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142
UNIT TWENTY-ONE
Infinitive constructions
Introduction
In Unit 22 of Basic Dutch, we discussed verbs that are combined with an
infinitive construction, either with or without te. Building on the information
of that chapter, this unit introduces you to more complicated infinitive
constructions.
Piling up the infinitives
A much quoted sentence and a delight (or a terror) to students of Dutch
every time it is used as an example, is the sentence Jan zou Piet wel eens
hebben willen zien durven blijven staan kijken ‘Jan would have liked
to see Piet have the guts to stay, standing, looking’. This sentence with
seven infinitives (see Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst, page 1066) is
difficult to translate into English without making the translation sound
awkward. However, as a Dutch sentence, it is grammatically perfectly
correct, and a Dutch person might not even blink an eye upon hearing
it. While sentences with seven infinitives are far from common in Dutch,
those with at least two are quite normal. In this unit, we will take it up
to as many as four. See also the units on the conditional, separable
verbs, and the passive for more information on word order in large verb
groups.
Two infinitives
A construction with two infinitives at the end of a main sentence is quite
common in the present perfect of sentences with a modal auxiliary verb or
a verb that can function as such. Proper modal verbs are kunnen, mogen,
moeten, willen, zullen. Those that can function as a modal verb are laten,
gaan, komen, blijven, zijn, horen, zien, voelen. Examples: