Begroette

Begroette is the simple past tense of the Dutch verb begroeten, which means to greet someone. It describes a past action in which the greeting was completed. The past participle of begroeten is begroet, which is used in perfect tenses with hebben, as in Ik heb hem begroet. The infinitive form is begroeten.

Etymology and form

Begroeten is formed with the prefix be- attached to the verb groeten (to greet). Begroette is the preterite singular form for all persons, while the plural past tense is begroetten (wij begroetten, jullie begroetten, zij begroetten). The present tense is begroet (ik begroet, jij begroet, u begroet, hij begroet, wij begroeten, jullie begroeten, zij begroeten).

Conjugation (indicative, simple past)

- Ik begroette

- Jij begroette / U begroette

- Hij/zij/het begroette

- Wij begroetten

- Jullie begroetten

- Zij begroetten

Usage and examples

Begroette is commonly used in narrative or historical contexts to recount past greetings. Example: Gisteren begroette hij alle gasten bij binnenkomst. In a sentence with perfect aspect: Ik heb hem begroet toen hij kwam. The verb typically takes a direct object indicating who was greeted (iemand) or the appropriate direct object.

Notes

Begroeten is a transitive verb and can be used with various forms of direct address, such as een persoon, de buurman, of de gasten. In everyday speech, the present tense begroet changes to begroet in the first person and second person singular forms, while the past tense form for singular persons remains begroette.