This page collects the everyday separable verbs that describe doing something to an object — phoning someone (opbellen), bringing something (meenemen), switching a device on or off (aanzetten / uitzetten), tidying up (opruimen). Because they take a direct object and don't describe motion-to-a-goal or change-of-state of the subject, they all build their perfect with hebben: ik *heb opgebeld, ik **heb opgeruimd. The mechanics of splitting are identical to the *zijn-class separables — the prefix flies to the end of a main clause, ge- slots inside the participle — so the only new thing to learn here is the auxiliary. We'll conjugate all eight and drill the two errors English speakers make most: misplacing ge- and forgetting to split the prefix.
Why these verbs take hebben
The auxiliary rule has two halves. Verbs of directed motion or change-of-state (of the subject) take zijn; everything else — and in particular transitive verbs that act on a direct object — takes hebben. Every verb on this page is transitive: you phone someone, you bring something, you switch the light on, you wash the dishes. The object is the giveaway. English uses "have" for all of these too, so the hebben choice here will feel natural — the work is in the splitting, not the auxiliary.
| Infinitive | Meaning | Simple past (sg.) | Past participle | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| opbellen | to phone, call up | belde op | opgebeld | weak |
| meenemen | to take (along), bring | nam mee | meegenomen | strong |
| aanzetten | to switch on | zette aan | aangezet | weak |
| uitzetten | to switch off | zette uit | uitgezet | weak |
| opruimen | to tidy up, clear away | ruimde op | opgeruimd | weak |
| afwassen | to wash up, do the dishes | waste af | afgewassen | strong |
| meebrengen | to bring along | bracht mee | meegebracht | mixed (brengen) |
| ophangen | to hang up | hing op | opgehangen | strong |
All eight take hebben in the perfect.
How the prefix behaves
The splitting rules are exactly the same as for any separable verb:
- Main clause — the prefix detaches to the end: Ik *bel je morgen op.*
- Subordinate clause — the verb stays whole at the end: …dat ik je morgen *opbel.*
- Participle — ge- slots between prefix and stem: op
- ge
- beld = opgebeld.
- ge
- Te-infinitive — te slots between prefix and stem: op *te bellen*.
Ik bel je vanavond wel even op.
I'll give you a call this evening. — main clause: prefix 'op' detaches to the end.
Ik heb hem gisteren al opgebeld.
I already called him yesterday. — perfect with 'heb'; ge- sits inside: op-ge-beld.
Vergeet niet hem op te bellen.
Don't forget to call him. — the te-infinitive splits: 'op te bellen'.
Opbellen, ophangen — the telephone pair
Opbellen (weak: belde op / opgebeld) is "to phone," and its natural counterpart ophangen (strong: hing op / opgehangen) is "to hang up." Both take hebben.
| Verb | Present (ik / hij) | Past (sg.) | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| opbellen | bel op / belt op | belde op | heb opgebeld |
| ophangen | hang op / hangt op | hing op | heb opgehangen |
Ze hing boos op voordat ik iets kon zeggen.
She hung up angrily before I could say anything. — strong past 'hing op'.
Heb je de was al opgehangen?
Have you hung up the laundry yet? — 'ophangen' also means hanging things up; perfect 'heb opgehangen'.
Meenemen, meebrengen — bringing things along
Meenemen (strong, built on nemen: nam mee / meegenomen) and meebrengen (mixed, built on brengen: bracht mee / meegebracht) both mean "to bring along." The shade of difference: meebrengen tends to emphasise bringing something to the place where the speaker is, while meenemen often means taking something with you (in either direction) — but in casual speech they overlap heavily.
| Verb | Present (ik / hij) | Past (sg.) | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| meenemen | neem mee / neemt mee | nam mee | heb meegenomen |
| meebrengen | breng mee / brengt mee | bracht mee | heb meegebracht |
Neem je paraplu mee, het gaat regenen.
Take your umbrella with you, it's going to rain. — 'mee' detaches to the end.
Hij heeft een fles wijn voor ons meegebracht.
He brought a bottle of wine for us. — perfect 'heeft meegebracht', mixed verb.
Aanzetten, uitzetten — switching devices on and off
Aanzetten (switch on) and uitzetten (switch off) are weak verbs built on zetten (zette / gezet). They're the standard verbs for turning a device, light, or appliance on or off. Both take hebben.
| Verb | Present (ik / hij) | Past (sg.) | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| aanzetten | zet aan / zet aan | zette aan | heb aangezet |
| uitzetten | zet uit / zet uit | zette uit | heb uitgezet |
Note the present tense: zetten's stem is zet, which already ends in -t, so the jij/hij form is just zet (you can't write zett). The participles, however, show the full pattern: aan-ge-zet, uit-ge-zet.
Zet je de verwarming even aan? Ik heb het koud.
Could you turn the heating on? I'm cold. — 'aan' detaches; present 'zet' (z-stem ends in t).
Ik heb de televisie al uitgezet.
I've already turned off the television. — perfect 'heb uitgezet', ge- inside.
Opruimen, afwassen — household chores
Opruimen (weak: ruimde op / opgeruimd) is "to tidy up / clear away," and afwassen (strong, built on wassen: waste af / afgewassen) is "to wash up / do the dishes." Both transitive, both hebben.
| Verb | Present (ik / hij) | Past (sg.) | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| opruimen | ruim op / ruimt op | ruimde op | heb opgeruimd |
| afwassen | was af / wast af | waste af | heb afgewassen |
Ruim je je kamer op voordat je weggaat?
Will you tidy your room before you leave? — 'op' detaches to the end.
We hebben samen afgewassen en alles opgeruimd.
We did the dishes together and tidied everything up. — two hebben-separables; participles 'afgewassen', 'opgeruimd'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ik heb hem gisteren geopbeld.
Incorrect — ge- goes inside the separable verb, after the prefix: 'opgebeld', not 'geopbeld'.
✅ Ik heb hem gisteren opgebeld.
I called him yesterday.
❌ Ik opbel je morgen.
Incorrect — in a main clause the prefix must detach: 'Ik bel je morgen op'.
✅ Ik bel je morgen op.
I'll call you tomorrow.
❌ Vergeet niet de lichten uitzetten.
Incorrect — the te-infinitive must split: 'om de lichten uit te zetten' / 'de lichten uit te zetten'.
✅ Vergeet niet de lichten uit te zetten.
Don't forget to turn off the lights.
❌ Ben je je kamer al opgeruimd?
Incorrect auxiliary — opruimen is transitive and takes 'hebben', not 'zijn'.
✅ Heb je je kamer al opgeruimd?
Have you tidied your room yet?
❌ Hij heeft een cadeau meegebrengt.
Incorrect participle — meebrengen is built on the mixed 'brengen': the participle is 'meegebracht', not '*meegebrengt'.
✅ Hij heeft een cadeau meegebracht.
He brought a present.
Now practice Dutch
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Verb Reference: How to Use These TablesA2 — A guide to reading the verb-reference pages: what each conjugation table shows (present, simple past, perfect with its auxiliary, participle), how strong/weak/mixed verbs are labelled, why the auxiliary is flagged, and which verbs to master first.
- Everyday Separable Verbs that Take ZijnA2 — Common separable verbs of motion and change that form the perfect with 'zijn' — opstaan, aankomen, weggaan, terugkomen, uitgaan, instappen, uitstappen, and inseparable vertrekken — with how the prefix splits in main clauses, where 'ge-' lands in the participle, and the 'op te staan' infinitive split.
- Separable Verbs: OverviewA2 — What separable verbs are, how to recognise them by stress (ÓPbellen, not opBELlen), and how the particle behaves across infinitive, present, and participle — the hub for every separable-verb page.
- Weak Past: The 't Kofschip Rule (-te vs -de)A2 — How to form the weak simple past in Dutch and how the 't kofschip rule decides between the endings -te(n) and -de(n) — applied to the underlying stem consonant, not the infinitive.
- Hebben or Zijn in the PerfectB1 — Most Dutch verbs build the perfect with hebben, but verbs of change of state or location — and motion verbs once a destination is named — switch to zijn, following a deep telicity logic English has no equivalent for.