Dutch Language Blog

Today we will take a look at the present tense in Dutch. The good news is that to form the present tense in Dutch, you just apply the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb. Don’t remember how to find the stem? Have a look at our introduction post on Dutch verbs.

“But which endings?” I hear you ask. These ones:

• the first person singular has no ending
• the second and third person singular add –t
• and the plural forms add –en

Still with me? Good. Let’s see an example, shall we?

 Notes:

• The polite form “u” takes a singular ending even in the plural form.
• Technically you can use –en or –t for the second person plural (e.g. jullie kijkt or jullie kijken) but the –en ending tends to be used more often.
• If a verb’s infinitive form ends in –n rather than –en, use only –n when conjugated in the plural (staan –> sta (stem) –> ik sta –> wij staan). Hopefully you also noticed that when we remove the –n to find the stem, we also get rid of one of the double a’s. Have a look at the spelling rules part one and part two, if you need a refresher as to why.
• You may also need to adjust the spelling in other words (see praten below), again see the spelling rules if you need a refresher.
• You do not add the –t ending onto the 2^nd or 3^rd person singular because the stem ends in a –t already. In Dutch, words to not end with double consonants. 

Exceptions

Of course, as will all languages, there are some exceptions. Two examples are the verbs hebben and zijn, which we have covered before.

Inversions

In inversions, such as questions, the –t ending is dropped on the second person singular.

jij kijkt becomes kijk je? when inverted

Function

Dutch present tense works basically the same way that present tense works in English. However, in Dutch there is only one present tense form. Therefore there is no extra form equivelant to the English progressive form “she is looking” or the emphatic form “she does look.”

In Dutch, zij kijkt may mean “she looks,” “she is looking” or “she does look” – it depends on the context.

If extra emphasis is needed to show that the action is currently in progress, then the Dutch will typically do one of two things:

1. use the inflected verb “to be” and a prepositional phrase starting with “aan”

Zij is aan ‘t kijken. (She is watching/looking.)

2. combine an inflected verb indicating position (staan, zitten, liggen) with te + the infinitive

Zij staat naar ons te kijken. (She is looking at/watching us.)

Let’s start a Dutch verb boot camp, shall we? Verbs are such an important part of most languages, including Dutch, that it makes sense for us to take a closer look at them. Today we will make a quick overview of Dutch verb tenses and a couple of other important components but before we do, make sure you familiarise yourself with the Dutch spelling rules (here and here) and the information on personal pronouns.

In order to fully conjugate a Dutch verb, you must know its three principal parts: infinitive, past and past participle. We will talk about the past and the past participle in later posts but here is some information about the infinitive.

• The Infinitive – The starting point for the conjugation of a verb is the present infinitive active. This is the form you find in dictionaries. The majority of Dutch infinitives end in –en (e.g. kijken). A few verbs end in –n (e.g. gaan).

The stem of the infinitive is also an important element. To find the infinitive stem, take off the –en or –n ending (e.g. bouwen -> bouw). Remember that you will need to apply the spelling rules to the stem (e.g. dragen -> draag).

Strong and Weak Verbs

Another thing you will need to keep in mind during our boot camp is the difference between strong and weak verbs. Dutch verbs can be divided into regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow a certain pattern in the way they are conjugated, and irregular verbs do not follow a pattern.

There are more regular verbs than irregular verbs (luckily!), and the group of regular verbs can be divided further into weak verbs and strong verbs.

Weak verbs are the most regular type of verb. All the rules for forming the present, perfect and imperfect tenses apply. Strong verbs on the other hand are also regular, but their regularity works slightly differently. The good news is there are some patterns to how strong verbs work that can help make learning them a bit easier.

The Dutch verb is conjugated according to the following:

• Mood: Indicative, Conditional, Imperative
• Voice: Active, Passive
• Tense: Present, Past, Future, Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Future Perfect

If your eyes have started to glaze over with visions of grammar classes back when you were in high school, don’t worry. We will take the tenses slowly and one at a time.

Last month we looked at the irregular verb zijn. An important verb, I’m sure you will agree. This week, we will investigate another important verb if you are trying to learn Dutch – the verb hebben.

Hebben means “to have” and it is another one of those verbs that you need to learn by heart, since it is an irregular verb.

Here are some examples of the verb at work:

Ik heb een hond. (I have a dog.)

Wij hebben een baby. (We have a baby.)

Zij hebben schaatsen. (They have skates.)

Let’s take a look at how hebben conjugates:

You will notice that in the second person formal (singular and plural) that there are two options to go with u.  Both are in common use.

The verb hebben can be used for quite a few things. For example, you can use it to show that you have an item:

Ik heb een nieuwe auto. (I have a new car.)

You can also use it to show that you have enough of something:

Heb je genoeg geld? (Do you have enough money?)

Ja hoor, ik heb genoeg. (Yes, I have enough.)

You might have noticed that in question form, when the verb is moved to the first position and is followed by jij or je, that it drops its ending (heb je?). You can find out more about that in this post.

Some Opportunities for Practise:

Goed of Fout? Omcirkel het juiste antwoord. (Right or Wrong? Circle the correct answer.)

1. Ik ben een auto.     goed / fout

2. Ik heb een hond.     goed / fout

3. Zij hebben een mooi huis.     goed / fout

4. Zij is een meisje.     goed / fout

5. Hij is een boek.     goed / fout

Vul de goede vorm van het werkwoord ‘hebben’ in. (Fill in the correct form of the verb ‘to have.’)

1. Ik _____ veel hoofdpijn.

2. Hij _____ altijd gelijk.

3. U _____ een mooie fiets!

4. Jullie _____ vakantie.

5. Wij _____ een nieuw huis.