't kofschip

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The 't kofschip (Dutch pronunciation: [ət ˈkɔfsxɪp], the merchant-ship) or 't fokschaap rule is a mnemonic that determines the endings of a regular Dutch verb in the past simple indicative/subjunctive and the ending of the past participle. This rule should not be confused with the so-called T-rules (t-regels).

Rule

The rule goes as follows:

If the verb-root ends in one of the consonants of 't kofschip, being ⟨t⟩, ⟨f⟩, ⟨k⟩, ⟨s⟩, ⟨ch⟩, and ⟨p⟩ (or variants), the past simple ends in -te and the past participle in -t. If the verb-root ends in any other consonant or a vowel (except silent ⟨e⟩, see later), the past simple ends in -de and the past participle in -d.

For example:

Verb	Meaning	Verb root	Past simple	Past participle
rusten	to rest	rust-	ik rustte	gerust
werken	to work	werk-	ik werkte	gewerkt
spelen	to play	spel-	ik speelde	gespeeld
leven	to live	lev-	ik leefde	geleefd
crashen	to crash	crash-	ik crashte	gecrasht
bingoën	to play bingo	bingo-	ik bingode	gebingood
faxen	to fax	fax-	ik faxte	gefaxt

Silent letters at end of root

The rule is expressed in spelling of the verbs, but is actually related to pronunciation. So if the spelled root ends in a silent letter, this letter should be ignored in applying the rule. This includes also the apostrophe ⟨'⟩ occurring in some verb spellings.

For example:

Infinitive	Inf. pronunc.	Verb root	Past simple	Past simple pronunc.	Past participle	Past ptc. pronunc.
timen (to time)	/ˈtɑimə(n)/	time	ik timede	/ˈtɑimdə/	getimed	/ɣəˈtɑimt/
racen (to race)	/ˈreːsə(n)/	race	ik racete	/ˈreːstə/	geracet	/ɣəˈreːst/
deleten (to delete)	/diˈliːtə(n)/	delete	ik deletete	/diˈliːtə/	gedeletet	/ɣədiˈliːt/
sms'en (to send a text message)	/ɛsɛmˈɛsə(n)/	sms	ik sms'te	/ɛsɛmˈɛstə/	ge-sms't	/ɣə(ʔ)ɛsɛmˈɛst/
gsm'en (to phone using a mobile phone)	/ɣeːɛsˈɛmə(n)/	gsm	ik gsm'de	/ɣeːɛsˈɛmdə/	ge-gsm'd	/ɣəɣeːɛsˈɛmt/
petanquen (to play pétanque)	/peːˈtɑŋkə(n)/	petanque	ik petanquete	/peːˈtɑŋktə/	gepetanquet	/ɣəpeːˈtɑŋkt/

References

• NT2Examen