Verbs & Actions
What happens in the story?
The heart of every sentence
English verbs are simpler than Dutch - they have fewer forms! But the continuous tenses (-ing forms) and phrasal verbs are unique challenges.
The irregular verbs we cover are so frequent that you'll encounter them in almost every paragraph. Master these and you can follow any story.
Chapter
7
Regular Verbs & Present Simple
Much simpler than Dutch!
English regular verbs are incredibly simple - only add -s for he/she/it! No complex conjugations like Dutch.
Present Simple - The basic pattern
Almost no changes! Compare with Dutch:
to work (werken)
I
work
(ik werk)
you
work
(jij werkt)
he/she/it
works
(hij/zij werkt)
we
work
(wij werken)
you
work
(jullie werken)
they
work
(zij werken)
He/She/It rules (3rd person singular)
Most verbs: add -s
→
work→works, eat→eats, sleep→sleeps
Verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -s, -x: add -es
→
watch→watches, wash→washes, miss→misses
Verbs ending in consonant + y: change to -ies
→
study→studies, try→tries, fly→flies
Verbs ending in -o: add -es
→
go→goes, do→does
Special: have→has
→
I have→He has
Common regular verbs
want
→
willen
I want coffee
= Ik wil koffie
need
→
nodig hebben
She needs help
= Zij heeft hulp nodig
like
→
leuk vinden
They like music
= Zij vinden muziek leuk
love
→
houden van
He loves pizza
= Hij houdt van pizza
work
→
werken
I work here
= Ik werk hier
live
→
wonen
We live in London
= Wij wonen in Londen
play
→
spelen
Children play outside
= Kinderen spelen buiten
walk
→
lopen
I walk to school
= Ik loop naar school
talk
→
praten
They talk a lot
= Zij praten veel
help
→
helpen
Can you help?
= Kun je helpen?
start
→
beginnen
School starts at 9
= School begint om 9
stop
→
stoppen
Please stop!
= Stop alsjeblieft!
open
→
openen
Open the door
= Open de deur
close
→
sluiten
Close your eyes
= Sluit je ogen
listen
→
luisteren
Listen carefully
= Luister goed
Present Continuous (be + -ing)
For actions happening NOW - Dutch doesn't have this!
to work (werken)
I
am working
(ik ben aan het werken)
you
are working
(jij bent aan het werken)
he/she/it
is working
(hij is aan het werken)
we
are working
(wij zijn aan het werken)
you
are working
(jullie zijn aan het werken)
they
are working
(zij zijn aan het werken)
Making -ing forms
Most verbs: add -ing
→
work→working, eat→eating, sleep→sleeping
Verbs ending in -e: drop e, add -ing
→
make→making, write→writing, take→taking
Short verb + consonant: double consonant
→
run→running, sit→sitting, stop→stopping
Verbs ending in -ie: change to -ying
→
lie→lying, die→dying, tie→tying
Chapter
8
The Essential Irregulars
These verbs are everywhere
These irregular verbs appear constantly. Good news: they're similar to Dutch irregular verbs!
DO (doen) - For questions and negatives
I
do
(ik doe)
I do my homework
Ik maak mijn huiswerk
you
do
(jij doet)
Do you understand?
Begrijp je het?
he/she/it
does
(hij/zij doet)
She does yoga
Zij doet aan yoga
we
do
(wij doen)
We do our best
Wij doen ons best
you
do
(jullie doen)
Do you know?
Weten jullie het?
they
do
(zij doen)
They do nothing
Zij doen niets
Using DO for questions
Do you speak English?
→
Spreek je Engels?
Do + subject + verb
Does he work here?
→
Werkt hij hier?
Does for he/she/it
What do you want?
→
Wat wil je?
Question word + do
Where does she live?
→
Waar woont zij?
Question word + does
I don't know
→
Ik weet het niet
Do + not = don't
He doesn't understand
→
Hij begrijpt het niet
Does + not = doesn't
GO & COME (gaan & komen)
GO
Forms:
go/goes
(past: went)
(participle: gone)
gaan/ging/gegaan
Present:
I go home
= Ik ga naar huis
Past:
I went home
= Ik ging naar huis
Perfect:
I have gone home
= Ik ben naar huis gegaan
COME
Forms:
come/comes
(past: came)
(participle: come)
komen/kwam/gekomen
Present:
They come often
= Zij komen vaak
Past:
They came yesterday
= Zij kwamen gisteren
Perfect:
They have come
= Zij zijn gekomen
Modal verbs - Can, Must, Will
These are simpler than Dutch - same form for all persons!
CAN (kunnen)
I can
(ik kan)
I can swim
= Ik kan zwemmen
you can
(jij kunt)
You can help
= Jij kunt helpen
he can
(hij kan)
He can't come
= Hij kan niet komen
we can
(wij kunnen)
We can go
= Wij kunnen gaan
MUST (moeten)
I must
(ik moet)
I must study
= Ik moet studeren
she must
(zij moet)
She must leave
= Zij moet vertrekken
they must
(zij moeten)
They must wait
= Zij moeten wachten
WILL (zullen (future))
I will
(ik zal)
I will help
= Ik zal helpen
he will
(hij zal)
He'll be late
= Hij zal laat zijn
we will
(wij zullen)
We'll see
= We zullen zien
Other common irregular verbs
| Infinitive | Past | Participle | Dutch | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| see | saw | seen | zien/zag/gezien | |
| get | got | got/gotten | krijgen/kreeg/gekregen | |
| make | made | made | maken/maakte/gemaakt | |
| know | knew | known | weten/wist/geweten | |
| think | thought | thought | denken/dacht/gedacht | |
| take | took | taken | nemen/nam/genomen | |
| give | gave | given | geven/gaf/gegeven | |
| find | found | found | vinden/vond/gevonden | |
| tell | told | told | vertellen/vertelde/verteld | |
| say | said | said | zeggen/zei/gezegd |
Chapter
9
Questions & Negations
Essential for dialogues
English questions and negatives always use helping verbs (do/does/is/are). This is different from Dutch!
Question words
Who?
→
Wie?
(For people)
Who is that?
= Wie is dat?
What?
→
Wat?
(For things)
What do you want?
= Wat wil je?
Where?
→
Waar?
(Place)
Where are you?
= Waar ben je?
When?
→
Wanneer?
(Time)
When is it?
= Wanneer is het?
Why?
→
Waarom?
(Reason)
Why not?
= Waarom niet?
How?
→
Hoe?
(Manner)
How are you?
= Hoe gaat het?
Which?
→
Welke?
(Choice)
Which one?
= Welke?
Whose?
→
Van wie?
(Possession)
Whose is this?
= Van wie is dit?
How much?
→
Hoeveel?
(Uncountable)
How much is it?
= Hoeveel kost het?
How many?
→
Hoeveel?
(Countable)
How many people?
= Hoeveel mensen?
Making questions - The pattern
Yes/No with BE
Pattern: BE + subject + ...?
Are you ready?
= Ben je klaar?
Yes/No with DO
Pattern: DO/DOES + subject + verb?
Do you understand?
= Begrijp je het?
WH- with BE
Pattern: WH- + BE + subject?
Where are you?
= Waar ben je?
WH- with DO
Pattern: WH- + DO/DOES + subject + verb?
What do you want?
= Wat wil je?
Subject questions
Pattern: WHO/WHAT + verb?
Who knows?
= Wie weet het?
(No DO!)
Making negatives
Always use NOT (or n't):
I am
→
I am not / I'm not
(Ik ben niet)
He is
→
He is not / He isn't
(Hij is niet)
They are
→
They are not / They aren't
(Zij zijn niet)
I work
→
I don't work
(Ik werk niet)
She works
→
She doesn't work
(Zij werkt niet)
I can
→
I cannot / I can't
(Ik kan niet)
I will
→
I will not / I won't
(Ik zal niet)
Other negative words
English avoids double negatives (unlike Dutch!):
nothing
→
niets
I see nothing
= Ik zie niets
nobody/no one
→
niemand
Nobody knows
= Niemand weet het
never
→
nooit
I never eat meat
= Ik eet nooit vlees
nowhere
→
nergens
It's nowhere
= Het is nergens
neither...nor
→
noch...noch
Neither big nor small
= Noch groot noch klein
no longer
→
niet meer
He no longer works
= Hij werkt niet meer
not yet
→
nog niet
Not yet ready
= Nog niet klaar
Common responses to questions
Of course!
→
Natuurlijk!
(Strong yes)
Sure!
→
Zeker!
(Casual yes)
I think so
→
Ik denk het wel
(Probable yes)
I don't think so
→
Ik denk het niet
(Probable no)
Not really
→
Niet echt
(Soft no)
It depends
→
Het hangt ervan af
(Conditional)
I'm not sure
→
Ik weet het niet zeker
(Uncertain)
Unfortunately
→
Helaas
(Regret)
Luckily
→
Gelukkig
(Relief)
Tag questions - Very British!
You're Dutch
aren't you?
→
Je bent Nederlands, toch?
He lives here
doesn't he?
→
Hij woont hier, toch?
They can swim
can't they?
→
Zij kunnen zwemmen, toch?
She isn't ready
is she?
→
Zij is niet klaar, wel?
We haven't met
have we?
→
We hebben elkaar niet ontmoet, wel?