Inseparable verbs in Dutch (verkopen, betalen, ontmoeten)

An inseparable verb is a compound verb whose prefix is welded on for good: it never breaks off the way a separable verb does. verkopen (to sell), betalen (to pay) and ontmoeten (to meet) all keep their prefix in every form: Ik verkoop mijn fiets (I'm selling my bike), Ik heb mijn fiets verkocht (I sold my bike). The clue is the stress — it sits on the stem (ver-KÓ-pen), not on the prefix.

Treat an inseparable verb like a single simple verb: the prefix stays put in the present and past, and the past participle takes no ge- — the prefix stands where ge- normally would.

1. Present and simple past: conjugate the whole word, prefix and all. betalen → ik betaal, hij betaalt, ik betaalde. The prefix never moves to the end.
2. Past participle: leave off ge- and add the normal -d/-t to the stem (the prefix already fills the ge- slot). betalen → betaald, verkopen → verkocht, ontmoeten → ontmoet.

Compare a participle side by side: separable opgebeld has ge- in the middle, inseparable betaald has no ge- at all. More on the plain rule in how to form the past participle.

Six prefixes are inseparable as a rule, and all six are unstressed. Learn this short list and you can spot most inseparable verbs on sight.

• be-: beginnen (to begin), betalen (to pay), begrijpen (to understand)
• ge-: geloven (to believe), gebeuren (to happen)
• ver-: verkopen (to sell), vertellen (to tell), vergeten (to forget)
• ont-: ontmoeten (to meet), ontdekken (to discover)
• her-: herhalen (to repeat), herkennen (to recognise)
• er-: erkennen (to acknowledge)

As a rule none of these take ge- in the participle: begonnen, geloofd, verteld, ontdekt, herhaald, erkend. The one caveat is a few her- verbs where her- is not the true prefix (the stress falls elsewhere); those do keep ge- — herbergen (to accommodate) → geherbergd. The everyday verbs above all follow the rule. A handful of other prefixes (om-, onder-, over-, door-, voor-, mis-, vol-, aan-) can be separable or inseparable depending on the verb; there, the stress decides — see separable or inseparable?.

• Any tense keeps the verb whole: Zij vertelt een verhaal (present), Zij vertelde een verhaal (past), Zij heeft een verhaal verteld (perfect).
• In a subordinate clause the verb goes to the end but still stays in one piece: … omdat ik mijn huis heb verkocht (… because I sold my house).
• Pick the helper as usual: most take hebben (Ik heb betaald), but vergeten and beginnen can take zijn about a change of state (De les is begonnen — the lesson has begun).

Two errors are common. First, adding ge- to the participle: geverkocht and gebetaald are wrong — inseparable verbs take no ge-, so it is verkocht and betaald. Second, splitting the verb: Ik koop mijn fiets ver is wrong; verkopen never comes apart → Ik verkoop mijn fiets. When in doubt, listen for the stress: on the prefix it splits, on the stem it stays whole.