gelieve

Verb

 * , or idiomatic construction

Usage notes
The verb gelieven is mostly restricted to the third person singular of the present tense in the subjunctive mood, in which form it is not considered archaic, but rather as a formulaic expression indicating a polite, formal request. It is always accompanied by an infinitive introduced by te. In such constructions, a non-finite clause functions as the subject, the direct object being u (‘you’), which is often elided. Hence, the literal translation of u gelieve X is ‘may it please you to X’.