Dutch 'Modal Verbs'

Look at (and listen to) the following sentences:

Ik heb leren zwemmen 2 3 I've learned to swim Ik ben gaan wandelen I have gone for a stroll, I went hiking Ik heb de vogels horen fluiten 2 3 I've heard the birds sing Ik heb helpen betalen 2 3 I have helped pay (for it)

'Heb'  en 'ben'  seem to indicate a perfect tense, but there are no past participles, only infinitives. Find some past participles below.
(de) onbepaalde wijs (verb) infinitive
(het) voltooid deelwoord past participle

Gisteren heb ik gezwommen Yesterday I was swimming Ik heb de vogels gehoord 2 3 I've heard the birds Ik heb geholpen 2 I have helped Ik heb betaald I have paid Het huis wordt geverfd The house is being painted

In the perfect tenses and the passive voice, Dutch combines the auxiliary verbs hebben  ('to have') - zijn  (usually translated as 'to be' but some Dutch verbs use zijn  in the perfect tenses) and worden  (English uses 'to be' for the passive voice) with past particles
More: (de) voltooide tijd 2 3 The Perfect Tense
(de) lijdende vorm ['suffering mode'] The Passive Voice

Many other verbs can be combined, and then use infinitives for the secondary verb (some put 'te' ('to ')) before the infinitive

Ik probeer Nederlands te leren I'm trying to learn Dutch Ik begin 't te begrijpen 2 I'm beginning to understand (it) Ik bleek longontsteking te hebben 2 3 [I turned out to have] It turned out that I had pneumonia 't Hoeft niet grappig te zijn 2 3 4 It doesn't have to be funny 't Moet wel interessant zijn 2 But it has to be interesting Ik hoop de vogels te horen 2 3 I hope to hear the birds Ik had gehoopt de vogels te horen 2 I had hoped to hear the birds Ik heb geprobeerd te helpen 2 I have tried to help

But there is a special group of Dutch verbs that when combined with other verbs in the perfect tenses appear as infinitives, not as past participles (and no 'te'  before the secondary verb infinitive)

Ik heb kunnen voorkomen ... 2 3 I was able to prevent ... Wat hebben we al niet willen opknappen! 2 We had big plans to fix things. - Nescio De wind is gaan liggen The wind has ['gone to lay down'] died down 't Heeft me doen inzien 2 3 it has made me understand, it gave me the insight Ik heb leren improviseren 2 3 I've learned to improvise Ik ben komen fietsen 2 3 [I've come biking] - I've come by bike

Those 'special verbs'
zullen 'shall/will' (for the future tense) ‑>>
kunnen 'can, being able to' ‑>>
willen 2 'to want to, desire' ‑>>
mogen 2 'may, be allowed to' ‑>>
moeten 2 'must, have to' ‑>>
laten 'to let, allow' ‑>>
gaan 'to go, going to' ‑>>
doen 2 3 'to do, make' ‑>>
blijven 2 'to remain, stay, continue' ‑>>
komen 'to come' ‑>>
helpen 2 'to help, assist' ‑>>
leren * 'to learn' and 'to teach' ‑>>
zien 'to see' ‑>>
horen 2 'to hear' ‑>>
voelen 2 'to feel' ‑>>

Combining with other verbs in the simple tense, the verbs of the 'special group' also don't put 'te'  in front of the secondary verb infinitive

Wie zal dat betalen? 2 Who'll pay for that? Er kan niet genoeg geld zijn There cannot be enough money (it's impossible that there is enough money) Er blijkt genoeg geld te zijn 2 3 [There turns out to be ...] It turns out that there is enough money

many more examples: simple tenses - perfect tenses
much, much more

Ik ben gaan vissen 2 3 (I have) gone fishing!

Gauhar K. suggested this shorter version of the 'Verbs Combined and "Te"' page

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Gij zult niet stelen 'Thou shalt not steal'