Dutch/Lesson 17

Welcome to the first lesson of the advanced level of this course. You should have a pretty good understanding of Dutch grammar, a good basis in syntax and a considerable vocabulary by now. This means that you should be able to practice your Dutch on your own through books, websites, videos, TV programs etc. etc.

The advanced level will concentrate on a number of special topics that will deepen your command of the language. This part of the course is the least developed in terms of practice or cultural context and is more aimed at being a reference source for you to come back to when you run into things you do not quite understand when using your Dutch out there on your own.

Bijwoorden

Dutch word	translation	prep.	prep. adv.	pron. adv. e.g.	sep. verbs e.g.	insep. verbs e.g.
in	in	yes	yes	erin	inrijden	―
binnen	inside	yes	yes	erbinnen	binnenkomen	―
door	through, by	yes	yes	erdoor	doorlopen	doorlopen
bij	near	yes	yes	erbij	bijkomen	―
op	on, upon	yes	yes	erop	opkomen	―
open	open	no	yes	―	opendraaien	openbaren
dicht	closed	no	yes	―	dichtnaaien	―
naast	beside	yes	yes	ernaast	―	―
over	over	yes	yes	erover	overlopen	overkomen
boven	above	yes	yes	erboven	bovenblijven	―
tegen	against	yes	yes	ertegen	tegenspreken	―
zonder	on, upon	yes	yes	erzonder^[1]	―	―
tegenover	opposite	yes	yes	ertegenover	tegenoverstellen	―
voor	for, before	yes	yes	ervoor	vóórkomen	voorkómen
achter	behind	yes	yes	erachter	achterstellen	achterhalen
achterop	on the back of	yes	yes	erachterop	achteropraken	―
neer	down	no	yes	―	neerzien	―
beneden	down, dowstairs	yes	yes	erbeneden	―	―
uit	out (of)	yes	yes	eruit	uitstellen	―
buiten	outside (of)	yes	yes	erbuiten	buitensluiten	―
benevens	next to	yes	no	―	―	―
via	via	yes	no	―	―	―
sinds	since	yes	no	―	―	―
vanwege	bcause of	yes	no	―	―	―
onder	under	yes	yes	eronder	onderlopen	ondervragen
met	with	yes	no	―	―	―
mee	along, with	no	yes	ermee	meemaken	―
langs	along	yes	yes	erlangs	langslopen	―
om	around, in order to	yes	yes	erom	omlopen	omarmen
aan	on, at	yes	yes	eraan	aanlopen	aanvaarden
af	off	no	yes	eraf	aflopen	―
van	of, from	yes	yes	ervan	―	―
heen	towards, away	no	yes	erheen	heengaan	―
weer	again	no	yes	―	weerkeren	weerstaan
behalve	except	yes	no	―	―	―
gezien	in view of	yes	no	―	―	―

We have seen two major groups of words in the Dutch language: naamwoorden (nouns, adverbs, pronouns etc.) and werkwoorden (transitive verbs, intransitives, copula's, auxiliaries). The third group that comprises all the rest is known as bijwoorden (adverbs) and again they occur in a number of forms. Unfortunately it is not possible to classify them quite as thoroughly as the other two groups. In fact it is a bit of a miscellaneous rest group, a kind garbage can into which anything is flung that does not fit in the other two.

We have already seen a few groups of words that fall under the denominator bijwoord in the more extensive sense of the word and we will examine a few more

prepositional adverbs, like in, voor, mee, toe, heen, af etc.
prepositions like in, op, bij, over, met, tot
conjunctions (including subjunctions)
modal adverbs (particles) like wel, maar, eens, ...
adverbs of place and time, like nu, toen, dan or daar, waar
interjections, like oh, hoi, ach, dag, nou

Prepositions and prepositional adverbs

Prepositions are often hard to translate exactly because which one is used in which case often differs between the languages.

Historically, prepositions developed from adverbs that were put before an object to clarify the meaning of a case ending. Later they supplanted the use of the case endings completely.

In Dutch many prepositions have an—often identical—adverbial form, the prepositional adverb, that occurs either as part of a separable verb or as the prepositional part of the pronominal adverb or simply by itself. As we have seen both of those compounds play a considerable role in Dutch grammar. Thus the separation between prepositions and adverbs is not as sharp in Dutch as it is in some other languages. In a sense Dutch is a rather adverbial language: adverbs play a major role.

Another role that prepositional adverbs sometimes play is that of complement of a copula (predicate):

De licht is aan en blijft aan

De bal is uit.

However, there are also prepositions that are just that: prepositions and not adverbs. They are historically from a later date and have often resulted from nouns or participles that got used as prepositions. They cannot be used to form pronominal adverbs, separable verbs or predicates.

Conversely, there are adverbs that never became prepositions, but they do get used to form compound verbs, pronominal adverbs and predicates, e.g. af:

pronominal adverb: eraf - er niet af

separable verb: afschieten - hij schoot af

predicate: het is nog niet af

Below is a list of the most common prepositions and prepositional adverbs to give an idea how they are used. The table gives an overview of the various roles that prepositions and their adverbs can play.

There is a number of forms that were formed by prefixing be- and often end in -(e)n, cf.

in - binnen

uit - buiten

over - boven

ne(d)er - beneden

English has a few comparable forms like before, between, beside, below and behind

IN, BINNEN

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binnen

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in

In translates mostly as its cognate in

hij woont in dat huis - he lives in that house

hij gelooft in spoken - he believes in ghosts

Its identical adverb in often occurs pronominal replacement: erin, daarin (in it, in there) etc. as well as in separable verbs as will be shown below.

Notice that Dutch does not have an equivalent of into but uses in as prepositional adverb to express the concept of movement 'into' something.

An alternative is to use binnen which often translates into inside

hij is binnen - he is inside

binnenlopen:

e.g. Hij liep het huis binnen. ‘’He entered the house.’’

binnen twee minuten - within two minutes

To emphasize movement naar can be added:

hij liep naar binnen - he walked in

hij liep er naar binnen - he entered it

Notice that Dutch grammar has no hangups about ending sentences in 'prepositions'. A word like binnen is not considered a preposition unless it actually precedes a noun. Otherwise it is an adverb and there is no law against ending a sentence in an adverb...

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs erin, hierin, daarin, waarin, ergens in, nergens in, overal in, ergens anders in, nergens anders in erbinnen, hierbinnen, daarbinnen, waarbinnen
Separable verbs inademen e.g. Ik adem in. I breathe in. inlopen e.g. Hij loopt het huis in. He walks into the house. Notice that Dutch uses the preposition in to denote a state of rest, but the prepositional adverb to denote movement: in het huis - in the house het huis in - into the house The prepositional adverb is usually part of a separable verb: hij liep het huis in <- het huis inlopen.
Inseparable verbs None.

UIT, BUITEN

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binnen

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buiten

uit is represented by out of or from

uit dit erts wordt goud gewonnen - out of this ore gold is produced

hij komt uit Utrecht - he is from Utrecht

buiten usually means outside

buiten de stad - outside the city

hij is buiten - he is outside

hij ging naar buiten - he went ouside'

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs eruit, hieruit, daaruit, waaruit erbuiten, hierbuiten, daarbuiten, waarbuiten
Separable verbs Both uit and buiten have separable verbs. Uit often means off in these. e.g. uitdraaien: Hij draaide de radio uit. He turned the radio off. e.g. uitdoen: Zij deed het licht uit. She switched off the light. Zij deed haar jas uit. She took her coat off. Buiten often means out in verbs: e.g. buitensluiten - to lock out
Inseparable verbs none

DOOR

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door

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doorheen

door is a cognate of through and often corresponds to it:

Het licht valt door het raam. The light shines through the window.

In many cases the correct translation is by particularly when it is used with the passive voice:

Hij is door de wol geverfd. lit. He has been dyed by the wool. (He is a veteran, old hand.)

Together with heen the meaning is through and through or passage through:

Hij stak de naald door het vel heen. He stuck the needle (all the way) through the skin.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs erdoor, hierdoor, daardoor, waardoor, ergens door, nergens door, overal door, ergens anders door, nergens anders door Dat is nergens anders door te vervangen That cannot be replaced by anything else.
Separable verbs e.g. dóórhakken: Hij hakte de knoop door. He cut the knot through.
Inseparable verbs doorzíén: e.g. Hij doorzag de list. He saw through the ruse. Notice that the separable version has stress, the inseparable one does not.

BIJ

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bij

Although the word is cognate of by it often is used rather differently. It indicates a location slightly to the side of something.

Schiphol ligt bij Amsterdam - Schiphol is near Amsterdam

bij de les blijven - stay with the lesson

bij slecht weer - in the case of bad weather

het is bij vijven - it is around five o'clock

hij bleef erbij - he stuck to it

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs erbij, hierbij, daarbij, waarbij, ergens bij, nergens bij, overal bij, ergens anders bij, nergens anders bij
Separable verbs e.g. bijkomen: Hij kwam eindelijk bij. He finally regained consciousness. bijwerken: Ik heb het bijgewerkt. I have updated it.
Inseparable verbs none

OP

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op

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boven

Although cognate of up it usually translates as on or upon

hij is op vakantie - he is on vacation

het boek ligt op de tafel - the book lies on the table.

op je gezondheid - a toast to you health (not : up your .. etc.)

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs erop, hierop, daarop, waarop, ergens op, nergens op, overal op, ergens anders op, nergens anders op Dat past nergens anders op. That doesn't fit on anything else.
Separable verbs e.g. opnemen: Hij nam op. He picked up, answered (the phone); he recorded; he absorbed. ophoepelen: Ach , hoepel toch op! Ow, get lost!, lit. to hoop up; to get lost
Inseparable verbs None.

NAAST

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naast

naast translates mostly into next to, beside

Jan en Elly wonen naast John en Heleen. Jan and Elly are the neighbors of John and Heleen.

Zij wonen ernaast.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs ernaast, hiernaast, daarnaast, waarnaast, ergens naast, nergens naast, overal naast
Separable verbs None.
Inseparable verbs None.

OVER

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over

over translates mostly as it identical cognate:

hij vloog over het koekoeksnest - he flew over the cuckoo's nest

It can also translate as about

hij praat veel over auto's. He talks a lot about cars.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs erover, hierover, daarover, waarover, ergens over, nergens over, overal over, ergens anders over, nergens anders over Hij praat nergens anders over. He talks about nothing else.
Separable verbs e.g. overlopen: Het bad liep over. The bathtub overflowed.
Inseparable verbs e.g. overzien Ik overzag het slagveld. I oversaw the battlefield.

BOVEN

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onder

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boven

boven translates as its cognate above

hij zette er een punt boven: he put a dot above it.

Its identical adverb usually means up, upstairs

hij is boven : he is upstairs

To indicate movement Dutch uses naar

hij liep naar boven - he went upstairs, he went up the hill etc.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs erboven, hierboven, daarboven, waarboven, ergens boven, nergens boven, overal over Hij woont hierboven. He lives above here.
Separable verbs none
Inseparable verbs none

TEGEN

tegen usually translates as against

hij was tegen dit wetsvoorstel - he opposed this proposition

de fiets stond tegen de muur - the bike stood against the wall

but:

hij zei tegen haar - he said to her

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs ertegen, hiertegen, daartegen, waartegen, ergens tegen, nergens tegen, overal tegen, ergens anders tegen, nergens anders tegen
Separable verbs e.g. tegenwerken: to thwart, to work against Hij werkte me altijd tegen. He always blocked me. tegenkomen - to encounter, to run into
Inseparable verbs None.

ZONDER

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met

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zonder

zonder means without

hij drinkt koffie zonder suiker

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs It did not have an adverbial form but increasingly pronominal adverbs like waarzonder are used.^[1]
Separable verbs None.
Inseparable verbs None.

TEGENOVER

tegenover means on the opposite side of.

Het hotel staat tegenover het conferentiecentrum. The hotel is opposite the conference center.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs ertegenover, hiertegenover, daartegenover, waartegenover
Separable verbs e.g.: tegenoverstellen - put against, balance, add an objection
Inseparable verbs None.

VOOR

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achter

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voor

This preposition has two meanings, one corresponds to English for

Dat is voor jóú. That is for you

But with a different stress pattern is means before either in place or time or in favor of

Hij is vóór jou. He is before you (in line e.g.)

Hij stemde vóór de motie. He voted in favor of the motion

Used as an adverb, it often gets an ending -en:

Hij liep naar voren. He walked to the front.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs ervoor, hiervoor, daarvoor, waarvoor, ergens voor, nerges voor, overal voor, ergens anders voor, nergens anders voor Hij wilde overal voor stoppen. He wanted to stop for everything.
Separable verbs voorlichten - to inform, to apprise vóórkomen - to occur
Inseparable verbs voorkómen - to prevent

ACHTER

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achter

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voor

Achter is mostly translated as behind. Some dialects, e.g. in Zeeland and West Flanders have a form bachten in the meaning of behind but it is not considered part of standard Dutch.

Hij stond achter de tafel. He stood behind the table.

As adverb it can also translate into back:

Hij keek naar achter. He looked back

In that meaning it often gets an ending -en:

Hij liep naar achteren. He walked to the back.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs erachter, hierachter, daarachter, waarachter, ergens achter, nergens achter, overal achter, ergens anders achter, nergens anders achter Het kan overal achter zitten. It could be hidden behind anything.
Separable verbs e.g. achterstellen - to discriminate, to marginalize Deze groep is eeuwen lang achtergesteld. This group has been marginalized for centuries.
Inseparable verbs e.g. achterhalen Ik achterhaalde de waarheid. I retraced the truth.

ACHTERIN

achterin translate mostly into in the back of

Achterin de auto liggen nog wat boodschappen - In the trunk of the car there a still a few groceries

It is often used as an adverb together with in:

Het lag achterin in de auto

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs None
Separable verbs None
Inseparable verbs None

ACHTEROP

achterop is mostly used to indicate the passenger seat of a bike and is used as an adverb. As a preposition it falls apart. (See lesson 23.)

achter op de fiets - on de back of the bike

met z'n meisie achterop - with his girl on the back

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs none
Separable verbs e.g. achteropraken: to run behind, to lose advantage
Inseparable verbs None.

NE(D)ER, BENEDEN

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neer

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beneden

The form beneden can be used as preposition in the meaning of below, under underneath, south of

beneden de rivieren - south of the rivers (i.e. Rhine, Meuse etc.)

beneden de Iridiumlaag vind je dinosaurusbotten - below the Iridium layer you find dinosaur bones

With naar it indicates downward movement:

hij viel naar beneden - he fell down

The form neer (<neder) is not used as a preposition but occurs as an adverb with the meaning of down in separable verbs.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs neer: none beneden: hierbeneden, daarbeneden
Separable verbs beneden: none neer: e.g. neerzien op: Hij zag neer op die mensen. He looked down upon these people. neerzitten bij: Hij zat bij de pakken neer. He surrendered to resignation. (He gave up.)
Inseparable verbs None.

BEZIJDEN

bezijden is comparable to besides but occurs mostly in the expression.

bezijden de waarheid - aside of the truth (i.e. not true)

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs none
Separable verbs none
Inseparable verbs none

BENEVENS

benevens is a rather formal alternative to naast (besides, next to).

benevens de aandelen is er het huizenbezit - besides the stocks is there the real estate

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs none
Separable verbs none
Inseparable verbs none

ONDER

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onder

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boven

onder is the cognate of under and has similar applications:

de hond ligt onder de tafel - het dog lies under the table

It can also be used in the meaning of among:

onder professoren - in the circle of professors

Used as adverb it can get an ending -en

Het is van onderen wit. It is white on the bottom side.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs eronder, hieronder, daaronder, waaronder, ergens onder, nergens onder, overal onder, ergens anders onder, nergens anders onder Ligt het nergens anders onder? Isn't is hidden underneath anything else?
Separable verbs e.g. óndergaan: De zon gaat onder. The sun sets.
Inseparable verbs e.g. ondergáán: Hij ondergaat een operatie. He undergoes surgery.

MET/ME(D)E

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met

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zonder

met usually means with.

hij gaat met zijn vrouw naar Canada - he goes to Canada with his wife

Its adverbial form is mee (or originally: mede).

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs met: none mee: ermee, hiermee, daarmee, waarmee, ergens mee, overal mee, nergens mee, ergens ander mee, nergens anders mee mede: hiermede, daarmede, waarmede
Separable verbs met: none mee: e.g. meegaan: Hij ging mee. He joined. Hij ging mee met haar. He accompanied her. The older adverb mede still occurs in verbs or a rather formal register, e.g.: mededelen - to communicate, to announce Er werd medegedeeld dat zij onslagen werden. It was announced that they were fired
Inseparable verbs None.

NAAR, TOT, TOE, HEEN, WEER

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naar

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tot

naar translates mostly as to or at:

hij kijkt naar het schilderij - he looks at the painting

hij kijkt ernaar - he looks at it.

hij gaat naar Kaapstad - he is going to Cape Town

In the sense of to rather than at naar is often reinforced by adding the adverb toe:

hij gaat naar Kaapstad toe

In pronominal replacement the addition is mandatory:

hij gaat ernaartoe

Alternatively, however, one can say:

hij gaat erheen - he is going there

heen is an adverb that indicates movement. It does not occur as preposition but there are separable verbs:

heengaan - to leave (usually permanently)

hij ging heen - he left

Its opposite is weer (from: we(d)er- that means back or again)

heen en weer - back and forth

It occurs in separables like:

weerkeren

hij keerde weer - he came back

de wederkomst - the second coming

It is related to with as in withstand and forms inseparable verbs as in English:

weerstaan - withstand

toe is the adverbial form of the preposition tot that mostly means until or to:

dit is geldig tot het eind van de maand - this is valid until the end of the month

dit dient tot versterking van de dijk - this serves to reinforce the dyke

dit is waartoe het dient - this is the purpose it serves

Another meaning of toe is closing, narrowing. Somewhat archaic is:

doe dat eens toe - please would you close that

It also occurs in expressions like:

af en toe - occasionally, now and then

and it occurs in a separable verb like:

zich toespitsen - become more acute - coming to climax

e.g. Het geweld spitst zich toe. The violence is exacerbating.

A leftover of the old case system are expressions like

tot bloedens toe -- until blood was flowing

tot vervelens toe -- ad nauseam

Notice that the verb appears as a genitive case: bloedens, vervelens. Although uncommon this genitive is still somewhat productive.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs naar: ernaar, hiernaar, daarnaar, waarnaar, ergens naar, nergens naar, overal naar, ergens anders naar, nergens anders naar naartoe: ernaartoe, hiernaartoe, daarnaartoe, waarnaartoe, ergens naartoe, nergens naartoe, overal naartoe, ergens anders naartoe, nergens anders naartoe heen: erheen, hierheen, daarheen, waarheen, ergens heen, nergens heen, overal heen, ergens anders heen, nergens anders heen weer: none tot: none toe: ertoe, hiertoe, daartoe, waartoe
Separable verbs naar: none naartoe: none heen: e.g. heenbrengen - to take away weer: e.g. weerkeren - to return tot: none toe: e.g. toedoen - to close; to contribute to its cause, to be complicit
Inseparable verbs weer: e.g. weerstaan - to withstand

TUSSEN

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tussen

tussen means mostly between

tussen Maryland en Noord-Carolina ligt Virginia. Between Maryland and North Carolina lies Virginia

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs ertussen, hiertussen, daartussen, waartussen, ergens tussen, nergens tussen, overal tussen
Separable verbs e.g. tussenvoegen - to insert. Er was een spatie tussengevoegd. A space had been inserted
Inseparable verbs None.

VAN, AF

van translates mostly into of and from:

van verse tomaten is een heerlijke soep te bereiden - a delicious soup can be made of fresh tomatoes

het westen van het land - the west of the country

hij komt van ver - he comes from far

hij viel van zijn stoel - he fell off his chair

When a downwards motion or fall is implied as in the latter case, the adverb af (cognate of off) can be added:

hij viel van de trap - he fell off the stairs

hij viel eraf - he fell off

het water komt van die berg af - the water comes from that mountain

het komt ervanaf - it comes off of it

af does not occur as proposition, but is part of separable verbs:

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs van: ervan, hiervan, daarvan, waarvan, ergens van, nergens van, overal van, ergens anders van, nergens anders van af: eraf, hieraf, daaraf, waaraf
Separable verbs van: none. af : e.g. afvallen - lose weight, fall off (sailing)
Inseparable verbs none.

AAN

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aan

aan has various translations such as to, at, on or is implied in an English verb. It typically implies a touching or reaching until contact is made.

Zij plakten een affiche aan de muur - They stuck a poster on the wall

Hier komt deze laag aan de oppervlakte - Here this layer reaches the surface

Aan deze feiten valt niet te twijfelen - These facts can not be doubted

Er valt weinig aan te doen - There is little we can do about it

Wat is er aan de hand? - What is at hand? What is happening?

Hij zit aan het schilderij - He is touching the painting

Hij zit eraan - He is touching it

Nergens aan zitten! - Hands off!

A prepositional object with aan replaces an indirect object:

Hij gaf hem een book - He gave him the book

Hij gaf een boek aan hem - He gave a book to him

af is the opposite of aan in:

af en aan - off and on

But uit can also be the opposite:

Is het licht aan of uit? - Is the light on or off?

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs eraan, hieraan, daaraan, waaraan, ergens aan, nergens aan, overal aan, ergens anders aan, nergens anders aan
Separable verbs e.g. aankomen - to arrive, gain weight Hij is gisteren aangekomen. He arrived yesterday. Hij is tien kilo aangekomen. He gained 10 kilos.
Inseparable verbs e.g. aanbidden - to worship In het Oude Egypte werd de god Horus aanbeden. In Ancient Egypt the god Horus was worshipped.

OM

om can mean around:

hij deed een nieuwe band om de velg - he put a new tire around the rim

om de burcht ligt een gracht - there is a moat around the castle

In this meaning it is often reinforced with heen:

er ligt een gracht om de stad heen

er ligt een gracht omheen

It can also have less literal meaning of about, because of, for:

dit werd om onduidelijke redenen afgelast - this was cancelled for unclear reasons

There are separable verbs:

omdoen - wrap around

e.g. Zij deed een sjaal om. She put a shawl around her neck.

Under German influence om can also imply change, inversion.

hij liet zich ompraten - he allowed himself to be persuaded to change his mind

wegomlegging - detour

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs erom, hierom, daarom, waarom, ergens om, nergens om, overal om, ergens anders om, nergens anders om Hij gaf nergens om. He did not care about anything
Separable verbs e.g. ómwentelen - to roll over, roll away e.g. ómdoen -wrap around Zij deed een sjaal om. She put on a shawl
Inseparable verbs e.g. omhélzen - to embrace Zij omhelsden elkaar. They embraced each other.

LANGS

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langs

langs evokes a parallel position or motion and is mostly translated by along.

langs de rivier loopt een weg - there is a road along the river

hij liep erlangs - he passed by it

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs erlangs, hierlangs, daarlangs, waarlangs, ergens langs, nergens langs, overal langs, ergens anders langs, nergens anders langs
Separable verbs e.g. langskomen - drop by Hij kwam gisteren langs - He dropped by yesterday
Inseparable verbs None.

MIS

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raak

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mis

As in English this adverb conveys the meaning of 'wrong', 'flawed'. It is not used as a preposition. Its antonym is raak.

Compounds
Pronominal adverbs none
Separable verbs e.g. mísschieten - to shoot and miss Hij schoot mis. He missed the target
Inseparable verbs e.g. misléíden - to mislead e.g. misvórmen - to warp, to disfigure

Appendix

↑ ^a ^b mostly limited to the South

[zonder-1] stly limited to the South

[1]