Separable Inseparable
aan- áánkomen arrive aanbídden worship
door- dóórgaan go on doorstáán endure
mis- mísgaan fail mislúkken fail
om- ómleiden divert omgéven surround
onder- ónderbrengen house, lodge ondernémen undertake
over- óversteken cross street overléggen negotiate
voor- vóórkomen happen, occur voorkómen prevent
weer- wéérgeven summarize weerstáán resist
As you can see in the table, sometimes a verb has two forms: separable
and inseparable. They differ in meaning. Example:
Als we het voorkómen, komt het niet meer vóór.
If we prevent it, it won’t happen again.
Prefixes that are always inseparable
be- bestellen order bewaren keep, save
er- ervaren experience erkennen accede, admit
ge- geloven believe gedenken commemorate
her- herhalen repeat herinneren remember
ont- ontdekken discover ontmoeten meet
ver- vergeten forget vertrouwen trust
Erik vergeet zijn sleutels. Erik forgets his keys.
Sanne ontdekt een leuk nieuw Sanne discovers a nice new
restaurant. restaurant.
Karin bewaart haar ringen in een Karin keeps her rings in a small
doosje. box.
Peter bestelt een pizza margharita. Peter orders a pizza margharita.
Note: Sometimes, inseparable prefixes carry a certain meaning or func-
tion. The prefix be-, for instance, changes an intransitive verb with a pre-
position into a transitive verb, for example kijken naar into bekijken,
sometimes giving the action described a more intensive meaning. The prefix
ver- often signals a change in state or condition, for example in verbs such
as veranderen ‘change’, verdikken ‘thicken’, versmelten ‘melt together’.
The prefix her- indicates that something is done again. The verb herhalen
‘repeat’ is by far the best example, but others such as herschrijven ‘rewrite’
and herdenken ‘remember’, ‘commemorate’ are also good examples.
Lastly, the prefix ont- indicates that something is being undone, as in 108
17
Separable
and in-
separable
verbs