The Dutch gerund: the verb as a noun (het roken)
How Dutch turns a verb into a noun by putting het in front of the infinitive: het roken, na het eten. Always a het-word.
A Dutch verb can be used as a noun — a thing you can put an article in front of. English does this with the -ing form (smoking, reading); Dutch uses the plain infinitive with het: Het roken is verboden. (Smoking is forbidden.) This verb-turned-noun is called a gerund.
How to make it
Take the infinitive as it is and put het in front of it — nothing on the verb changes. It counts as a neuter noun, so it takes het and never forms a plural.
- Start from the infinitive (the dictionary form ending in -en): roken (to smoke), eten (to eat), lezen (to read).
- Put het in front of it to make it a noun: het roken (smoking), het eten (eating / food), het lezen (reading).
- Leave the verb unchanged — no ending is added or removed. It behaves as a normal het-word from now on.
| Infinitive | As a noun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| roken (to smoke) | het roken | Het roken is hier verboden. (Smoking is forbidden here.) |
| zwemmen (to swim) | het zwemmen | Het zwemmen is goed voor je rug. (Swimming is good for your back.) |
| wachten (to wait) | het wachten | Het wachten duurde lang. (The waiting took a long time.) |
| koken (to cook) | het koken | Zij houdt van het koken. (She loves cooking.) |
To name what the action is done to, add van plus the object after the gerund: het roken van sigaretten (the smoking of cigarettes), het leren van een taal (the learning of a language).
The article het is often dropped when the gerund is the subject or fills a slot where no article is needed. The verb is still a noun: Roken is slecht voor je gezondheid. (Smoking is bad for your health.) Fietsen is gezond. (Cycling is healthy.)
When to use it
- To name an activity as a thing — as the subject or object of a sentence: Het zwemmen valt me zwaar. (The swimming is hard for me.) Zij is bang voor vliegen. (She is afraid of flying.)
- After a preposition, where English also uses -ing: na het eten (after eating / after dinner), voor het slapengaan (before going to sleep), bij het opstaan (on getting up).
- With an adjective or demonstrative in front, which then take the normal het-word ending: dat harde werken (that hard work), het vele reizen (all the travelling).
Mistakes to avoid
Do not confuse the gerund with a related noun that ends in -ing. Het lenen is the plain activity of borrowing, while de lening is the concrete result — the loan you take out. In the same way het openen names the act of opening something, but de opening is the opening itself: a gap or an event. The gerund labels the bare action; the -ing noun labels a thing or an outcome.
English -ing becomes the Dutch infinitive here, not the Dutch -d form. That -d form (rokend, lachend) is the present participle used as an adjective: een rokende man (a smoking man), but het roken (smoking, the activity).
- Which article does a Dutch gerund take?
- het, always
- de, always
- de or het, depending on the verb
- no article is ever allowed
An infinitive used as a noun is always a *het*-word (neuter): *het roken*, *het eten*, *het lezen*. The article can be dropped, but when there is one it is *het*.
- Vul in: *___ eten is een fijn moment van de dag.* (the eating / mealtime)
- De
- Het
- Een
- Die
The gerund *eten* is a *het*-word, so it takes *het* → *Het eten is een fijn moment.*
- How do you say 'after cooking' with a gerund?
- na het koken
- na de koken
- na koken de
- na het gekookt
After a preposition the gerund keeps *het*: *na het koken* (after cooking). *Gekookt* is a past participle, not the gerund.
- What is the difference between *het lenen* and *de lening*?
- *het lenen* = the act of borrowing, *de lening* = the loan itself
- they mean exactly the same thing
- *het lenen* is plural, *de lening* is singular
- *de lening* is the verb, *het lenen* is the noun
The gerund *het lenen* names the plain activity (borrowing); the *-ing* noun *de lening* names the concrete thing (the loan).
- Spot the error: *De roken van sigaretten is slecht voor je.*
- *van* should be *voor*
- *De* should be *Het*, because a gerund is a het-word
- *sigaretten* should be singular
- nothing is wrong
A gerund is always neuter, so it must be *Het roken van sigaretten…*, not *De roken*.
Test yourself
Question 1 of 5
Which article does a Dutch gerund take?