Welcome to Dutch verbs, episode 6: willen, which means to want. In Dutch it is spelled:
w. i. l. l. e. n. — Willen is the desire verb.
Modal, so it pairs with an infinitive at the end. False friend warning: it has nothing to do with English 'will' - 'will' in Dutch is zullen, a different verb.
Present tense. Listen and repeat.
Ik wil. — I want.
Jij wilt. — You want.
Some speakers say jij wil - both accepted.
Hij wil. — He wants.
Wij willen. — We want.
Jullie willen. — You all want.
Zij willen. — They want.
One more time, straight through.
Ik wil. Jij wilt. Hij wil. Wij willen. Jullie willen. Zij willen.
Past tense has two singular forms: wilde, formal, or wou, casual. Plural is always wilden.
Ik wilde. Jij wilde. Hij wilde. — I wanted, you wanted, he wanted.
The casual form is wou - ik wou, jij wou, hij wou.
Wij wilden. Jullie wilden. Zij wilden. — We wanted, you all wanted, they wanted.
Now three example sentences.
Ik wil koffie. — I want coffee.
No infinitive needed when the object is a thing, not an action.
Wil je mee?
Do you want to come along? Mee is shorthand for meegaan, to go with.
Hij wilde naar huis. — He wanted to go home.
Past tense singular.
That is episode 6. The verb willen, meaning to want. Forms to remember: wil, wilt, willen, wilde, wou, wilden.
Today's Brueghel proverb.
Parels voor de zwijnen werpen.
Parels voor de zwijnen werpen. — Literally: to cast pearls before swine.
Meaning: to waste something valuable on people who can't appreciate it. Example:
Hem klassieke muziek laten horen is parels voor de zwijnen werpen. — Playing him classical music is casting pearls before swine.
Prettige dag verder!
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