Breakdown of Heb jij de bak gisteren schoongemaakt?
jij
you
hebben
to have
schoonmaken
to clean
gisteren
yesterday
de bak
the bin
Questions & Answers about Heb jij de bak gisteren schoongemaakt?
Why is the -ge- in the middle of schoongemaakt?
This comes from the separable verb schoonmaken (to clean). When making the past participle for a separable verb, the -ge- is injected right between the prefix (schoon) and the verb root (maken). So schoon + ge + maakt becomes one long word: schoongemaakt.
Why does schoongemaakt go at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, when you use a two-part verb like the present perfect tense ('have cleaned'), the helping verb (heb) takes the first position for a yes/no question, and the past participle (schoongemaakt) gets pushed all the way to the end of the sentence.
Why does schoongemaakt end with a -t instead of a -d?
This follows the 't kofschip rule from earlier lessons. The root of the verb maken is maak. Because it ends in -k (a consonant found in the word 't kofschip), the past participle takes a -t. That is why it is gemaakt and not 'gemaakd'.
What kind of bin is de bak?
De bak is a very common and versatile word for any container, bin, or tray. Depending on the context, it usually means the trash can (de vuilnisbak), a recycling bin, or even a cat's litter box (de kattenbak).
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