Vertellen

Vertellen is a Dutch verb meaning to tell, recount, or narrate information or a story to someone. It is a transitive verb that usually requires a direct object (the content told) and a recipient. The action can convey facts, news, or stories and is commonly used for reported speech and narrative description.

Common constructions include iemand iets vertellen (to tell someone something) and vertellen aan iemand (to tell someone, with emphasis on the recipient). Examples: Ik vertel je het nieuws. Zij vertelde een spannend verhaal. Je kunt ook vertellen wat er gebeurd is of wat iemand gezegd heeft: Hij vertelde dat hij ziek was. In indirect speech, tense and mood follow standard Dutch rules.

Conjugation and usage: Present tense forms are ik vertel, jij vertelt, hij/zij vertelt, wij vertellen, jullie vertellen, zij vertellen. Past tense forms are ik vertelde, jij vertelde, hij vertelde, wij vertelden, jullie vertelden, zij vertelden. The past participle is verteld, used with hebben in compound tenses (ik heb verteld, hij heeft verteld). Future readings include ik zal vertellen or ik ga vertellen, depending on emphasis. A common noun form related to the verb is verhaal, with the verb phrase een verhaal vertellen meaning “to tell a story.”

Etymology and related forms: Vertellen derives from a prefix ver- combined with a root connected to telling or recounting; it is cognate with German erzählen and related to the broader family of West Germanic verbs meaning “to tell.” The verb is widely used in everyday Dutch and appears in both informal and formal registers.

See also: zeggen, meedelen, rapporteren, verhaal. The distinction between vertellen and synonyms lies in scope (telling information vs. narrating a story) and emphasis on the content or sequence of events.