Abstract
The verbs in all Germanic languages can be divided into two major classes according to whether the past tense is formed by the addition of a suffix to the stem, e.g.
to talk talked (has)talked.
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A handy way to remember them is with the word’ t kofschip, a name for an old type of sailing vessel.
Notice that since tt is a spelling convention and pronounced like single t, and-n is dropped in ordinary speech, praten — praatte — praatten are all pronounced alike.
Most Dutch speakers in the Randstad area pronounce the sound spelled g identical with that spelled ch, which would make it seem as though a verb like leggen ought to have the ending-te, as does lachen. The-de ending, however, reflects the fact that for many Dutch speakers, particularly in the southern provinces and in the whole of Dutch-speaking Belgium, the sounds g (voiced) and ch (voiceless) are as sharply distinguished from each other as are v and f, or z and s.
Sometimes zijn (see next lesson).
Gezellig is impossible to render satisfactorily in English. It expresses the friendly, intimate sociability of an animated evening’s conversation, a comfortable living room or any place, occasion or atmosphere where such intimacy is present. The range of feelings in this very important word can only be appreciated after residence among the Dutch.
‘For it’ = hem.
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© 1974 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
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Shetter, W.Z. (1974). The verb, past and perfect tenses (weak). In: Introduction to Dutch. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-9224-8_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-9224-8_14
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