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B1 · Prepositions

wachten op, denken aan: fixed prepositions

verbs and adjectives with a fixed preposition

Topic 78 of 90 · about 8 minutes

Your goal

You can learn verbs together with their fixed preposition and use them as a pair, such as wachten op and denken aan.

Ik denk vaak aan mijn oma.I often think of my grandmother.

Thijs lijkt op zijn vader.Thijs looks like his father.

Ben je bang voor honden?Are you afraid of dogs?

Done at 8 of 10, including 3 of 4 written yourself · about 5 min

Explainer video

Watch first – then practise

The essentials

RememberLearn verb and preposition as a pair — never translate the English word.

Many verbs have their own preposition — often not the one English has.

Signal words: wachten op
denken aan
houden van
zin hebben in
bang voor
trots op

The form

The forms and what they mean

Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Dutch.

wait for	wachten op
think of	denken aan
love, like	houden van
fancy	zin hebben in
be afraid of	bang zijn voor
be annoyed by	zich ergeren aan
look like	lijken op
look after	zorgen voor

The rules one by one

The form this topic is about

The preposition belongs to the verb and is learned with it.
We wachten op de bus.We are waiting for the bus.
“To love, to like” is houden van.
Ik hou van muziek.I love music.
“To fancy” is zin hebben in.
Heb je zin in een ijsje?Do you fancy an ice cream?

More rules (2)

“To be annoyed by” is zich ergeren aan.
Ze ergert zich aan het lawaai.She is annoyed by the noise.
Adjectives also have fixed prepositions: trots op, bang voor, boos op.
Mijn moeder is trots op me.My mother is proud of me.

Example sentences

6 more example sentences

Wie zorgt voor de planten?Who looks after the plants?

We praten over het weekend.We are talking about the weekend.

Lotte is dol op chocola.Lotte is mad about chocolate.

Hij vraagt om de rekening.He asks for the bill.

Ik ben boos op mijn broer.I’m angry with my brother.

We beginnen met de soep.We begin with the soup.

The trap English speakers fall into

Watch out

Translating the English preposition word for word usually goes wrong. “Wait for” is wachten op, not wachten voor, and “fancy a coffee” has no preposition in English at all, so learners guess: zin op does not exist, the connection is zin hebben in. Learn the verb and its preposition as a pair, and never translate the preposition on its own.

Wrong:Ik heb echt zin op een kop koffie.

Right:Ik heb echt zin in een kop koffie.

Lesson

The full explanation

Read it all · about 1 min

As in English (“wait for”, “think of”, “talk about”), many verbs are tied to a preposition: wachten op, denken aan, praten over. The preposition then has no meaning of its own; it belongs to the verb and is learned with it.

Sometimes the English one fits in a general way, but often it does not. Dutch wachten op is “wait for”, with op instead of “for”; denken aan is “think of”; praten over is “talk about”; beginnen met is “begin with”. Others to learn: houden van (“to love, like”, literally “hold of”), zin hebben in(“to fancy”)bang zijn voor(“to be afraid of”)trots zijn op(“to be proud of”)boos zijn op(“to be angry with”)dol zijn op(“to be mad about”)zich ergeren aan(“to be annoyed by”)lijken op(“to look like”)vragen naar(“to ask about”)zorgen voor(“to look after”)

Because there are no cases, the preposition is the only clue to how the object is attached. If the object is a thing that has already been mentioned, it becomes er: Ik wacht erop. “I’m waiting for it.” Ik heb er zin in. “I fancy it.” The topic on er with prepositions shows more.

A closer look

The same verb, another preposition

Some verbs change meaning with the preposition: denken aanmeans “to think of”denken over“to think about”denken van“to think of (= to have an opinion of)”: Wat denk je van dit plan? “What do you think of this plan?” Likewise vragen naar (to ask about) and vragen om (to ask for).

Exceptions and special cases1

Exception
When the object is a whole clause with dat or te + infinitive
then the preposition stands as er + preposition in front, or drops out altogether in spoken Dutch: Ik denk eraan om te stoppen.
Ik kijk ernaar uit om je weer te zien.I’m looking forward to seeing you again.
Why? A bare preposition cannot stand before a clause; er carries it and announces the clause.

Worth knowing2

Worth knowing
hou or houd
houden has two forms for ik: ik houd and ik hou. Both are right; in speech and in most texts ik hou van is used, in formal writing also ik houd van.
Ik hou van lange wandelingen.I like long walks.
Worth knowing
In Flanders
In Flanders people often say goesting hebben in for “to fancy” in everyday life. The preposition stays in; zin hebben in is understood everywhere.
Heb je zin in pannenkoeken?Do you fancy pancakes?

The verbs on this page, in every form: zijn · hebben · zien · wachten · kijken · praten · denken · lijken · planten