"De trein is op tijd vertrokken."
Translation:The train has departed on time.
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I'm a bit confused. In English, you say 'has/have left' and not 'is/are left' in the present perfect tense. Can you also say 'de trein heeft vertrokken' in Dutch? Is it equivalent? I read in another discussion where someone pointed out that in Dutch you tend to use present perfect tense in many situations where simple past would be used in English. Expert opinion please.
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You can not say: 'de trein heeft vertrokken',
you can say 'de trein is vertrokken / zal vertrekken'
auxiliary verb 'zijn'
a correct sentence is : 'de trein heeft/ had vertraging'
auxiliary verb 'hebben'
'hebben' or 'zijn':
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(Non-native speaker): In the perfect tense the auxiliary verb "zijn" is used (instead of "hebben") with verbs indicating a change of place or state (to marry, to die, A to B kind of motion - to come/go/leave - etc.) You could also say "de trein vertok" (simple past). However, if I'm not mistaken, simple past (imperfect) is mostly used for giving "additional" information (after you have already introduced the topic), or describing events that took place regularly in the past. When making a simple statement Dutch people tend to use the perfect form.