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T16:52:30","slug":"back-to-basics-d-and-dt-endings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/back-to-basics-d-and-dt-endings\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to Basics: D and dt endings"},"content":{"rendered":"

NTR: SchoolTV recently released a very catchy song explaining the use of -d and -dt when conjugating verbs in Dutch. For the section\u00a0Snapje?<\/em> meaning Do you understand?, SchoolTV teamed up with the Dutch alternative rock band\u00a0De Staat\u00a0<\/em>to create a catchy tune to help us all figure out when to use just a -d ending or a -dt ending when conjugating in the present tense.<\/p>\n

Theory Behind This<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just to review, when conjugating a verb in the present, you need to follow these steps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Find the root of your verb. Lets use\u00a0lopen.<\/em>\u00a0The root of\u00a0lopen<\/em> is\u00a0loop.<\/em> How did we get to this? First, you remove the -en ending to the verb….so\u00a0lopen\u00a0<\/em>becomes\u00a0lop.<\/em> Before we move on, we need to figure out if then “o” is a long or short vowel. We go back to\u00a0lopen<\/em> and we check if the “o” is long or short. We separate the verb into syllables\u00a0lo-pen.\u00a0<\/em>The “o” on the first syllable has no consonant to lock it in, so it is a long vowel. By taking out the -en, we leave the “o” locked in so we must add the second “o” to show it is a long vowel.<\/li>\n
  2. So now that we have the root\u00a0loop,<\/em> \u00a0we need to figure out the subject. These would be the conjugations:
    \nik loop
    \njij loopt<\/em>
    \nhij\/zij loopt<\/em>
    \nwij lopen<\/em>
    \nzij lopen<\/em><\/em>The first conjugations (ik<\/em>) uses the root verb. The second and third, jij, \u00a0hij<\/em> or zij<\/em>, get a -t added to it. The last two conjugations use the full verb form which is\u00a0lopen\u00a0<\/em>in this case. This rule applies to most verbs (there are some exceptions with irregular verbs such as\u00a0zijn\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0hebben).\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Uitspraak<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The steps to conjugate seem pretty simple and straightforwrad. However, the\u00a0uitspraak<\/em> or the pronunciation is what makes this a bit complicated. If you remember, a “d” at the end of a word sounds like a “t”. So the “d” in\u00a0stad\u00a0<\/em>and the “t” in\u00a0kat<\/em>\u00a0sound the same…as a “t.”<\/p>\n

    But what do you do when you are trying to write down what you are hearing or when you learned a new word someone used but don’t know if its written with a “t” or a “d”?<\/p>\n

    It is at this point that the song by\u00a0De Staat<\/em> helps us figure out….at least when we are talking about verbs.<\/p>\n

    De Staat “d en dt”<\/strong><\/p>\n

    What the song does is create a catchy tune for the way Dutch kids are taught how to write verbs that end in -d- or -dt. The trick is to check if you would use a -t ending with the verb\u00a0lopen.<\/em> If you would add a -t to\u00a0lopen,\u00a0<\/em>then you would also add it to another verb, like\u00a0vinden<\/em>, even though it has a “d” at the end.<\/p>\n

    So if you are unsure if\u00a0vinden<\/em> ends in a -d or -dt, you would compare conjugations with\u00a0lopen.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Ik loop \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0ik vind
    \nJij loop \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0jij vindt
    \nHij loopt \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0hij vindt<\/em><\/p>\n

    Because “hij loopt”<\/em> had a -t ending, you would at the -t to\u00a0vind\u00a0<\/em>even though it will be pronounced the same way for\u00a0ik\u00a0<\/em>and for\u00a0hij.<\/em><\/p>\n

    I know for a fact the song is much better at describing this so here is the video!<\/p>\n