# Dutch/Lesson 19

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| Examples | Vb. 1 | Vb. 2 | Vb. 3 | Vb. 4 | Vb. 5 | Vb. 6 | Vb. 7 | Vb. 8 | Vb. 9 | Vb. 10 | Vb. 11 | Vb. 12 | Vb. 13 | Vb. 14 | Vb. 15 | Vb. 16 | Lesson 17 | Lesson 18 | Lesson 19 | Lesson 20 | Lesson 21 | Lesson 22 | Lesson 23 | Examples |
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* Advanced level: cycle 5
Lesson 19 ~ Lesson 19
Onscheidbare werkwoorden~ Inseparable verbs
* • Syntax: separability types

## Separability
### Types

There are three basic kinds of verbs in Dutch in terms of separability
* Basic verbs (current database at nl.wiktionary)
    Basic verbs form their past participle with ge-
    Either they simply consist of a stem: lopen - gelopen
    Or they may have prefixes that are treated as part of the stem; this is the case for all prefixes of Latin origin: degenereren -gedegenereerd
* Separable verbs (current database at nl.wiktionary)
    Separable verbs have a prefix that is separated in some of the tenses, reunited in others
    They form their past participle by inserting -ge- between the prefix and the stem: doorlopen - doorgelopen
* Inseparable verbs (current database at nl.wiktionary)
    Inseparable verbs have a prefix before the stem that does not separate
    The prefix suppresses the ge- prefix of the past participle - onthalen - onthaald

### Stress

There is a difference in stress between the separable and inseparable prefixes:
    separable prefixes carry stress
    inseparable prefixes never carry stress: the stress is on the stem of the verb

### Dual prefixes
#### SEP+INSEP+STEM

Verbs can have more than one prefix. Usually a separable one precedes an inseparable one: e.g. in afbetalen, where af- is separable and be- is inseparable. In such a case the af- prefix will follow the rules for separation:
| afbetalen | infinitive | united |
| hij besloot af te betalen | the te-form of the infinitive | separates |
| hij betaalde af | finite forms in main clauses | separates |
| ik geloof dat hij afbetaalt | finite form in subject clauses | reunite |
But the be- prefix will still suppress the ge- prefix in the past participle:
    hij heeft afbetaald (not: *afgebetaald)

#### INSEP+INSEP+STEM

The inseparable prefix "her-" is still somewhat productive and can appear before verbs that already have another inseparable prefix like "be-", as in herbeginnen. Such a verb behaves entirely as an inseparable verb

#### INSEP+SEP+STEM

In a few cases with a reverse order of separability a conflict may arise, e.g. if the inseparable "her-" is put before a separable "in-" as in "herinrichten". Such verbs tend to be incomplete: not all forms are used. One may see a form like "heringericht", but speakers may avoid phrases like "ik richt herin".
    (current database at nl.wiktionary)

## Inseparable prefixes

The number of truly inseparable prefixes that can only be used as inseparable, is relatively small in Dutch. A few prepositional adverbs like door-, onder- can be used either as separable of as inseparable and were already reviewed in chapter 17.

### be-

Much like in English the prefix be- 'pins' the action of a verb 'down onto' an object. If the prefix is added to an intransitive verb it often becomes transitive and thus the verb can be used in the passive voice:
    slapen - to sleep
    beslapen - to sleep on something
       het bed is niet beslapen - the bed has not been slept on
    gaan - to go
    begaan - to set foot on, to perpetrate
    onbegaanbaar - inpassible (impossible to set foot on)

### ont-

This prefix has been largely supplanted in English by a prefix of Latin origin de-
    dooien - to thaw
    ontdooien - to defrost
The prefix mostly indicates an irreversible change or movement away from a previous state
    slapen - to sleep
    ontslapen - to die, to pass away
    zien - to see
    ontzien - to spare someone, to look the other way
It can have the flavor of an antonym at times
    komen - to come
    ontkomen - to escape
    zich kleden - to get dressed
    zich ontkleden - to get undressed

### her-

This prefix has been supplanted by the Latin prefix re- in English. It means a renewal or a repeated action:
    stellen - to put, to make stand
    herstellen - to repair, to heal
    denken - to think
    herdenken - to commemorate
    kiezen - to choose
    herkiezen - to reelect

### ver-

This prefix denotes a variety of meaning, some of which correspond to the English prefixes for- and fore-
In general it denotes a change.
    taal - language
    vertalen - to translate
    kort - short
    verkorten - to shorten
    jong
    verjongen - to rejuvenate
It can have the connotation of "change for the worse":
    gaan - to go
    vergaan - to perish
    worden - to become
    verworden - to degenerate, to decay
Some verbs only occur with this prefix:
    vergeten - to forget
    (krijgen, worden) - to get
There is a second prefix ver- with a different pronunciation: a stress carrying /vɛr/ rather than an unstressed /vər/. It is separable and has the meaning of English "far".
    vérspringen - vérgesprongen: to make a long jump
    verspríngen - verspróngen: to tick away, to suddenly change position

### ge-

In Old Dutch this prefix was used as a general intensifier. Only later did it become a marker for the perfect tenses. English has had a similar development but lost the marker in the past participle. There are a few remnants in English like:
    to rise - to arise
In Dutch the remnants are a bit more numerous.
    denken - to think
    gedenken - to ponder, to consider solemnly
    bieden - to offer, to bid
    gebieden - to command
    dragen - to carry, to wear
    zich gedragen - to comport oneself, to behave
    loven - to praise
    geloven - to believe
    beloven - to promise
Notice that a word like "geboden" could either be the past participle of bieden or of gebieden. It can also be a noun, meaning commandments.

### weer-

This prefix can convey the meaning of "again" (re-):
    galmen - to sound, to resonate
    weergalmen - to reverberate, to echo
    spiegelen - to mirror
    weerspiegelen - to reflect
However, it can also represent the with- of withstand:
    weerstaan - to withstand
    weerhouden - to withhold, to thwart