Dutch A2.21 Listening Practice: Leave Ge Out After the Prefix
Listen to a A2 Dutch dialogue about leave ge out after the prefix, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
A2.21
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
18 segments
A short Dutch listening chapter with transcript.
Report four common completed actions whose participles do not resemble the earlier ge- forms.
Read while you listen.
1. Marieke · Teacher
Welcome to today's episode! I'm Marieke. Today, we're looking at four very common Dutch verbs: betalen, herhalen, ontmoeten, and vertellen. These verbs start with prefixes like be-, her-, ont-, and ver-. When you use them in the perfect tense with hebben, you do not add ge- to the participle! Let's listen to Bram and Lotte in action.
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2. Bram · Native Speaker 1
Lotte, we hebben gisteren Anna ontmoet in de stad.
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3. Lotte · Native Speaker 2
Klopt! Anna heeft een leuk verhaal verteld.
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4. Bram · Native Speaker 1
En ik heb natuurlijk de koffie betaald.
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5. Lotte · Native Speaker 2
Wat zei je? Kun je dat herhalen?
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6. Bram · Native Speaker 1
Ik heb het net herhaald: ik heb betaald!
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7. Marieke · Teacher
Let's break down what they said! First, Bram said: 'Lotte, we hebben gisteren Anna ontmoet in de stad.' That means: 'Lotte, we met Anna yesterday in the city.' Notice how the participle is 'ontmoet', coming from 'ontmoeten'.
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8. Daan · Student
So because 'ontmoeten' starts with the prefix 'ont-', we don't add 'ge-' at the front?
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9. Marieke · Teacher
Exactly, Daan! We say 'we hebben ontmoet', never 'geontmoet'. Let's look at the next sentence.
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10. Marieke · Teacher
Lotte answered: 'Klopt! Anna heeft een leuk verhaal verteld.' This translates to: 'Right! Anna told a nice story.' Here, 'verteld' comes from 'vertellen'.
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11. Daan · Student
Does the prefix 'ver-' also stop us from adding 'ge-'?
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12. Marieke · Teacher
Yes, 'vertellen' becomes 'verteld', so 'Anna heeft het verteld'.
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13. Marieke · Teacher
Then Bram said: 'En ik heb natuurlijk de koffie betaald.' Meaning: 'And I naturally paid for the coffee.' The participle here is 'betaald' from 'betalen'.
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14. Daan · Student
So with 'be-', we just say 'Ik heb betaald'?
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15. Marieke · Teacher
Spot on! No 'ge-' needed.
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16. Marieke · Teacher
Finally, Lotte asked Bram to repeat himself, and Bram said: 'Ik heb het net herhaald: ik heb betaald!' That means: 'I just repeated it: I paid!' The participle 'herhaald' comes from 'herhalen'.
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17. Daan · Student
So 'her-' is the fourth prefix here that skips 'ge-'?
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18. Marieke · Teacher
Indeed! Keep practicing betaald, herhaald, ontmoet, and verteld, and you will sound much more natural. Tot de volgende keer!
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