staan

Staan is a Dutch verb meaning to stand in the sense of being in an upright position or being located somewhere. It is used to describe people or objects that are standing or to indicate position in space, as in Het bord staat op de tafel. The verb also occurs in a number of idiomatic expressions that describe states, attitudes or actions related to standing.

Common constructions include staan voor (to stand for, to represent), staan achter (to support), staan tegenover (to oppose), and staan op (to insist on, or to be about to do something). An especially productive construction is staan te + infinitive, used to indicate something is in progress or about to happen, e.g., De telefoon staat te rinkelen (the phone is ringing / about to ring) or De kinderen staan te spelen. A related expression is het staat vast (it is settled/it is certain) and het staat in de sterren geschreven (it is written in the stars).

Conjugation: Staan is an irregular strong verb. Present: ik sta, jij staat, hij staat, wij staan, jullie staan, zij staan. Past: ik stond, jij stond, hij stond, wij stonden, jullie stonden, zij stonden. Perfect participle: gestaan; present participle: staand. Infinitive: staan.

Etymology: The verb derives from Proto-Germanic standaną and is cognate with English stand and German stehen.