Dutch/Lesson 19

les 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: afbetaleninfinitive unitedhij besloot af te betalenthe te-form of the infinitive separateshij betaalde affinite forms in main clausesseparatesik geloof dat hij afbetaaltfinite form in subject clausesreunite 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