Grammatica - loco

11
Verbs
248
11.13 Progressive or continuous tenses
When first learning Dutch verbs one is told that a form such as ‘I am
working’ is ik werk, ‘I was working’ is ik werkte and ‘I have been working’
is ik heb gewerkt. This is indeed usually the case but there are instances
where the continuous aspect needs to be expressed and there are three
ways of doing so in Dutch:
11.13.1
zijn aan ’t + infinitive
Ik ben druk aan ’t koken.
I am (busy) cooking.
Ik was de hele middag aan ’t timmeren.
I was hammering away all afternoon.
Ik ben urenlang aan ’t koken geweest.
I have been cooking for hours (and have finished, see 11.2.1.3).
This is the most common of the three ways.
11.13.2
zitten, staan, liggen or lopen + te + infinitive
Ze zit al een hele tijd televisie te kijken.
She’s been (sitting) watching television for ages.
Hij stond buiten met de buurman te praten.
He was (standing) talking to the neighbour outside.
Jantje ligt te slapen.
Jantje is sleeping.
Note the use of the present tense in this construction in the following
example as the action is still on-going (see 11.2.1.3):
Zij zit al een hele tijd dat boek te lezen.
She has been reading that book for ages.
These verbs all utilize a double infinitive construction in the perfect tense
(see 11.9.2.4):
Hij heeft urenlang liggen slapen.
He was asleep for hours.