Manner of Arrival: "Komen" + Infinitive
To describe exactly how someone makes an entrance, English pairs the verb "to come" with an -ing verb, like "come running" or "come sliding." Dutch uses the exact same concept, pairing the conjugated verb komen with a bare infinitive of motion (like rennen, glijden, or lopen).
In a standard main clause, the conjugated form of komen takes the second position, while the motion infinitive is pushed to the very end of the sentence.
| A dog comes walking onto the playground. | Er komt een hond de speelplaats op lopen. |
| Suddenly, a boy comes sliding down. | Plotseling komt er een jongen naar beneden glijden. |
Framing the Destination
On a chaotic playground, you will often want to include a destination or direction (like "onto the playground" or "down the slide"). This directional information is sandwiched between komen and the infinitive at the end of the sentence.
| At three o'clock, the cheerful toddlers come running onto the playground. | Om drie uur komen de vrolijke kleuters de speelplaats op rennen. |
| The toddler comes sliding down the slide. | De kleuter komt van de glijbaan af glijden. |
Subordinate Clauses
When this structure appears in a subordinate clause—such as after dat (that)—the conjugated verb komen is pushed to the end of the sentence. It sits side-by-side just before the infinitive.
| We see that the toddlers come running to the sandbox. | We zien dat de kleuters naar de zandbak komen rennen. |
| We hear that the boys come running onto the playground. | We horen dat de jongens de speelplaats op komen rennen. |
Making a Surprise Appearance
Sometimes an arrival is a complete surprise. The word tevoorschijn is used to describe something coming "into view" or "out" from hiding.
| into view / out | tevoorschijn |
You can combine this with the komen + infinitive structure to describe someone or something suddenly emerging in a very specific way.
| The dog comes crawling out from under the seesaw in the playground. | De hond komt onder de wip in de speeltuin tevoorschijn kruipen. |
| The girl comes jumping out from behind the climbing frame. | Het meisje komt achter het klimrek tevoorschijn springen. |