Breakdown of Wij hebben het vuilnis buitengezet.
wij
we
hebben
to have
het vuilnis
the garbage
buitenzetten
to put outside
Questions & Answers about Wij hebben het vuilnis buitengezet.
Why is -ge- in the middle of buitengezet?
Buitengezet is the past participle of the separable verb buitenzetten (to put outside). In Dutch, when a separable verb gets turned into a past participle, the -ge- is squeezed right between the prefix (buiten) and the verb itself (zet).
Is buitenzetten a regular or irregular verb?
It is a regular (weak) verb. The base verb is zetten (to put/set). The stem is zet. Normally you add -ge- to the front and a -t or -d to the end to make a past participle. Since the stem zet already ends in a -t, we don't add another one. It just becomes gezet (and thus buitengezet).
Why does buitengezet go all the way at the end of the sentence?
This is the standard rule for the present perfect tense in Dutch. The helper verb (hebben) takes the second position in the sentence, while the past participle (buitengezet) is kicked to the very end, after the object (het vuilnis).
Could I use a different verb like leggen to say "put outside" here?