Hebt or heeft

[Iouri]

I did an exercise and wrote a question
Hebt u een goede reis gehad?

I was told that this is wrong and the right answer is
Heeft u een goede reis gehad?

Can you explain please. I thought that I supposed to use hebt with u

Thank you

[Bert]

Both forms are correct. Maybe people in the south of the Netherlands prefer 'heeft' but you can also see 'hebt' in official texts.

[Iouri]

So if I understand you correctly, for u you can use both hebt and heeft?

[Bert]

Yes. I hope your Dutch is good enough to read a Dutch text about this issue. "Beide werkwoordsvormen zijn correct. Bij de keuze tussen u heeft en u hebt kunt u uw eigen voorkeur volgen."
Source: http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/vraag/820/

[Iouri]

Thank you Bert.
It was a big surprise for me

[ngonyama]

There is an etymological reason. U derives from U.E. or Uwe Edele: "your nobility". This is bit like "your honor", "your lordship", "your grace". All these were third person references to a second person. "Is your grace ready" = "Are you ready"

So U was originally a third person taking U heeft, U is, U kan, U wil, U mag, etc. Over time it started taking on 2nd person forms, like u hebt, u bent, u kunt, sometimes from the gij-form of the second person like u zoudt or u moogt,. The spelling also changed from U to u.

The Uwe-bit is actually the possessive pronoun (thy) that belongs to gij, which is archaic in the north -a bit like thou-. In the south (Flanders) gij is still in active use and there u is the oblique form of gij (so: thee), without politeness aspect. In that usage u is never as subject.

In the north gij got supplanted by honorific u+ familliar jij, jullie.

You sure you want to learn this language? храбрец!

Oh, and jij and gij have clitic forms je and ge. U and jullie don't

Zie bijv. http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/char003isda01 ... 1_0007.php helemaal onderaan

[Iouri]

Now it start making sense to me. A little bit similar to old Russian nobility descriptions (Мы Николай II).
But why the web site does not give both answers as right. U heeft was right and u hebt was wrong.
Anyway, it is nice to know.

Now about
" You sure you want to learn this language? храбрец! "

Yes. I still trying hard to learn it. I do not need it for living, but that is my challenge. And I kinda stuck. I am progressing (a little bit ) in reading newspapers. But my listening comprehension sucks.
Every day I watch a dutch movie and except some words do not understand a s....t.
I do not know where to go from here. I do not have dutch speaking mommy or daddy who will tolerate my mumbling.
I will give myself a little bit more time to learn more words and then start looking for somebody in the language exchange site to start practicing.
Do you have any advice where to go from here?

Thank you very much for all your help

[Gules]

I still trying hard to learn it. I do not need it for living, but that is my challenge. And I kinda stuck. I am progressing (a little bit ) in reading newspapers. But my listening comprehension sucks.
Every day I watch a dutch movie and except some words do not understand a s....t.
I do not know where to go from here. I do not have dutch speaking mommy or daddy who will tolerate my mumbling.
I will give myself a little bit more time to learn more words and then start looking for somebody in the language exchange site to start practicing.
Do you have any advice where to go from here?

Thank you very much for all your help

Gebruik jij IRC, Steam of Google Talk? Ik zou graag tegen jou in het Nederlands praten opdat wij beiden ons Nederlands kunnen oefenen.

[Iouri]

I would love to. I have skype and my skype name is "iboutchkine". Mention that you are Gules and I will accept you.

Thanx

[Mellifera]

Now it start making sense to me. A little bit similar to old Russian nobility descriptions (Мы Николай II).

To be honest I think "Uwe Edele" corresponds to "Ваше благоpодие" better.