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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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Reflexive verbs
Introduction
One way of looking at verbs is to divide them into transitive verbs, which take an object, and intransitive verbs, which do not. A third group of verbs are reflexive verbs. They can be described as a very special kind of transitive verb in that they do take an object. However, the object and subject of a reflexive verb refer to the same person:
Esther wast zich.
Esther washes (i.e. herself).
In this example, Esther is the subject and zich is the object, and both refer to the same person (Esther).
Wassen can be used as a reflexive verb or as a transitive verb:
Esther wast haar gezicht. (transitive)
Esther washes her face.
Esther wast zich. (reflexive)
Esther washes herself.
With verbs like wassen, than can be either transitive or reflexive, it is possible to emphasise the reflexive pronoun with the addition of -zelf:
Esther was eerst haar kinderen en dan zichzelf.
Esther washes first her children first and then herself.
However, many other relexive verbs do not have a transitive counterpart. Such ‘true’ reflexive verbs do not have an emphatic reflexive pronoun with -zelf. Some common reflexive verbs like this are: zich vervelen (‘to be bored’), zich herinneren (‘to remember’), and zich zorgen maken (over) (‘to worry about’):
Luuk zal zich waarschijnlijk vervelen in het museum.
Luuk will probably be bored in the museum.
Herinneren jullie je die leuke vakantie in de Ardennen?
Do you remember that nice holiday in the Ardennes?
Ik heb me nooit zorgen gemaakt over mijn zoon.
I have never worried about my son.
Maak je daar maar geen zorgen over.
Don’t you worry about that.
Formation
The object of a reflexive verb is always expressed as a pronoun. The reflexive pronoun is equivalent to the unstressed object pronoun except in the third person and the second person formal:
| personal pronoun subject- stressed | personal pronoun object – stressed | personal pronoun object – unstressed | reflexive pronoun |
| ik | mij | me | me |
| jij | jou | je | je |
| u | u | u | u / zich |
| hij | hem | (‘m) | zich |
| zij | haar | (d’r) | zich |
| wij | ons | ons | ons |
| jullie | jullie | je | je |
| u | u | u | u / zich |
| zij | hen/hen/die | ze | zich |
The examples below show how the reflexive pronouns behave when used with the reflexive verb zich voelen (to feel):
| Ik voel me geweldig. | I feel great. |
| Voel jij je ook ziek? | Do you feel ill too? |
| Voelt u zich al beter? | Are you (formal) feeling better yet? |
| Sara voelt zich het minst ziek. | Sara feels the least ill. |
| Wij voelen ons helemaal beter. | We all feel completely better. |
| Jullie voelen je ook niet lekker. | You (plural) don’t feel well either. |
| Zij voelen zich prima. | They feel fine. |
Word order of reflexive sentences
The following examples illustrate that a reflexive pronoun normally occurs in the same position as the object in a sentence with a transitive verb, as in:
Peter wast zijn auto elke zondag.
Peter washes his car every Sunday.
Peter wast zich twee keer per dag.
Peter washes himself twice a day.
If a reflexive verb takes an object in addition to the reflexive pronoun, the reflexive pronoun occurs immediately before or after the object. It will occur:
- before the object if the object is a noun, noun group or stressed pronoun;
- after the object if the object is an unstressed pronoun.
Ik kan me die film nog goed herinneren. (noun)
I can remember that film well.
Rik herinnert zich die leuke vakantie in de Ardennen. (noun group)
Rik remembers that nice holiday in the Ardennes.
Zijn zus herinnert zich dat niet. (stressed pronoun)
His sister does not remember that.
Zijn ouders herinneren het zich heel goed! (unstressed pronoun)
His parents remember it very well!