Auxiliary - hulpwerkwoord
Introduction
An auxiliary verb is literally a ‘helping verb' as it supports other verbs grammatically. Auxiliary verbs are used for example when forming the perfect tense and the passive voice of 'normal' verbs, i.e. main verbs (also called 'lexical verbs'). All modal verbs are auxiliary verbs. Some examples of auxiliary verbs are:
- Ik ben nog nooit naar Frankrijk geweest.
- I have never been to France.
- Koninginnedag wordt gevierd op 30 mei.
- Queen's day is celebrated on 30 May.
[Queen's day = official celebration of the Dutch queen's birthday]
Mag ik jouw e-mailadres hebben? May I have your e-mail address?
Perfect tense of auxiliaries
All verbs in Dutch can be put in the perfect tense. Most verbs, when put in the perfect tense, follow the ‘normal' pattern of auxiliary verb (hebben or zijn) + past participle (see perfect tense).
| present tense ‘normal' verb |
perfect tense ‘normal' verb |
| Alan logeert bij Willem. |
Alan heeft bij Willem gelogeerd. |
| Alan stays the night at Willem's. |
Alan has stayed the night at Willem's. |
Not all verbs follow this pattern when put into the perfect tense. Auxiliaries and some other verbs behave differently.
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Perfect tense of modal verbs
Modal verbs are a type of auxiliary verb. If a sentence containing a modal verb plus another verb is put in the perfect tense, the modal verb is not realised as a past participle but as an infinitive:
| present tense modal verb |
perfect tense modal verb |
| Alan kan bij Willem logeren. |
Alan heeft bij Willem kunnen logeren. |
| Alan can stay the night at Willem's. |
Alan has been able to stay the night at Willem's. |
| - |
- |
| Ze moeten een baan reserveren. |
Ze hebben een baan moeten reserveren. |
| They have to book a tennis court. |
They have had to book a tennis court. |
| - |
- |
| Mogen Esther en Kim opblijven? |
Hebben Esther en Kim mogen opblijven? |
| Are Esther and Kim allowed to stay up? |
Have Esther and Kim been allowed to stay up? |
| - |
- |
| Wat willen jullie eten? |
Wat hebben jullie willen eten? |
| What do you want to eat? |
What have you (plural) wanted to eat? |
| - |
- |
|
Note that the perfect tense auxiliary with modal verbs is always hebben.
|
Modal verbs used independently
Modal verbs in Dutch can also be used independently, without the infinitive of another verb. When used independently in the perfect tense, modal verbs behave like normal verbs and are realised as past participles instead of infinitives.
| present tense independent modal verb |
perfect tense independent modal verb |
| Hoe kan dat? |
Hoe heeft dat gekund? |
| How is that possible? |
How has that been possible? |
| - |
- |
| Ik moet drie keer naar de dokter. |
Ik heb drie keer naar de dokter gemoeten. |
| I have to go to the doctor three times. |
I have had to go to the doctor three times. |
| - |
- |
| Ik wil nooit een kind. |
Ik heb nooit een kind gewild. |
| I never want a child. |
I have never wanted a child. |
| - |
- |
| Zullen does not have a past participle: *gezuld does not exist. |
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Perfect tense hoeven te
In the perfect tense of the modal verb hoeven, which is used in combination with negative elements to negate moeten, the particle te becomes optional:
| present tense hoeven |
perfect tense hoeven |
| Karin hoeft niet vroeg op te staan. |
Karin heeft niet vroeg op hoeven (te) staan. |
| Karin does not have to get up early. |
Karin has not needed to get up early. |
| - |
- |
| Alan en Sara hoeven niet in bed te blijven. |
Alan en Sara hebben niet in bed hoeven (te) blijven. |
| Alan and Sara don't have to stay in bed. |
Alan and Sara have not needed to stay in bed. |
Like other modal verbs, hoeven te can also be used independently, without the infinitive of another verb. When used independently in the perfect tense, it behaves like a normal verb and is realised as a past participle instead of an infinitive.
| present tense independent hoeven |
perfect tense independent hoeven |
| Simone hoeft niet met de fiets. |
Simone heeft niet met de fiets gehoeven. |
| Simone doesn’t have to go on the bike. |
Simone has not had to go on the bike. |
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Verbs which behave like modal verbs in the perfect tense
Some verbs have a similar construction to modal verbs: the perfect tense of these verbs occurs as an infinitive rather than a past participle. Laten ('to let') and blijven ('to stay') and verbs expressing perception, like zien ('to see'), are examples of this. The perfect tense auxiliary with these verbs is not always hebben, as the example of blijven shows.
| Present tense |
perfect tense |
| Hanna laat Alan de universiteit zien. |
Hanna heeft Alan de universiteit laten zien. |
| Hanna shows Alan the university. |
Hanna has shown Alan the university. |
| - |
- |
| Simone blijft een kopje koffie drinken. |
Simone is een kopje koffie blijven drinken. |
| Simone stays for a cup of coffee. |
Simone has stayed for a cup of coffee. |
| - |
|
| Ik zie jou buiten zitten. |
Ik heb jou buiten zien zitten. |
| I see you sitting outside. |
I have seen you sitting outside |
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Perfect tense of other verbs with te
There are other verbs which behave like auxiliaries in that they are complemented by te + infinitive. However, they do not behave like auxiliaries in other respects. Here are two examples.
1. The verb proberen te ('to try to') can behave either like a normal verb (sentence a.) or the same way as hoeven te, where it is not realised as a past participle but as an infinitive (sentence b.).
| present tense proberen te |
perfect tense proberen te |
| Sara probeert haar vriend te bellen. |
a.Sara heeft geprobeerd haar vriend te bellen. |
|
b.Sara heeft haar vriend proberen te bellen. |
| Sara tries to ring her boyfriend. |
Sara has tried to ring her boyfriend. |
2. The verb besluiten ('to decide') is normally accompanied by te, but cannot behave like hoeven te in the perfect tense. This means that besluiten does not have the two options for the perfect tense that proberen te has.
| present tense besluiten te |
perfect tense besluiten te |
| Alan besluit kaartjes te boeken. |
Alan heeft besloten kaartjes te boeken. |
|
*Alan heeft kaartjes besluiten te boeken (not correct) |
| Alan decides to book tickets. |
Alan has decided to book tickets. |
It is best to learn the different properties of these verbs as you encounter them.
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