Many Dutch verbs put the little word _te_ (to) before the next infinitive, the basic form of a verb: _Ik probeer te slapen_ (I'm trying to sleep). Modal verbs, the helpers _kunnen_, _moeten_, _willen_, _mogen_ and _zullen_, never put _te_ before the next verb: _Ik wil slapen_. And after _zitten_, _staan_, _liggen_ and _lopen_, _te_ shows what someone is busy doing: _Ik zit te eten_ (I'm sitting eating).
The pattern
After verbs like _proberen_, _beginnen_ and _vergeten_, put _te_ before the infinitive. After a modal verb, the infinitive comes without _te_.
- With _te_: _proberen_ (try), _beginnen_ (start), _vergeten_ (forget), _hopen_ (hope), _weigeren_ (refuse), _besluiten_ (decide).
- Without _te_: the [modal verbs](#/lesson/modal-verbs), and also _gaan_ and _laten_: _Ik ga fietsen._
- _Hoeven_ (need to) takes _te_, usually together with _niet_, _geen_, _alleen_ or _maar_: _Je hoeft niet te betalen_ (more in [you don't have to](#/lesson/hoeven)).
- _Zitten_, _staan_, _liggen_ or _lopen_ + _te_ shows an action in progress: _Ik sta te koken._
- _Te_ + infinitive normally goes to the end, after the object: _Ik probeer elke dag Nederlands te spreken._
- With a separable verb (one that splits in two, like _opbellen_), _te_ goes in the middle as a separate word: _op te bellen_, _mee te nemen_.
Examples
| Ik probeer elke dag Nederlands te spreken. | I try to speak Dutch every day. |
|---|---|
| Het begint te regenen, dus ik neem de bus. | It's starting to rain, so I'm taking the bus. |
| Sanne vergeet vaak haar fietslampjes aan te zetten. | Sanne often forgets to switch on her bike lights. |
| Yara hoopt je op haar verjaardag te zien. | Yara hopes to see you at her birthday party. |
| De buurman weigert zijn fiets te verplaatsen. | The neighbour refuses to move his bike. |
| Daan en Lotte hebben besloten naar Utrecht te verhuizen. | Daan and Lotte have decided to move to Utrecht. |
| Ik moet morgen werken, maar ik hoef niet vroeg op te staan. | I have to work tomorrow, but I don't have to get up early. |
| Fatima staat in de keuken te koken. | Fatima is standing in the kitchen cooking. |
| Mei zit al twintig minuten bij de huisarts te wachten. | Mei has been waiting at the GP's for twenty minutes. |
| Bas loopt al de hele dag over het weer te klagen. | Bas has been moaning about the weather all day. |
Why it works this way
English is a surprisingly good guide. The English modals "can", "must" and "may" take no "to", and neither do the Dutch modals. Verbs that take "to" in English, like "try to" and "decide to", usually take _te_ in Dutch.
The trap is _willen_ (want to) and _moeten_ (have to). Their English translations contain "to", but in Dutch they are modals, so the next verb stays bare:
- _Ik wil slapen._ / _Ik probeer te slapen._
- _Je moet betalen._ / _Je hoeft niet te betalen._
The position verbs are a Dutch habit. The position is usually real, but the main message is that something is going on, much like _Ik ben aan het koken_ (see [the progressive](#/lesson/progressive)). With _lopen_ you are often not walking at all: _Hij loopt te zeuren_ means he keeps moaning.
After some of these verbs, such as _besluiten_, you can also add _om_: _We hebben besloten om te verhuizen_. That is the topic of [the next lesson](#/lesson/om-te).
Remember: think of _moeten_ as "must" and _hoeven_ as "need to". "Must" has no "to", so _moeten_ has no _te_; "need to" has one, so _hoeven_ gets one too.
Watch out
- Not: _Ik wil Nederlands te leren._ Say: _Ik wil Nederlands leren._ (_willen_ is a modal, even though English says want to)
- Not: _Je hoeft vandaag niet koken._ Say: _Je hoeft vandaag niet te koken._ (standard Dutch needs _te_ after _hoeven_)
- Not: _Ik probeer te spreken Nederlands._ Say: _Ik probeer Nederlands te spreken._ (_te_ + infinitive goes after the object)
- Not: _Ik probeer de huisarts te opbellen._ Say: _Ik probeer de huisarts op te bellen._ (_te_ goes between the two parts of a separable verb)
- Not: _Ik heb een uur gezeten te wachten._ Say: _Ik heb een uur zitten wachten._ (after _heb_, _zitten_ stays an infinitive and _te_ usually drops)
Quick check
- Choose: _Joris wil volgend jaar een huis (kopen / te kopen)._
- Choose: _Met een Museumkaart (moet / hoef) je niet te betalen._
- Fill in the gap with the right form of _meenemen_: _Carlos vergeet vaak zijn sleutels ... als hij gaat sporten._
- Fix the sentence by adding one word: _Emma ligt al de hele middag op de bank slapen._
Answers
- _kopen_ (after the modal _willen_, no _te_)
- _hoef_ (after _moeten_ there is never _te_; after _hoeven_ there is)
- _mee te nemen_ (_te_ goes between the two parts of a separable verb)
- _Emma ligt al de hele middag op de bank te slapen._ (_liggen_ + _te_ for an ongoing action)
Use it today
Tonight, write three sentences about your day: one with _proberen_ or _vergeten_ + _te_, one with a modal verb, and one like _Ik zat in de trein te lezen_. Then say them out loud.