't kofschip

't kofschip
Dutch grammar series

Dutch grammar
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The 't kofschip (Dutch pronunciation: [ət ˈkɔfsxɪp], the merchant-ship) or 't fokschaap rule is a mnemonic that determines the endings of a regular Dutch verb in the past simple indicative/subjunctive and the ending of the past participle. This rule should not be confused with the so-called T-rules (t-regels).

Contents

Rule

The rule goes as follows:

If the verb-root ends in one of the consonants of 't kofschip, being ‹t›, ‹f›, ‹k›, ‹s›, ‹ch›, and ‹p› (or variants[1]), the past simple ends in -te and the past participle in -t. If the verb-root ends in any other consonant or a vowel (except silent ‹e›, see later), the past simple ends in -de and the past participle in -d.

For example:

Verb Meaning Verb root Past simple Past participle
rusten to rest rust- ik rustte gerust
werken to work werk- ik werkte gewerkt
spelen to play spel- ik speelde gespeeld
leven to live lev- ik leefde geleefd
crashen to crash crash- ik crashte gecrasht
bingoën to play bingo bingo- ik bingode gebingood
faxen to fax fax- ik faxte gefaxt

Silent letters at end of root

The rule is expressed in spelling of the verbs, but is actually related to pronunciation. So if the spelled root ends in a silent letter, this letter should be ignored in applying the rule. This includes also the apostrophe ‹'› occurring in some verb spellings.

For example:

Infinitive Inf. pronunc. Verb root Past simple Past simple pronunc. Past participle Past ptc. pronunc.
timen (to time) /ˈtɑimə(n)/ time ik timede /ˈtɑimdə/ getimed /ɣəˈtɑimt/
racen (to race) /ˈreːsə(n)/ race ik racete /ˈreːstə/ geracet /ɣəˈreːst/
deleten (to delete) /diˈliːtə(n)/ delete ik deletete /diˈliːtə/ gedeletet /ɣədiˈliːt/
sms'en (to send a text message) /ɛsɛmˈɛsə(n)/ sms ik sms'te /ɛsɛmˈɛstə/ ge-sms't /ɣə(ʔ)ɛsɛmˈɛst/
gsm'en (to phone using a mobile phone) /ɣeːɛsˈɛmə(n)/ gsm ik gsm'de /ɣeːɛsˈɛmdə/ ge-gsm'd /ɣəɣeːɛsˈɛmt/
petanquen (to play pétanque) /peːˈtɑŋkə(n)/ petanque ik petanquete /peːˈtɑŋktə/ gepetanquet /ɣəpeːˈtɑŋkt/

Note

  1. ^ ‹x› [ks] and ‹sj› [ʃ] can be regarded as ‹s›-like sounds; ‹q(u)› = [k]

References

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