Spliting Dutch Verbs

Dutch often runs words together. A nice example:
(de) spoorwegovergangwachter
['rail-road-over-pass-guard'] - railroad crossing guard
Words made by combining words are called 'compound words.'
Dutch also has compound verbs, often made up of a basic verb with a preposition. A (to foreign students) difficult complication is that some compound verbs split up in the simple present and simple past tense, the prepostions or other words separating from the verb. But there are two clear rules for which verbs do separate and which do not, although there is a special, somewhat unusual case where the verbs don't split up, and another somewhat unusual case where infinitives split up.

An Example of a Splitting Verb

overview
optillen		to lift (up)
ik til op		I lift
wij tillen op		we lift
ik tilde op		I lifted
wij tilden op		we lifted
ik heb opgetild		I have lifted

simple present tense
optillen		to lift
ik til op		I lift
jij tilt op		you lift (singular, informal you)
hij tilt op		he lifts
wij tillen op		we lift
jullie tillen op		y'all lift (plural, informal you)
zij tillen op		they lift
U tilt op		you lift (polite you)

simple past tense
(optillen)		to lift
ik tilde op		I lifted
jij tilde op		you lifted
hij tilde op		he lifted
wij tilden op		we lifted
jullie tilden op		y'all lifted
zij tilden op		they lifted
U tilde op		you lifted

Past participles do not split up;
the past participles' GE- is inserted between the two parts of splitting verbs:

present perfect tense
ik heb opgetild	I have lifted

Examples of usage:

Til het niet op! 2 Don't lift it Ik tilde z'n fiets op 2 3 I lifted up his bike Special case #1: conditions like  'toen:'
Toen ik z'n fiets optilde begreep ik hoe hij zo hard kon rijden 2 3 4 When I lifted up, picked up his bike I understood how he could ride that fast Ik kan 't niet optillen 2 3 4 I can't lift it, I'm not able to lift it up Hij kan vijftig kilo optillen 2 3 He can lift 50 kilos (120 pounds) Special case #2: infinitives split up in combination with certain verbs:
Hij probeerde de kist op te tillen 2 3 He tried to lift the wooden box (de) lift is the Dutch word for 'elevator'
liften 2 3 can be the plural of (de) lift  'elevator' or the Dutch verb for 'hitchhiking'

Compound Verbs

Not all compound verbs split up:

• When the stress is on the verb, compound verbs don't split up
• When the stress is on the prepostition, compound verbs do split up

Compound verbs that do not split up don't add GE- in their past participles.

Examples:

achterhalen		to retrieve, find out
ik achterhaal		I'm finding out
ik achterhaalde		I found out
ik heb achterhaald		I have found out

achtervolgen		to pursue, follow
ik achtervolg		I'm pursuing
ik achtervolgde		I pursued
ik heb achtervolgd		I have pursued

a strong verb:
achterlaten	to leave behind
ik laat achter	I'm leaving behind
ik liet achter	I left behind
ik heb achtergelaten	I have left behind

overtuigen		to convince
ik overtuig		I convince
ik overtuigde		I convinced
ik heb overtuigd		I have convinced

overhalen		to persuade
ik haal over		I'm persuading
ik haalde over		I persuaded
ik heb overgehaald		I have persuaded

opruimen to tidy up, clear, put/store things in their place

opruimen		to tidy up, clear
ik ruim op		I'm tidying up
wij ruimen op		we're tidying up
ik ruimde op		I was tidying up
wij ruimden op		we were tidying up
ik heb opgeruimd		I have tidied up

onderhouden		to maintain, do maintenance
ik onderhield		I was maintaining
ik heb onderhouden		I have maintained

onderduiken		to go into hiding
ik duik onder		I'm going into hiding
ik dook onder		I went into hiding
ik ben ondergedoken		I have gone into hiding

voordoen		to show, demonstrate, ~teach
ik doe voor		I'm showing
ik deed voor		I showed
ik heb voorgedaan		I have showed

a strong verb:
meenemen		to take along
ik neem mee		I'm taking along
ik nam mee		I took along
ik heb meegenomen		I have taken along

a strong verb:
weggaan		to leave ['go away']
ik ga weg		I'm leaving
ik ging weg		I left
ik ben weggegaan		I have left

schoonmaken		['to make clean'] - to clean
ik maak schoon		I'm cleaning
wij maken schoon		we're cleaning
ik maakte schoon		I cleaned
wij maakten schoon		we cleaned
ik heb schoongemaakt		I have cleaned

Inseparable Prefixes

Examples:

beloven		to promise
ik beloofde		I promised
ik heb beloofd		I have promised

betalen		to pay
ik betaalde		I paid
ik heb betaald		I have paid

erkennen		to acknowledge
ik erkende		I acknowledge
ik heb erkend		I have acknowledge

geloven		to believe
ik geloof		I believe
wij geloven		we believe
ik geloofde		I believed
wij geloofden		we believed
ik heb geloofd		I have believed
2

herhalen		to repeat
ik herhaalde		I repeated
ik heb herhaald		I have repeated

ontdekken		to discover
ik ontdekte		I discovered
ik heb ontdekt		I have discovered

(a strong verb)
vergeten		to forget
ik vergat		I forgot
ik ben vergeten		I have forgotten

verhuizen		to move, relocate
ik verhuisde		I moved
ik ben verhuisd		I have moved

Be aware that not all verbs with word beginnings BE-, GE- and VER- are compound words. Two-syllables verbs are not compound verbs, but 'regular verbs' that don't split up either (so it doesn't matter.)
You can tell by the pronunciation, BE- GE- and VER- with 'short E' or 'long E' are not prefixes, but BE- GE- and VER- with 'voiceless, unstressed E' (the schwa) are prefixes.

See for example: geven 2 'to give'

overview
geven		to give
ik geef		I give
wij geven		we give
ik gaf		I gave
wij gaven		we gave
ik heb gegeven		I have given
2

ik teken

tekenen		to draw, make drawings
ik teken		I'm drawing
ik tekende		I drew
ik heb getekend		I have drawn

Where Does the Split-Off Go?

doorgaan 2 to continue
't Leven gaat door 2 Life goes on

As already seen above:
optillen to lift (up)
Ik tilde z'n fiets op 2 3 I lifted up his bike Til het niet op! 2 Don't lift it

'Voordoen' 2 'to show, to demonstrate something'
De sergeant deed het schoonmaken voor 2 3 The sergeant showed the cleaning procedure

'Nadoen' 2 3 ['to do after'] to imitate, usually in parody
Hij deed the president na 2 3 He was imitating the president

'Aandoen' 2 can be 'to turn on' lights or mechanisms, and also 'to put on' clothes, footwear and things like that
Doe 't licht aan 2 3 Turn on the light Doe laarzen aan 2 3 Put on boots Another common meaning of 'aandoen' is 'to cause grief or trouble.'
Dat kun je me niet aandoen! 2 3 You can't do that to me! (You're going to hurt my feelings) Wat doe je me aan! 2 You're causing me much grief

achterlaten 2 to leave behind
Ik liet hem achter in Babylon 2 3 I left him behind in Babylon 'Ik liet hem in Babylon achter' is just as good

afruimen 2 to clear, clear away (usually said about stuff on tables) Wie ruimt de tafel af? 2 Who'll clear the table?

ophouden 2 to stop, end, come to an end Houdt die herrie nooit op? Is that noise never going to stop?

ingrijpen 2 3 to intervene, take action Het leger greep in 2 The army (the military) intervened, took action

Two Special Examples

'Ondergaan' can have the stress in two different places:

• ondergaan (ONdergaan) 2 with the stress on the preposition 'onder'  means 'to go down, go under,'
• ondergaan (onderGAAN) 2 3 with the stress on the base verb 'gaan'  means 'to undergo, be subjected to.'

When the stress is on the base verb ('gaan')  the compound verb doesn't split:
Hij onderging de behandeling geduldig 2 He patiently underwent the treatment Hij onderging de behandeling zonder te klagen He underwent the treatment without complaining

But when the stress of the word is on the preposition ('onder')  this verb splits in the simple tenses:
De zon gaat onder 2 The sun is going down De zon ging onder The sun went down

Different placing of the stress in the word 'voorkomen' changes its meaning:

• voorkomen (VOORkomen) 2 means 'to occur, happen, to be found,' and occasionally: 'to pretend, make it look like'
• voorkomen (voorKOmen) 2 is 'to prevent, keep from happening'

Voorkom problemen 2 Prevent problems Ik heb kunnen voorkomen ... 2 3 I was able to prevent ... We hadden 't kunnen voorkomen 2 We could have prevented it Wat kan ik doen om 't te voorkomen? 2 What can I do to prevent it? Voorkomen is beter dan genezen 2 It's better to prevent than to cure

't Komt vaker voor 2 3 [It happens more often] - It's not a unique event 't Komt in de beste families voor 2 3 4 It happens in the highest circles Je komt me zo bekend voor 2 3 You look so familiar (Have we met before? Do I know you?) 't Komt me zo bekend voor 2 3 It looks (or sounds) so familiar (it's not the first time I see (hear) this?) 't Is nooit eerder voorgekomen 2 3 4 It never happened before Ik heb doen voorkomen ... 2 3 I have pretended, made it look like ...

but also:  We komen voor de muziek 2 We have come for the music, we're here for the music - ('komen voor')

Advanced Stuff:
Special Case #1: Compound Verbs Re-Attaching?

Als 't meezit ... 2 If things go well, if we're lucky ... 't Zit mee 2 3 It's going well Als 't tegenzit ... 2 if it doesn't go well, if we're not lucky, if things don't work out ... 't Zit tegen 2 3 It's not going well ‑>>

Meevallen 2 'turning out not to be as bad as expected' Tegenvallen 2 3 4 'to be worse than expected, to disappoint' 't Valt mee It's not as bad as expected 't Valt tegen It's worse than expected, it's disappointing Als 't meevalt ... 2 3 If it goes well, if it's better than expected ... Als 't tegenvalt ... 2 3 If it doesn't go well, if it's worse than expected ... Ik denk dat 't wel meevalt 2 3 I think it won't be that bad, I think it will be better than expected, I think it will be OK

Also note in the lines below that in the second part of the sentence, after the condition statement, the verb moves before the subject - more

regular:  De zon ging onder The sun went down regular:  De muziek begon The music started but:  Toen de zon onderging begon de muziek When the sun went down the music started

regular:  De zon ging onder The sun went down regular:  Het werd donker It [became, turned] got dark but:  Toen de zon onderging werd het donker When the sun went down it got dark

Ze gingen weg toen de zon onderging 2 They left when the sun went down

regular:  De bliksem sloeg in 2 Lightning hit but:  Toen de bliksem insloeg ging het licht uit 2 When lightning hit the light went out

Condition Words ('Conjunctions'?)

als if, when omdat because wanneer when - condition toen 2 when - time

waar where hoe how wie 2 who wat what tenzij 2 unless alsof as if

Doe 't licht aan 2 3 Turn on the light Toen ik het licht aandeed sloegen de stoppen door 2 3 When I turned on the light the fuses blew Ik ga weg 2 I'm going away, I'm leaving Doe je het licht uit als je weggaat? Will you please turn off the light when you leave?

Ik tilde z'n fiets op 2 3 I lifted up his bike Ik begrijp er niks van 2 3 [I understand nothing of it] - I don't understand any of it, it's a complete mystery to me Toen ik z'n fiets optilde begreep ik hoe hij zo hard kon rijden 2 3 4 When I lifted up his bike I understood how he could ride that fast

De zon komt door 2 The sun is coming [through] out (clouds are disappearing) Als de zon doorkomt na een regenbui 2 3 When the sun comes [through] out after a shower

De verwachte groei bleef uit 2 3 The expected growth didn't come about De fabriek werd weer gesloten 2 The factory was closed (again) Daar de verwachte groei uitbleef, werd de fabriek weer gesloten 2 Because the expected growth didn't come about the factory was closed (again)

Wanneer is 't klaar? 2 3
When [is] will it be ready?) Als 't meezit ... 2 If things go well, if we're lucky ... Als 't meezit is 't morgen klaar If things go well it will be ready tomorrow Als 't tegenzit ... 2 if it doesn't go well, if we're not lucky, if things don't work out ... Als 't tegenzit kan 't nog wel een week duren If things don't work out, it may take a week 't Zit ons niet mee 2 3 It's not going well, we're having a lot of trouble, luck seems against us

Advanced Stuff:
Special Case #2: Infinitives Splitting

zullen 'shall/will' (for the future tense) ‑>> 2
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' ‑>>

Simple sentences have just one verb, the 'working verb.' The working verb changes with the subject: I am,  you are,  he is.  More complicated sentences can have one or more verbs next to the working verb. Only the verbs in the 'special group' leave out 'te' when as working verbs combined with other verbs - the verbs outside the 'Special Group' as working verbs put 'te' at the verb infinitives they're combined with - in the simple tenses. (The perfect tenses are unusual and more complicated you could avoid problems by sticking to the simple past tense instead of the present perfect tense - See the special page)
I was a bit puzzled when I first noticed the splitting up of infinitives and the 'te'  in-between the parts. Studying examples and thinking up more examples the rule seems to be that infinitives split up when verbs outside the 'special group' are as working verbs combined with infinitives.
Note that not all verbs can be combined with other verbs.

As already seen above:
Hij probeerde de kist op te tillen 2 3 He tried to lift the wooden box compare with:  Ik kan 't niet optillen 2 3 4 I can't lift it, I'm not able to lift it up Hij kan vijftig kilo optillen 2 3 He can lift 50 kilos (120 pounds)

Ik denk erover op te houden 2 3 I'm thinking about stopping, quitting compare with:  Daar moet je mee ophouden 2 You should stop doing that

Hij zit niet goed op te letten 2 3 He's not paying close attention compare with:  Je moet goed opletten 2 3 You have to pay close attention

De minuutwijzer lijkt wel helemaal stil te staan 2 slow slow2 The minute hand seems to have come to a complete standstill ‑>>

Vergeet niet de hond uit te laten 2 Don't forget to walk the dog Vergeet niet je telefoon op te laden 2 Don't forget to charge your telephone

We waren van plan om weg te gaan We were planning to leave We zijn van plan om morgen weg te gaan We're planning, our plan is to leave tomorrow Ik stond op 't punt om weg te gaan 2 3 I was about to leave Je hoeft niet weg te gaan 2 3 You don't have to leave (you can stay for dinner etc.) 't Is nog te vroeg om op te staan 2 3 It's still to early to get up 't Is al te laat om onder te duiken 2 It's already too late to go into hiding

Examples with verbs from the 'special group' - infinitives don't split up, no 'te'

Willen jullie meezingen? Would you guys like to sing along? Ze mogen wel oppassen [They sure may pay attention] - They'd better be careful We kunnen niet zo doorgaan 2 3 We can't go on like this Ik had willen doorgaan 2 3 4 I [had] wanted to go on, continue Ik zag je voorbijkomen 2 3 4 I saw you pass by De druppel die de emmer deed overlopen 2 3 (saying) [The drop that caused the bucket to spill over] The straw that broke the camel's back Wat hebben we al niet willen opknappen! 2 We had big plans to fix things - Nescio 't Heeft me doen inzien 2 3 it has made me understand, it gave me the insight 't Heeft me doen nadenken 2 3 It has made me think (about ...)

Ik vind het heel erg als ik eten weg moet gooien 2 3 4 I feel bad, I hate it when I have to throw out food I could as well have said:
Ik vind het heel erg als ik eten moet weggooien

So far unexplained:
zonder without
Automatisch, zonder erover na te denken 2 3 4 automatically, without thinking [it over] zonder iets aan te raken 2 3 4
zonder ergens aan te komen 2 3 4 without touching anything zonder iets achter te laten 2 3 4 without leaving anything behind, not leaving anything behind zonder ergens op te letten 2 3 4 without paying attention to anything zonder ergens aan te denken 2 3 4 without thinking of anything - iets/ergens

English 'Split'
'n fractie van 'n seconde 2 'a fraction of a second' - a split second - a very short time

Dutch has the verbs splitsen 2 3 ('to divide, split, split up')
(de) splitsing ('splitting-up, usually in a road: fork')
spliterwten ('split peas')
(de) kernsplitsing ('nuclear fission')

splijten 2 ('to split')
like in English a strong verb:

splijten to split

-

spleet split

-

gespleten split

scheiden 2 ('to separate // to divorce')
(de) scheikunde ('chemistry') - more
(de) scheikundige 2 3 ('chemist,' scientist working in chemistry) also: chemicus 2 (de) scheiding 2 ('divorce // separation')
(de) scheidsrechter 2 ('referee')

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