Separable Verbs (scheidbare werkwoorden)
Hij zoekt het woord op. (He looks up the word.)
What it is
A separable verb is a normal Dutch verb with a prefix attached in its dictionary form, in opzoeken that's op, though it isn't always a preposition (more on that below). In a main clause, that prefix detaches from the finite verb and moves to the very end of the clause. It's one of the most common verb shapes in everyday Dutch.
- aanmelden: Ik meld me aan voor de cursus. (I sign up for the course.)
- invullen: Zij vult het formulier in. (She fills in the form.)
- afspreken: Wij spraken gisteren af. (We made plans yesterday.)
How to form it
The prefix and the verb are written as one word in the infinitive (opzoeken), but they don't always stay together. Whether they split depends on whether the verb is finite (conjugated for a subject) and whether it's in a main clause. Take opzoeken with the object de antwoorden across the same five tenses:
| Tense | Sentence |
|---|---|
| Present | Jullie zoeken de antwoorden op. |
| Simple past | Jullie zochten de antwoorden op. |
| Present perfect | Jullie hebben de antwoorden opgezocht. |
| Past perfect | Jullie hadden de antwoorden opgezocht. |
| Future (gaan) | Jullie gaan de antwoorden opzoeken. |
Watch out
✗ Jullie zoeken op de antwoorden. looks like zoeken ('to search') plus the word op, but that's not what's happening here. Opzoeken is one verb, and op belongs to it, it isn't a separate word placed in front of de antwoorden.
Dutch sentences almost always put the conjugated verb in the second spot. Everything else that belongs to that verb gets pushed toward the end of the sentence instead. Op is part of opzoeken, not its own word describing de antwoorden, so it can't be the verb sitting in that second spot, it gets left behind at the end, after the object.
This only happens when the verb is actually conjugated, like zoekt or zocht. When it isn't, like the infinitive after gaan or the participle after hebben, the whole word stays together, prefix and all, because the auxiliary (gaan, hebben) takes the second spot instead: Jullie gaan de antwoorden opzoeken.
One more detail: after a word like omdat ('because'), the verb always moves all the way to the end, conjugated or not. So opzoeken stays fused there too: ...omdat jullie de antwoorden opzoeken.
Six kinds of prefix, one grammar rule
The prefix doesn't have to be a preposition. It can be an adverb, an adjective, a noun, or even a piece with no independent meaning left on its own, and all of them split off exactly the same way:
| Prefix type | Infinitive |
|---|---|
| Preposition | aanmelden |
| Adverb | teruggaan |
| Adjective | klaarmaken |
| Noun | plaatsnemen |
| No independent meaning left | teleurstellen |
Not to confuse with: inseparable verbs (onscheidbare werkwoorden)
A handful of prefixes never split off and are never stressed: be-, ver-, ont-, ge-, her-, mis-, ent-. They're a separate, closed set, always fused to the verb no matter the clause. The clearest way to see the difference is a near-minimal pair sharing the same root:
| Infinitive | Sentence |
|---|---|
| opstaan | Hij staat om zeven uur op. |
| verstaan | Hij verstaat de vraag niet. |
| bestaan | Dit probleem bestaat al jaren. |
Common mistakes
Wachten op and opwachten look almost identical but aren't related: wachten op is a fixed-preposition verb (see the next page), while opwachten is its own separable verb meaning 'to lie in wait for'. Ik wacht op mijn vriend (I'm waiting for my friend) is a different sentence from Ik wacht mijn vriend op (I'm lying in wait for my friend).
Rule of thumb: the prefix moves to after the direct object (the thing receiving the action). ✗ Jullie zoeken op de antwoorden → ✓ Jullie zoeken de antwoorden op.
Don't drop the ge- or place it in front of the whole word in the participle: it's opgezocht, not opzocht or geopzocht. The ge- goes between the prefix and the verb stem.
With a te-infinitive, te also goes between the prefix and the verb: Ik probeer het op te zoeken, not Ik probeer het te opzoeken.
Common questions about separable verbs
How do I know if a verb is separable?+
Mostly by memorization, though dictionaries usually mark it clearly, often with a bar in the infinitive (op|zoeken). A rule of thumb: the prefix is stressed in speech, OPzoeken not opZOEken, the opposite of most inseparable verbs.
Does the prefix ever stay attached in a main clause?+
No. If the verb is finite and the clause is a main clause, the prefix always splits off. It only stays fused when the verb form itself isn't finite (infinitives, participles) or the clause is subordinate.
Is opzoeken really one verb, or is zoeken op just zoeken plus a preposition?+
One verb. Zoeken on its own already takes a direct object (Ik zoek mijn sleutels), so op isn't introducing a new prepositional object. It's the detachable half of opzoeken, a distinct verb with its own meaning ('to look up').
Is this the same as verbs like wachten op?+
No, and it's worth telling apart. In wachten op, op is a genuine preposition that stays attached to its object and never splits off on its own. See the vaste voorzetsels (fixed-preposition verbs) page for that pattern.
The Verb Quiz already includes separable verbs like opzoeken, aanmelden and afspreken. Practicing them there drills the conjugated forms, though it doesn't test the split-off word order shown above.