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Verbs according to function 4
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Main verbs 10 minLecture1.1
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Auxiliary verbs 45 minLecture1.2
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Copular verbs 20 minLecture1.3
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Verb exercises: verbs according to function 10 minLecture1.4
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Verbs according to meaning 7
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Transitive and intransitive verbs 10 minLecture2.1
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Reflexive verbs 30 minLecture2.2
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Modal verbs 45 minLecture2.3
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Modal verbs: zou 30 minLecture2.4
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Modal verbs: hoeven te 30 minLecture2.5
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Position verbs 30 minLecture2.6
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Verb exercises: verbs according to meaning 45 minLecture2.7
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Verbs according to form 3
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Separable verbs 30 minLecture3.1
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Phrasal verbs 15 minLecture3.2
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Verb exercises: verbs according to form 30 minLecture3.3
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Verbs according to conjugation 6
For purposes of conjugation Dutch verbs can be divided into regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow a certain pattern in the way they are conjugated, whereas irregular verbs do not follow a pattern at all. The group of regular verbs is the largest, and this group can be divided further into weak verbs and strong verbs. The conjugation of a new verb (e.g. a verb borrowed from English) normally follows the rules of weak verbs.
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Weak verbs 30 minLecture4.1
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Strong verbs 20 minLecture4.2
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Irregular verbs 30 minLecture4.3
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Conjugation of new verbs 20 minLecture4.4
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List of strong and irregular verbs 40 minLecture4.5
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Verb exercises: verbs according to conjugation 30 minLecture4.6
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Tenses 9
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Infinitives and finite verbs 15 minLecture5.1
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Present tense 01 hourLecture5.2
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Past tense (imperfect) 30 minLecture5.3
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Perfect tense 01 hourLecture5.4
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Perfect or imperfect? 30 minLecture5.5
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Pluperfect 10 minLecture5.6
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Durative aspect 45 minLecture5.7
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Future aspect 50 minLecture5.8
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Verb exercises: tensesLecture5.9
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Revision exercises: verbs 1
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Revision exercisesLecture6.1
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Copular verbs
There is a small group of so-called copular verbs (or copulas). They only occur in sentences which describe a property of the subject (so-called nominal predicates), for example:
Nederland is een klein land.
The Netherlands is a small country.
Here Nederland is the subject of the sentence and een klein land describes a property of the subject (Nederland).
The group of copular verbs is very small. Apart from zijn, the two most common ones are worden (to become) and blijven (to stay):
Esther wordt dierenarts.
Esther is becoming a vet.
We blijven thuis.
We are staying at home.
The other, less common, copular verbs are:
- blijken (to appear)
- lijken (to seem)
- schijnen (to seem)
- heten (to be called)
- dunken (to be of an opinion)
- voorkomen (to seem; not that this is a separable verb: the stress is on the first syllable: vóórkomen; not to be confused with voorkómen (to prevent) which is not separable)
Het nieuws bleek nog aan bijna niemand bekend.
The news appeared to be known to hardly anybody yet.
Die hond lijkt heel agressief.
That dog seems very aggressive.
De nieuwe buren schijnen aardig.
The new neighbours seem nice.
Zij wil van nu af aan Marloes heten.
From now on, she wants to be called Marloes.
Zijn gezicht komt bekend voor.
His face seems familiar.
Dunken is an archaic word and is found in fixed expressions of the format: me dunkt dat … (it seems to me that …; cf. archaic English: Methinks … ).