# Dutch ge-



## Diablo919

Hello, 
       I have seen "ge-" attached to the beginning of some verbs and I was wondering what it meant. (I'm not sure, but I think I might have seen an "af-" in the same manner as the "ge-")

thanks


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## Frank06

Hi,
Ge- attached to a verb normally indicates that the verbal form is a past participle.
For example:
1. maken: Ik heb *ge*maakt
2. spelen: Ik heb *ge*speeld  
These forms we call regular: the participle consists of *ge* + stem + dental (t or d)

3. bakken: Ik heb *ge*bakken
Quite a lot of verbs have a participle which looks like *ge* + infinitve

4. kijken: *ge*keken
Others are completely irregular (e.g. vowel changes).

As in English, it is completely unpredictable if a verb is regular or irregular. I mean, the _form_ of the word doesn't give a clue whether it is regular or irregular.


*Ge-* attached to a verb _may_ indicate that we're dealing with a participle, but...
- not all words which start with ge- are participles (e.g. syntax can help here);
for example:
genoeg, genot, gezin, etc. aren't verbs

- a lot of verbs don't have a participle with a, erm, *ge*-form: participles of verbs which start with the _suffixes_ ont-, her-, ver-, be-, er, ge- don't get a *ge-*.
for example:
dekken: *ge*dekt -- ontdekken: ontdekt
denken: *ge*dacht -- herdenken: herdacht
geven: *ge*geven -- vergeven: vergeven (!)
zoeken: *ge*zocht -- bezoeken: bezocht
kennen: *ge*kend -- erkennen: erkend
... -- gebruiken: gebruikt (!)

I hope this helps.

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Diablo919

Thanks, I appreciate the help.


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## optimistique

Frank mentioned it already briefly, but for clarity I repeat that there are also verbs which start in the infinitive with the prefix 'ge-', a prefix that does not contribute anything to the meaning in these cases (there's no general meaning it adds to the forms without 'ge-'), like:

'geloven' (to believe)
'gebaren' (to gesture)
'genieten' (to enjoy)
'zich gedragen' (to behave)
and indeed 'gebruiken' (to use)

.. to name a few.

Also you have neuter noun derivatives from verbs, consisting of '*ge*-' + 'stem', which refer to an activity (though I'm sure there's a better explanation) as for example: 

verb: 'zagen'  (to saw), het *ge*zaag (the sawing: the repeated action of sawing in question)
'doen' (to do), het *ge*doe 
'kletsen' (to chat), het *ge*klets (the chatting; the chat in question)
'lachen' (to laugh), het *ge*lach (the laughing)
etc.


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## Diablo919

As in, adding ge can make something a gerund?


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## Frank06

Hi,


Diablo919 said:


> As in, adding ge can make something a gerund?


 
That 'something' would be a verb. But one cannot blindly put 'ge-' in front of any verb (or any verbal form) to turn it into another verbal form. There are too many 'exceptions'.

But all this doesn't really matter, since Dutch doesn't have gerunds .

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Espadachin

Engels had ook de "ge-" vele eeuwen geleden.  You can find it in Chaucerian and other Middle-English poetry as a "y-" before the participle.  

It was dropped around the 14th century completely from regular usage.


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