Tom verspreekt zich in de toespraak.

Because zich verspreken is a reflexive verb in Dutch. The full expression is zich verspreken, not just verspreken, when it means to misspeak or to make a slip of the tongue.

So:

• Tom verspreekt zich = Tom misspeaks / Tom slips up verbally

The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject:

• ik verspreek me
• jij verspreekt je
• hij/zij verspreekt zich
• wij verspreken ons
• jullie verspreken je
• zij verspreken zich

In this sentence, the subject is Tom, so the correct reflexive pronoun is zich.

Verspreekt is the present tense, third-person singular form of (zich) verspreken.

It is used when talking about someone saying the wrong word by mistake, or accidentally saying something they did not mean to reveal.

Structure:

• infinitive: zich verspreken
• stem: verspreek
• Tom verspreekt zich = third-person singular present

The -t ending is normal for he/she/it forms in the present tense.

Because Tom is a third-person singular subject, and in the Dutch present tense that usually takes -t.

Compare:

• ik verspreek me
• jij verspreekt je
• Tom verspreekt zich

So the -t is just the regular present-tense ending for hij/zij/het and nouns like Tom.

No. Verspreken is not separable.

That matters because some Dutch verbs split in main clauses, but this one does not. You keep it together:

• Tom verspreekt zich.

Not:

• Tom spreekt zich ver. ✗

This is because verbs with the prefix ver- are usually inseparable.

In a normal Dutch main clause, the finite verb usually comes in second position. After that, other elements follow, including reflexive pronouns.

So the order here is:

• Tom = subject
• verspreekt = finite verb
• zich = reflexive pronoun
• in de toespraak = prepositional phrase

This is a very normal Dutch sentence pattern.

Toespraak means speech, address, or formal talk—usually something given to an audience.

So de toespraak is not the general act of speaking. It is a specific speech or formal address.

For example, it could be:

• a political speech
• a wedding speech
• a ceremonial address

Because toespraak is a de-word in Dutch.

You simply have to learn the noun with its article:

• de toespraak

There is not always a simple rule that tells you whether a noun takes de or het, so it is best to memorize toespraak together with de.

It can be understood that way, yes. Literally, in de toespraak means in the speech, but in context it often means in the course of the speech or during the speech.

A learner might also wonder whether tijdens de toespraak is possible. Yes, it is:

• Tom verspreekt zich tijdens de toespraak.

That may sound a bit more explicitly like during the speech.
But in de toespraak is still understandable as referring to what happens within that speech.

The form you should learn is zich verspreken.

That is because the reflexive pronoun is part of the verb’s normal usage when it means to misspeak.

So in a vocabulary list, it is best to write:

• zich verspreken = to misspeak / to make a slip of the tongue

If you only learn verspreken, you may miss the fact that Dutch normally uses it reflexively in this meaning.

Yes. Zich verspreken can mean not only to say the wrong word, but also to let something slip unintentionally.

So depending on context, it may mean:

• Tom says the wrong thing by accident
• Tom makes a slip of the tongue
• Tom accidentally reveals something

The exact interpretation depends on the surrounding context.

Here are the present-tense forms:

• Ik verspreek me.
• Jij verspreekt je.
• Hij verspreekt zich.
• Wij verspreken ons.
• Jullie verspreken je.
• Zij verspreken zich.

This is useful because reflexive verbs in Dutch always require you to match the reflexive pronoun to the subject.

Yes, that is possible, though it is a slightly different structure.

• Tom verspreekt zich = Tom misspeaks
• Tom maakt een verspreking = Tom makes a slip of the tongue

The noun een verspreking means a verbal slip / slip of the tongue.

So both are possible, but the original sentence uses the verb expression zich verspreken.