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Questions & Answers about Ik print een brief.
What is the infinitive form of print in this sentence?
The underlying infinitive is printen, ending in -en. Dutch infinitives typically end in -en and correspond to the English to print.
Why doesn't ik print have a -t at the end of print?
In Dutch, the first person singular present uses the verb stem without an additional -t. Remove -en from printen to get the stem print, so you write ik print (not prinnt or printt).
If I say he prints a letter, should I write hij print or hij printt?
Although the third person singular normally adds -t, the stem of printen (print) already ends in -t. You do not write a double t, so you still write hij print, but you conceptually keep the -t ending in pronunciation.
Why is afdrukken not used here, and when would you use printen instead?
Both printen and afdrukken can mean to print. printen is a loanword commonly used for digital or office printing. afdrukken is the native verb used for printing or reproducing in general. You can say Ik druk een brief af or Ik print een brief; both are common with only a slight nuance.
Why is een used before brief, and what's the gender of brief?
een is the indefinite article (a/an) and does not change with gender. The noun brief is a de‑word (common gender), so the definite article is de brief meaning the letter, but for the indefinite you always use een.
What is the normal word order in this Dutch main clause?
Dutch main clauses use Subject‑Verb‑Object (SVO) order, like English. Here: Ik (subject) print (verb) een brief (object).
Can you use a separable verb like uitprinten here? How would you say I print out a letter?
Yes. You can add the separable prefix uit‑ to get uitprinten, meaning to print out. In a main clause the prefix moves to the end: Ik print een brief uit = I print out a letter.
Is printen a regular (weak) verb, and what is its past participle?
printen is a weak (regular) verb. Its past participle is formed with ge- at the front and -t at the end: geprint. For example: Ik heb een brief geprint = I have printed a letter.