Breakdown of Mijn baas is wezen golfen, maar hij verveelde zich.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
maar
but
mijn
my
de baas
the boss
zich vervelen
to be bored
wezen
to go (auxiliary for past outings)
golfen
to play golf
Questions & Answers about Mijn baas is wezen golfen, maar hij verveelde zich.
Why does this sentence use is wezen golfen instead of heeft gegolfd?
Using zijn + wezen + infinitive is a special way to say someone "went and did" an activity, and they have since returned. Hij heeft gegolfd just means "he has played golf" (the action happened at some point). Hij is wezen golfen specifically emphasizes the outing itself: he went out to play golf, and now that trip is over.
What exactly is wezen here? Is it a past participle?
Wezen is actually an old infinitive form of zijn (to be). In this specific grammar structure, it acts as a replacement for the past participle geweest (been). You must use wezen instead of geweest when combining it with an action verb like golfen. Literally, the structure translates to something like "My boss has been golfing".
Why do we switch from the perfect tense (is wezen golfen) to the simple past (verveelde zich)?
The first part uses the perfect tense because it describes a completed, isolated event (the golf outing is over). The second part uses the simple past because it describes a state of mind or background situation during that event. In Dutch, the simple past is strongly preferred for describing ongoing feelings, states, or background conditions in the past.
Why does it say verveelde zich? Doesn't zich mean "himself"?
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