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### Managing to Do Something

Normally, the verb **weten** means "to know" (a fact). However, when you combine it with **te** and an infinitive, **weten te** means "to manage to" or "to succeed in" doing something. It is perfect for describing difficult achievements, like tracking elusive wildlife.

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### Sentence Structure

In these sentences, **weten** is the conjugated verb. Because achievements often happen in the past, you will frequently see it in the simple past tense (**wist** for singular, **wisten** for plural). The action you managed to complete goes at the very end of the clause as **te** + infinitive.

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If the infinitive is a separable verb, remember that the **te** squeezes between the prefix and the base verb (for example, **vastleggen** becomes **vast te leggen**).

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### Emphasizing with *Het was ... die*

To emphasize exactly *who* or *what* achieved a difficult task, you can use a sentence structure starting with **Het was** (It was), followed by the noun, and then **die** (who/that). 

Because **die** introduces a relative clause, all verbs in that clause are sent to the end of the sentence.

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### Expressing "-ever" with *dan ook*

To express "anyone at all" or "anyone whatsoever," Dutch uses the phrase **wie dan ook**. Similarly, "anything whatsoever" is **wat dan ook**. These phrases emphasize that absolutely no exceptions apply.

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Managing to do something (weten te)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

determiner/pronoun

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular pronouns and 'to be' (ik ben, hij is)

The formal 'you' (u bent)

Definite articles (de, het)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (wij zijn)

The verb 'to have' (hebben)

Basic word order

Numbers 1 to 10 (een, twee, drie)

Verb stems and the 'I' form (ik werk)

Long vowels in verb stems (maken, ik maak)

Short vowels in verb stems (zitten, ik zit)

Present tense singular (-t)

Present tense plural (-en)

Yes/no questions

Question words (wie, wat, waar)

Noun negation (geen)

Plural nouns (-en)

Plural nouns (-s)

Diminutives (-je)

Adjective modifiers (heel, erg, te)

Verb negation (niet)

Singular possessives (mijn, jouw, zijn, haar)

Plural and formal possessives (ons/onze, jullie, hun, uw)

This and these (deze, dit)

That and those (die, dat)

Asking which (welke, welk)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elf, twaalf, dertien...)

Tens and compound numbers (dertig, veertig...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (eerste, tweede...)

Telling time: hours and half hours (uur, half)

Telling time: quarters (kwart over, kwart voor)

Question words (hoeveel, waarom)

Irregular verbs (doen, gaan, staan, zien, komen)

Adjective endings (+e)

Adjectives with 'het' words

Prepositions of place (uit, bij)

Subject-verb inversion

Time before place

Modal verbs (willen, kunnen)

Modal verbs (moeten, mogen)

The verb bracket

Separable prefix verbs

The imperative mood (kom, luister)

Singular object pronouns (mij, jou, hem, haar)

Plural and formal object pronouns (ons, jullie, hen, u)

Reflexive verbs and pronouns (zich, me, je)

Position of negation (niet)

The present perfect tense with regular verbs (hebben gewerkt)

The present perfect tense with motion verbs (zijn gegaan)

Irregular past participles (gezien, gedaan)

The present continuous (zijn aan het)

There is / there are (er is, er zijn)

Unstressed there (er)

And, but, or (en, maar, of)

Because (want)

Months of the year

Prepositions of time (om, van ... tot)

Greetings and politeness

Conversational glue

Prepositions with days (op)

Prepositions with seasons (in)

Genitive of time ('s morgens, 's nachts)

Adverbs of frequency (altijd, vaak)

The future tense (gaan)

The future tense (zullen)

Separable verbs with auxiliary verbs

Apostrophe plurals ('-s)

Irregular plurals (-eren)

Complex diminutives (-pje, -etje, -kje)

Possessive 's (Jan's, vaders)

Indefinite pronouns (iets, niemand, alles)

Indefinite subject pronoun (je)

Reciprocal pronoun (elkaar)

Comparative adjectives (-er dan)

Comparatives with spelling change (-der)

Superlative adjectives (-st)

Irregular comparisons (beter, meer, minder)

Expressing preference (graag, liever, het liefst)

Equality comparisons (even ... als)

Fixed prepositions

That clauses (dat)

Because clauses (omdat)

If and when clauses (als)

Inversion after clauses

Separable verbs in clauses

Negation in clauses (niet)

Past tense of to be (was / waren)

Past tense of to have (had / hadden)

Question	Answer
the expedition	de expeditie
the valley	de vallei
to manage to	weten te
It was the expedition that managed to reach the valley.	Het was de expeditie die de vallei wist te bereiken.
the wolf	de wolf
unseen	ongezien
Despite the snow, the wolf managed to flee unseen.	Ondanks de sneeuw wist de wolf ongezien te vluchten.
the biologist	de bioloog
to approach (come closer)	naderen
The biologist finally managed to approach the wolf.	De bioloog wist de wolf eindelijk te naderen.
the territory	het territorium
How did the wolf manage to enter the territory unseen?	Hoe wist de wolf ongezien het territorium te betreden?
the binoculars	de verrekijker
to capture	vastleggen
With the binoculars, the biologist managed to record the animal.	Met de verrekijker wist de bioloog het dier vast te leggen.
(in 'wie dan ook') -ever	dan ook
He wanted to protect the territory against anyone whatsoever.	Hij wilde het territorium beschermen tegen wie dan ook.
Despite the fog, we managed to view the valley with the binoculars.	Ondanks de mist wisten we de vallei met de verrekijker te bekijken.
You must wait quietly to see anything whatsoever.	Je moet stil wachten om wat dan ook te zien.
It was the young wolf that we managed to find yesterday.	Het was de jonge wolf die we gisteren wisten te vinden.
It was that expedition that managed to approach the peak.	Het was die expeditie die de top wist te naderen.
The biologist always had the binoculars with him.	De bioloog had de verrekijker altijd bij zich.
to sneak	sluipen
By sneaking, she managed to photograph the bird beautifully.	Door te sluipen wist ze de vogel prachtig te fotograferen.
Despite the storm, we managed to leave the valley safely.	Ondanks de storm wisten we de vallei veilig te verlaten.
The biologist manages to sneak to the wolf and record him.	De bioloog weet naar de wolf te sluipen en hem vast te leggen.
the whale	de walvis
The biologist managed to record the whale.	De bioloog wist de walvis vast te leggen.
The expedition saw a whale unseen.	De expeditie zag ongezien een walvis.
the fly	de vlieg
A fly buzzes above the territory.	Een vlieg zoemt boven het territorium.
The wolf pays no attention to a fly.	De wolf let niet op een vlieg.

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