Vaststelde

Vaststelde is the past tense form of the Dutch verb vaststellen, which means to determine, establish, or ascertain. In standard Dutch, the simple past is usually formed with the two-word construction stelde vast (ik stelde vast, jij stelde vast, hij stelde vast). The related past participle is vastgesteld. Although you may occasionally encounter the single-word form vaststelde in some texts or headlines, the normative written form in ordinary prose is stelde vast.

Usage and meaning

Vaststellen is used to report that a finding, conclusion, measurement, or decision has been determined at a past time. It appears in scientific reports, legal decisions, policy statements, and journalism. The sense conveyed by vaststelde (or its two-word past) is that something was established as a fact or conclusion and can be followed by a subordinate clause introduced by dat or by an infinitive clause.

Examples

De onderzoekers stelden vast dat de afwijking within de marge lag. De commissie stelde vast dat er behoefte was aan aanvullende maatregelen. In juridisch taalgebruik kan men zeggen: De wet stelt vast dat... (past tense in narrative: de wet stelde vast).

Etymology and related forms

Vaststelde derives from vast- (fixed, definite) and stellen (to place, to set). It is cognate with German feststellen, sharing the general sense of ascertainment or determination. Related nouns include vaststelling (the act of determining or a fixed determination) and vastgezet (set/established in passive forms).

See also

vaststellen, vaststelling, feststellen (German).