Vertel

Vertel is a Dutch verb meaning to tell or relate, especially to recount information or stories. The infinitive form is vertellen, and vertel functions as a present-tense stem as well as the imperative form. In everyday usage, the verb is highly common for conveying what someone says, narrates, or explains.

Conjugation and forms. In the present tense, the forms are ik vertel, jij vertelt (or je vertelt), hij/zij/het vertelt, wij vertellen, jullie vertellen, zij vertellen. The imperative singular is vertel! and the plural is vertel maar? or vertel gerust! depending on context. The past tense is vertelde (ik vertelde), with the past participle verteld. The perfect tense is formed with hebben: ik heb verteld, hij heeft verteld. The present participle is vertellend.

Usage notes. Vertellen is transitive and typically takes a direct object representing content, such as het verhaal (the story), de waarheid (the truth), or een geheim (a secret). It is also common to combine it with aan iemand to indicate to whom the content is told, for example: Ik vertel het aan jou. Examples: Ik vertel je een verhaal. Ze vertelde ons wat er gebeurde. The verb is closely related to tell in English and shares a family resemblance with German erzählen.

Related terms. Verhalen is the noun for a story; vertellen a story is often contrasted with zeggen (to say) or uitleggen (to explain). In Dutch, phrases like een verhaal vertellen or een grap vertellen are common idioms.

See also. Dutch verbs and conjugation patterns; Dutch storytelling and communication verbs.