Parts of speech - Woordsoorten

Verbs according to meaning

TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS - OVERGANKELIJKE EN ONOVERGANKELIJKE WERKWOORDEN


Verbs can be divided into transitive or intransitive. A verb is a transitive verb if it is accompanied in a sentence by a direct object , whereas intransitive verbs do not have an object. In the examples below, the direct object is given in bold.

transitive intransitive
Sara belt haar vriend. Het meisje huilt.

It is possible for the same verb to be used as a transitive or an intransitive verb, depending on the situation:

transitive intransitive
Alan studeert Nederlands. Alan studeert hard.


REFLEXIVE VERBS - WEDERKERENDE WERKWOORDEN

Reflexive verbs can be described as a very special kind of transitive verb in that they take an object that refers back to the subject, as in: Mag ik me even voorstellen? The object in this example is me (a reflexive pronoun), and the subject it refers to is ik.

The examples below show how the reflexive verb zich voelen (to feel) is formed. The refelxive pronouns are given in bold:

Ik voel me geweldig. I feel great.
Voel jij je ook ziek? Do you feel ill too?
Voelt u zich al beter? Are you (formal) feeling better yet?
Sara voelt zich het minst ziek. Sara feels the least ill.
Wij voelen ons helemaal beter. We all feel completely better.
Jullie voelen je ook niet lekker. You (plural) don't feel well either.
Zij voelen zich prima. They feel fine.

Reflexive verbs are much more common in Dutch than in English. Some examples of common reflexive verbs are:

zich aankleden to get dressed
zich bedenken to change one's mind
zich douchen to take a shower
zich herinneren to remember
zich opmaken to apply make-up
zich vervelen to be bored
zich voorstellen to introduce oneself; to imagine
zich wassen to wash oneself

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