Zijn

Tulip — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 09:12:58 +0000

The verb “zijn” (which means “to be” in English) is an irregular verb that has many uses. It is one of the most important Dutch verbs.

The Simple Present Tense forms of “Zijn”


	Dutch		English

Singular	ik	ben	I	am
	hij / zij / het (‘t)	is	he / she / it	is
	je / jij	bent	you (informal*)	are
	u	bent	you (formal*)	are

Plural	wij	zijn	we	are
	jullie	zijn	you (informal*)	are
	u	bent	you (formal*)	are
	zij	zijn	they	are

* These are the same in English.

Examples:

*	Ik ben moe.	I am tired.
*	Zij is in Londen.	She is in London.
*	Je bent niet serieus!	You are not serious !
*	Wij zijn gelukkig.	We are happy.
*	Jullie zijn te omzichtig.	You (all) are too cautious.
*	Zij zijn vrolijk !	They are cheerful !

The Simple Past Tense forms of “Zijn”


	Dutch		English

Singular	ik	was	I	was
	hij / zij / het (‘t)	was	he / she / it	was
	je / jij	was	you (informal*)	were
	u	was	you (formal*)	were

Plural	wij	waren	we	were
	jullie	waren	you (informal*)	were
	u	was	you (formal*)	were
	zij	waren	they	were

* These are the same in English.

Examples:

*	Ik was niet hier.	I was not here.
*	Zij was de hele week in Amsterdam.	She was in Amsterdam all week.
*	Wij waren in augustus op vakantie.	We were on holiday in August.
*	U was op vrijdag hier.	You (formal+plural) were here on Friday.
*	Zij waren gelukkig mar moe.	They were happy but tired.

The Perfect Tense forms of “Zijn”


	Dutch		English

Singular	ik	ben … geweest	I	have been …
	hij / zij / het (‘t)	is … geweest	he / she / it	has been …
	je / jij	bent … geweest	you (informal*)	have been …
	u	bent … geweest	you (formal*)	have been …

Plural	wij	zijn … geweest	we	have been …
	jullie	zijn … geweest	you (informal*)	have been …
	u	bent … geweest	you (formal*)	have been …
	zij	zijn … geweest	they	have been …

* These are the same in English.

Examples:

*	Ik ben in Frankrijk geweest.	I have been to France.
*	Hij is niet in Duitsland geweest.	He has not been to Germany.
*	Zij is ongerust om haar hond geweest.	She has been worried about her dog.
*	Wij zijn erg ijverig geweest.	We have been very diligent.
*	Jullie zijn erg gulzig geweest.	You (all) have been very greedy.
*	Zij zijn ziek geweest.	They have been sick.

The Future Tense forms of “Zijn” (using “zullen”)

The Dutch verb zullen is used to in conjunction with another verb (in this case “zijn”), to refer to actions in the future in much the same way as the words “will”, or “shall” are used in English, e.g. “I will do something tomorrow”, or “I shall do something tomorrow”. However, in English these words are often simplified in everyday speech to: “I’ll do something tomorrow”.


	Dutch		English

Singular	ik	zal … zijn	I	will/shall be …
	hij / zij / het (‘t)	zal … zijn	he / she / it	will/shall be …
	je / jij	zult … zijn	you (informal*)	will/shall be …
	u	zult … zijn	you (formal*)	will/shall be …

Plural	wij	zullen … zijn	we	will/shall be …
	jullie	zullen … zijn	you (informal*)	will/shall be …
	u	zult … zijn	you (formal*)	will/shall be …
	zij	zullen … zijn	they	will/shall be …

* These are the same in English.

Examples:

*	Ik zal morgen in Oxford zijn.	I will be in Oxford tomorrow.
*	Hij zal volgende week verwonderd zijn.	He will be surprised next week.
*	Wij zullen vanavond doodop zijn.	We will be tired-out tonight.
*	Zij zullen op donderdag hier zijn..	They will be here on Thursday.

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Dutch Class » to be

Zijn