Grammatica - loco

11
Verbs
212
It is impossible to give a complete list but the following will suffice to
give an indication of the sort of verb that takes zijn, both weak and
strong:
aanbreken to dawn
afslaan to stall (of a car)
af-, toenemen to decrease/increase
barsten to burst
bedaren to calm/die down (wind)
beginnen21 to start
belanden to land, end up
bevallen to like (impersonal); give birth
bevriezen to freeze
blijken to appear
blijven to remain, stay
dalen to descend
doorschieten to go to seed
emigreren to emigrate
gaan22 to go
gebeuren to happen
geschieden to happen
21 There are just a few verbs that appear to be transitive that use zijn: beginnen ‘to
begin’, naderen ‘to approach’, nagaan ‘to follow up’, oversteken ‘to cross’ (a road etc.),
tegenkomen ‘to bump into s.o.’, vergeten ‘to forget’ (see 11.3.1.V), verliezen ‘to lose’
(see 11.3.1.II).
Beginnen (see 11.9.2.4) usually turns the direct object into an indirect object by the use
of a preposition in which case it behaves as an intransitive verb:
Hij is een zaak in de stad begonnen. He’s started a business in town.
Ik begin (aan/met) een nieuw
hoofdstuk van mijn leven.
I’m starting a new chapter in my life.
Zij is al aan (met) haar huiswerk
begonnen.
She’s already started her homework.
Ik ben er al aan/mee begonnen. I’ve already started it.
The verbs aankomen ‘to gain weight’ and afvallen ‘to lose weight’ take zijn although they
seem to be used transitively in expressions such as Ze is twee kilo afgevallen ‘She has
lost 2 kilos’ (see 14.10). For other transitive verbs that use zijn see 11.7.2.2 (b) and (c).