The bare infinitive: Dutch verbs that take no te
The verbs that are followed by a plain infinitive with no te: modals, gaan and komen, laten, blijven, and zien/horen/voelen.
Some Dutch verbs are followed by a second verb with no te in front of it — the plain infinitive (the dictionary form, usually ending in -en): Ik kan zwemmen. (I can swim.) This is the opposite of the te-verbs, which do need te (Ik probeer te zwemmen). The set that takes no te is small enough to learn by heart.
How to make it
Keep the first verb in its normal place and send the second verb, as a plain infinitive, to the end of the clause — with nothing before it: Ik ga (first verb) ... koken (bare infinitive at the end): Ik ga vanavond koken. (I am going to cook tonight.)
- The first (conjugated) verb sits in second position: We kunnen morgen komen. (We can come tomorrow.)
- The second verb is a bare infinitive at the end — no te: Hij laat zijn auto repareren. (He is having his car repaired.)
- When several verbs stack at the end, they cluster together: Ik wil je iets laten zien. (I want to show you something.) See the end verb cluster.
Which verbs take a bare infinitive
Learn these groups; almost everything outside them uses te.
- The modal verbs kunnen (can), moeten (must), mogen (may), willen (want), zullen (shall/will): Je moet nu gaan. (You have to go now.)
- gaan (to go) and komen (to come): Ze komt vanavond eten. (She is coming to eat tonight.)
- laten (to let / to have something done): Ik laat mijn haar knippen. (I am getting my hair cut.)
- blijven (to keep / stay doing): Hij blijft praten. (He keeps talking.)
- The perception verbs zien (to see), horen (to hear), voelen (to feel): Ik hoor de buren zingen. (I hear the neighbours singing.)
helpen (to help) and leren (to learn/teach) can go either way; in everyday Dutch the bare infinitive is common: Ze helpt me koken. (She helps me cook.)
Mistakes to avoid
English often has to where Dutch has nothing. I want to sleep becomes Ik wil slapen — no te. Adding te after a modal is the classic error: not ik kan te zwemmen but Ik kan zwemmen.
Watch hoeven (to need to): although it feels like a modal, it keeps te (Je hoeft niet te komen). It belongs with the te-verbs, not this group.
- Vul in: *Ik kan goed ___.* (koken)
- te koken
- koken
- om te koken
- gekookt
*Kunnen* is a modal and takes a bare infinitive — no *te*: *Ik kan goed koken.* (I can cook well.)
- Which sentence is correct?
- Hij laat zijn auto te wassen.
- Hij laat zijn auto wassen.
- Hij laat zijn auto om te wassen.
- Hij laat zijn auto gewassen.
*Laten* takes a bare infinitive: *Hij laat zijn auto wassen.* (He is having his car washed.)
- Why is there no *te* in *Ik hoor de kinderen spelen*?
- *horen* is a perception verb and takes a bare infinitive
- the sentence is too short for *te*
- *spelen* is already plural
- *te* is only used in questions
Perception verbs *zien, horen, voelen* take a bare infinitive: *Ik hoor de kinderen spelen.* (I hear the children playing.)
- Which verb does NOT take a bare infinitive?
- willen (to want)
- gaan (to go)
- proberen (to try)
- blijven (to keep)
*Proberen* is a *te*-verb: *Ik probeer te komen.* The other three take a bare infinitive.
- Spot the error: *We moeten te vertrekken.*
- *moeten* should be *moet*
- *te* should be removed: *We moeten vertrekken*
- *vertrekken* should come first
- nothing is wrong
The modal *moeten* takes a bare infinitive, so *te* must go: *We moeten vertrekken.* (We have to leave.)
Test yourself
Question 1 of 5
Vul in: Ik kan goed ___. (koken)