Te + infinitive in Dutch: proberen te, om te and zitten te

"I'm trying to learn Dutch." "I forgot to call you." "I'm going to the shop to buy bread." English uses "to" before an infinitive all the time. Dutch has an equivalent, te, but it doesn't appear after every verb. Some verbs need it, some never take it, and a few combinations have their own rules. Here's how to get it right.

Verbs that take te

Many common verbs are followed by te + infinitive. The te + infinitive goes to the end of the sentence, and everything else comes before it.

• Ik probeer elke dag Nederlands te spreken. — I try to speak Dutch every day.
• Het begint te regenen. — It's starting to rain.
• Ik ben vergeten je te bellen. — I forgot to call you.
• Hij belooft op tijd te komen. — He promises to come on time.
• We hebben besloten te verhuizen. — We've decided to move.

Here are the most useful ones:

With durven, te is sometimes left out in speech (Ik durf het niet zeggen), but with te is always correct.

Adjectives and nouns often take te too, usually with om (see below): Het is leuk om je te zien. — It's nice to see you.

Verbs that never take te

The modal verbs are the big group without te: kunnen, moeten, mogen, willen and zullen.

• Ik wil Nederlands leren. — I want to learn Dutch. (not wil te leren)
• Je moet harder werken. — You have to work harder.

A few other common verbs also go with a bare infinitive:

• gaan: We gaan zwemmen. — We're going swimming.
• komen: Kom je bij ons eten? — Are you coming to eat with us?
• blijven: Blijf maar zitten. — Stay seated.
• laten: Ik laat mijn haar knippen. — I'm having my hair cut.
• zien and horen: Ik zie hem komen. — I see him coming. Ik hoor haar zingen. — I hear her singing.

With helpen and leren, te is optional: Hij helpt me (te) verhuizen. — He's helping me move.

Om … te: in order to

To express purpose ("in order to"), use om … te. Om starts the phrase and te + infinitive closes it:

• Ik ga naar de winkel om brood te kopen. — I'm going to the shop to buy bread.
• Hij spaart om een auto te kopen. — He's saving to buy a car.
• Ze leert Nederlands om haar buren te begrijpen. — She's learning Dutch to understand her neighbours.

For purpose, om is required. Leaving it out sounds wrong.

Om … te also appears after adjectives and nouns, where English uses a plain "to":

• Het is moeilijk om vroeg op te staan. — It's hard to get up early.
• Het is tijd om te gaan. — It's time to go.
• Ik heb geen zin om te koken. — I don't feel like cooking.

After verbs like proberen, besluiten and vergeten, om is optional. Ik ben vergeten om je te bellen and Ik ben vergeten je te bellen are both correct, and om is especially common when the phrase is long.

Niet hoeven te: don't have to

Hoeven is the one modal-like verb that does take te. It means "need to", and it almost always appears with a negation like niet, geen or nooit, or a limiting word like alleen or maar:

• Je hoeft niet te komen. — You don't have to come.
• We hoeven morgen niet te werken. — We don't have to work tomorrow.
• Je hoeft geen jas mee te nemen. — You don't need to bring a coat.

Don't use niet moeten for this. Je moet niet komen means "you shouldn't come".

Zitten, staan, liggen, lopen te: what you're doing right now

Dutch often describes an ongoing action with a position verb + te + infinitive. It's similar to the English "-ing" form, but it also tells you the person's position:

• Ik zit te lezen. — I'm (sitting) reading.
• Hij staat te koken. — He's (standing) cooking.
• De baby ligt te slapen. — The baby is (lying) asleep.
• Ze loopt de hele dag te zingen. — She's been walking around singing all day.

Lopen te often adds a hint of annoyance or repetition: Hij loopt altijd te klagen. — He's always complaining.

An alternative without position is aan het + infinitive: Ik ben aan het lezen. — I'm reading.

Separable verbs: te goes in the middle

With separable verbs, te goes between the prefix and the verb, and the whole thing is written as three separate words:

• opstaan: Ik probeer vroeg op te staan. — I try to get up early.
• meenemen: Vergeet niet je paspoort mee te nemen. — Don't forget to bring your passport.
• afwassen: Hij weigert af te wassen. — He refuses to do the dishes.
• uitgaan: Ik heb geen zin om uit te gaan. — I don't feel like going out.

Compare inseparable verbs, where te simply goes in front: Ik probeer het te begrijpen. — I'm trying to understand it.

Te in the perfect tense

When you put zitten, staan, liggen or lopen te in the perfect tense, the position verb becomes an infinitive and te disappears. You get two infinitives at the end:

• Ik zit te lezen. → Ik heb de hele avond zitten lezen. — I was reading all evening.
• Hij staat te wachten. → Hij heeft een uur staan wachten. — He stood waiting for an hour.

Heeft zitten te lezen is a common mistake, even among native speakers, but standard Dutch drops te here. With most other verbs, the perfect is regular and te stays: Ik heb geprobeerd je te bellen. — I tried to call you. See the perfect tense for more on double infinitives.

Quick summary

• Many verbs take te + infinitive: proberen, beginnen, vergeten, beloven, besluiten, weigeren, hopen.
• Modals never take te, nor do gaan, komen, blijven, laten, zien, horen.
• Om … te = in order to: Ik ga naar de winkel om brood te kopen.
• Niet hoeven te = don't have to.
• Zitten/staan/liggen/lopen te describes what someone is doing right now.
• Separable verbs: op te staan, mee te nemen.
• Perfect of zitten te lezen: heeft zitten lezen, no te.

Practise it

Drill the patterns in Te + infinitive, talk about what you like doing in Hobbies, and make plans with van plan zijn and proberen in The future.