Beantwoorden

Beantwoorden is a Dutch verb meaning to answer or to reply. It is a transitive verb that takes a direct object such as a question (een vraag), a message (een bericht), or a request (een verzoek). The prefix be- often signals that the action is directed at something and completed. In everyday use, beantwoorden is common in education, administration, and digital communication; a related verb, antwoorden, is used with the preposition op to indicate replying to something.

Conjugation and related nouns: Beantwoorden follows the regular patterns of -woorden verbs. In the present tense: ik beantwoord, jij beantwoordt, hij beantwoordt; in the past tense: ik beantwoordde, jij beantwoordde, hij beantwoordde; the present perfect is ik heb beantwoord; the past participle is beantwoord. The noun form for the act is het beantwoorden (the act of answering); the more formal noun is de beantwoording (the act of responding, often used in politics or law).

Usage notes and examples: Use beantwoorden for direct-answering actions, typically with a direct object: "Ik beantwoordde de vraag," or "Wij hebben de e-mail beantwoord." For responding to something more generally, you may also use antwoorden op: "antwoorden op een vraag" or "beantwoorden op een verzoek." In formal contexts, beantwoordingsphrases are common in official correspondence and parliamentary questions.

Origin and related terms: The verb is built from the noun antwoord (answer) with the prefix be-. Related terms include antwoord (noun), antwoorden (to answer, used with op), and reageren (to respond).