Tom zet de televisie af.

Tom turns off the television.

Breakdown of Tom zet de televisie af.

• Tom: Tom
• de televisie: the television
• afzetten: to take off

Questions & Answers about Tom zet de televisie af.

Why is it zet de televisie af and not just a single verb like afzet in the middle?

Dutch has many separable verbs. One of them is afzetten (to turn off, to switch off, to shut off).

• The infinitive is afzetten.
• In a main clause in the present tense, the separable prefix (af) usually goes to the end of the sentence:
  • Tom zet de televisie af.
    
    • zet = finite verb (3rd person singular of zetten)
    • af = separable prefix moved to the end

You cannot say:

• ✗ Tom afzet de televisie.

In dictionaries you’ll find afzetten, but in normal main-clause sentences you split it: zet … af.

What is the difference between afzetten and uitzetten when talking about a TV?

Both afzetten and uitzetten can mean to turn off a device, and both are used with televisie.

• Tom zet de televisie af.
• Tom zet de televisie uit.

In modern everyday Dutch:

• uitzetten is more common and more neutral for turning off machines, lights, TVs, computers, etc.
• afzetten can also be used, but:
  • In some regions it may sound slightly more dialectal or old-fashioned for devices.
  • It is also used with meanings like to block, to shut off, to mark off, e.g. de straat afzetten (to block off the street).

So if you want the most natural, neutral way to say Tom turns off the TV, Tom zet de televisie uit is usually preferred, but Tom zet de televisie af is still understandable and correct.

Why is it zet and not zetT with a double t?

The verb is zetten (to put, to set). To form the present tense:

• ik zet
• jij / je zet
• hij / zij / het zet
• wij zetten
• jullie zetten
• zij zetten

The spelling rule:
You do not double the final consonant in the stem when adding the personal ending:

• Infinitive: zetten
• Stem: zet (drop the -en)
• 3rd person singular: zet (stem + zero ending)

So:

• Tom zet de televisie af. is correct.
• ✗ Tom zett de televisie af. is incorrect.

Why is it de televisie and not het televisie?

Dutch nouns have two genders for articles:

• de-words (common gender)
• het-words (neuter)

Televisie is a de-word, so you use de:

• de televisie
• de nieuwe televisie
• de televisie staat aan.

There is no logical rule you could guess this from in advance; you just have to learn the gender with the noun:

• de televisie
• het scherm (the screen)
• de afstandsbediening (the remote control)

Can I say Tom zet de tv af instead of Tom zet de televisie af?

Yes.

tv (also written t.v. historically) is a very common abbreviation for televisie, and it is also a de-word:

• de tv
• Tom zet de tv af.
• Ik kijk tv.

In informal speech and writing, tv is more frequent than televisie. Both are correct; televisie is just more formal/complete.

Why is the word order Tom zet de televisie af and not Tom zet af de televisie?

In a simple main clause with one verb, Dutch prefers this order:

1. Subject
2. Finite verb
3. Object(s)
4. Other sentence parts
5. Separable prefix (if there is one)

So:

1. Tom (subject)
2. zet (finite verb)
3. de televisie (direct object)
4. — (nothing extra here)
5. af (separable prefix)

Therefore:

• ✅ Tom zet de televisie af.
• ✗ Tom zet af de televisie. (wrong word order for standard Dutch)

The separable prefix (af) is placed at the end of the clause, not in front of the object.

If I replace de televisie with a pronoun, where does the pronoun go?

With separable verbs in a main clause, object pronouns go before the separable prefix and usually right after the finite verb:

• Tom zet hem af. – Tom turns it off.
  (hem refers to de televisie)

Word order pattern:

1. Subject: Tom
2. Finite verb: zet
3. Object pronoun: hem
4. Separable prefix: af

You don’t say:

• ✗ Tom zet af hem.

So:

• Tom zet de televisie af.
• Tom zet hem af.

Is Tom zet de televisie af more like “Tom turns off the TV” or “Tom is turning off the TV”?

Dutch simple present covers both:

• a general, repeated action
• an action happening right now

So Tom zet de televisie af. can mean:

• Tom turns off the TV (habitually / regularly)
• Tom is turning off the TV (right now)

If you really want to emphasize that it’s happening at this moment, Dutch can use a construction with aan het:

• Tom is de televisie aan het uitzetten. – Tom is in the process of turning off the TV.

But in everyday speech, people very often just use the simple present:

• Tom zet de televisie uit/af.

What is the literal meaning of zetten here? Isn’t zetten “to put” rather than “to turn off”?

Yes, zetten by itself generally means to put, to place, or to set:

• Ik zet de kopjes op tafel. – I put the cups on the table.

However, afzetten (and uitzetten) is a separable verb formed with zetten + a prefix. The prefix changes the meaning:

• afzetten = to shut off / switch off / turn off (among other meanings)
• uitzetten = to switch off, turn off, also to enlarge/spread out in other contexts

So in Tom zet de televisie af, you should understand zet … af together as turns off, not as puts off in a literal spatial sense.

Can I just say Tom zet af without saying de televisie?

Grammatically, yes, but the meaning then becomes more general and context-dependent.

• Tom zet de televisie af. – clearly: he turns off the TV.
• Tom zet af. – literally: he shuts something off / he starts something off / he pushes off, etc., depending on context.

Afzetten has multiple meanings:

• de motor afzetten – turn off the engine
• een gebied afzetten – cordon off an area
• tegen iemand afzetten – set oneself against someone

So if you just say Tom zet af, listeners will need context to know what he’s turning off or what kind of afzetten you mean. Without context, it’s incomplete or vague.

Are there close synonyms for Tom zet de televisie af and do they sound more natural?

Yes, several verbs can express turning off a TV:

• Tom zet de televisie uit. – Very common and neutral.
• Tom doet de televisie uit. – Also possible, a bit more colloquial with doen.
• Tom schakelt de televisie uit. – More formal/technical: “switches off”.
• Tom zet de tv uit. – Very common in speech.

In everyday modern Dutch:

• Tom zet de televisie uit / Tom zet de tv uit
  would probably be the most natural, frequent options.
  Tom zet de televisie af is correct, but slightly less typical in some regions than uitzetten for electronic devices.