Zijn - ben bent and is

The meaning of zijn is 'to be' - Ik ben Paula (I am Paula). We use zijn (to be) to describe people, thing and also to make statements. Zijn is changed follow the subject of the sentence.

ik ben                     I am                             wij zijn                 we are
jij/u bent                you are                         jullie zijn              you are
hij/zij/het is           he/she/it is                   zij zijn                   they are

Simple past for zijn is was/waren and past participle is geweest.

Ik        was                                               wij/we           waren
Jij/je   was                                               jullie              waren
u         was                                                u                    was
hij       was                                                zij/ze             waren
zij       was
het      was

For example:

Paula Jansen is dertig jaar oud.                    - Paula is 30 years old.
Het is practig.                                               - It is beautiful.
Ik ben cursist.                                               -  I am a student.
Vorig jaar ben ik naar Amerika geweest.     -  Last year I have been to America.
Ik was ziek tijdens mijn vakantie.                - I was during my vacation.
Zij waren hier.                                             - They were hier.
Het was geweldig.                                       - It was great.

Oefening :

1. Dit  ... leuk.                                                 - It is fun.
2. Hij ... een fantastische.                                - He is great.
3. Zij ... Nederlandse.                                     - She is a Dutchwoman.
4. Wie ... jij?                                                  - Who are you?
5. Ik ... op school.                                           - I am at school.
6. Jij ... ook op school.                                   - You are at school too.
7. De radio ... zwart.                                       - The radio is black.
8. Wij ... de leerlingen.                                   -  We are student.
9. Peter ... ziek.                                               - Peter is sick.
10. U ... de lerares.                                         - You are a teacher.
11. Mijn broer and ik ... samen thuis.              - My brother and I are home together.
12. De kinderen ... buiten.                               - Children are outside.
13. Buiten spelen ... gezond.                           - Playing outside is healthy.
14. Iedereen .... hier.                                      - Everybody is here.
15. Jullie ... aardig.                                        - You are kind.



Antwoord :

1. is
2. is
3. is
4. ben*
5. ben
6. bent
7. is
8. zijn
9. is
10. bent
11. zijn
12. zijn
13. is
14. is
15. zijn

Let op :

*  ben jij?   they always use ben jij/je insteads of bent when it stand before jij/je. For u always use bent. For example,

Waar ben je?         - Where are you.
Jij bent thuis.           - You are at home.
Dat ben jij.              - That is you.

Wie bent u?            - Who are you.
U bent leraar.         - You are a teacher.