Holidays and Travel
Present simple (= simple present)
The simple present (or present simple) is what we call in Dutch the 'onvoltooid verleden tijd'.
The simple present of a verb is the whole verb, without the word 'to'.
But when he, she or it is the subject (onderwerp) you add an '-s' after the verb.
- I live
ik woon
- You live
jij woont
- He/she lives
hij/zij woont
- We live
wij wonen
- You live
jullie wonen
- They live
zij wonen
Exceptions:
- If the verb ends on '-o', you add '-es' after the verb.
- I go - he goes
ik ga - hij gaat
2. If the verb already ends on '-s' or '-ch', you add '-es' after the verb.
- I watch - he watches
ik kijk - hij kijkt
3. If the verb ends on '-y', you replace '-y' by '-ies'.
- I fly - he flies
ik vlieg - hij vliegt
4. But if the verb ends on '–y' after 'a', 'e', 'o', of 'u' than you simply put an '-s' after the verb.
- I play - he plays
ik speel - hij speelt
Questions or negations (ontkenningen)? Always use 'to do' plus whole verb.
| |
Vraagzin |
Ontkenning |
| I live. |
Do I live? |
I don't live. |
| You live |
Do you live? |
You don't live. |
| He/she/it lives |
Does he/she/it live? |
He/she/it doesn't live. |
| We live. |
Do we live? |
We don't live. |
| You live |
Do you live? |
You don't live. |
| They live |
Do they live? |
They don't live. |
Past simple - onregelmatig
Some verbs have their own form: the irregular verbs. The first column is the whole verb ( hele werkwoord); the second is the past simple and the third the past participle (voltooid deelwoord).
Learn the list of verbs (and their meaning) by heart!
Past simple (= simple past)
You use the past simple:
To indicate that something happened in the past and is ready.
Often there is a time indicator in the sentence, like: yesterday, last week, two months ago, when I was younger, in 1995.
You form the past simple by adding '-ed' after the verb
Examples:
- I worked
- you lived
- he, she, it watched
- we walked
- you talked
- they cycled
You form a question by using did + whole verb.
A negation is made by using didn't + whole verb.
- Did I work?
I didn't work.
- Did you live?
You didn't live.
- Did he watch?
He didn't watch.
- Did we walk?
We didn't walk.
- Did you talk?
You didn't talk.
- Did they cycle?
They didn't cycle.
Spelling:
If the verb ends on a consonant (medeklinker) + '-y', the '-y' changes in -ie:
But: when the verb ends on a vowel (klinker) + '-y', nothing changes; just add '-ed' after the '-y'
If the verb already ends on '-e', simply add '-d':
NB: double the last consonant (medeklinker) if there's a vowel (klinker) before it:
Reflexive pronouns (wederkerend voornaamwoord)
In the sentence 'I hurt myself' , 'myself' is the reflexive pronoun. In Dutch, we use only one pronoun: 'zelf'. In English, you will have to look at the subject (onderwerp) to see which pronoun you need. But: a pronoun is not a subject!
- I - myself: I hurt myself.
- You - yourself: You ate all the food yourself.
- He - himself: He is talking to himself.
- She - herself: Emma did it by herself.
- It - itself: The lion can defend itself.
- We - ourselves: We tested ourselves.
- You - yourselves: Tim and Gerry, if you want milk, help yourselves.
- They - themselves: The band call themselves 'Dire Straits'.
Irregular verbs
