In the simple present tense, Dutch verbs have three forms:
- the verb stem for the first person singular
(I - ik)
- the verb stem
+ t for the second and third person singular
(you / he/she/it - jij/U / hij/zij/het)
- the verb stem
+ en (= the infinitive)
for the plural
(we/you/they - wij/jullie/zij)
For instance, drinken
'to drink'
|
drinken |
|
to drink |
ik drink |
|
I drink |
jij drinkt |
|
you drink (singular, informal you) |
hij drinkt |
|
he drinks |
wij drinken |
|
we drink |
jullie drinken |
|
you drink (plural, informal you) |
zij drinken |
|
they drink |
U drinkt |
|
you drink (polite you) |
|
|
|
ik drink
2
I am drinking |
When the verb is placed before the subject, like in questions,
there is no T added for
the second person singular, for instance:
Drink je alcohol?
2
3
Do you drink alcohol?
ik lach
I'm laughing |
|
ik
('I') |
jij
/ je
('you' - singular informal) |
hij
('he') -
zij
/ ze
('she') -
het
/ 't
('it') |
wij
/ we
('we') |
jullie
('you, you guys, y'all' - plural informal) |
zij
/ ze
('they') |
U
('you' - formal, polite) |
- short
personal pronouns |
Verb stems ending in T do not add extra T's |
wachten |
|
to wait |
ik wacht |
|
I'm waiting |
jij wacht |
|
you're waiting (singular, informal you) |
hij wacht |
|
he's waiting |
wij wachten |
|
we're waiting |
jullie wachten |
|
y'all are waiting (plural, informal you) |
zij wachten |
|
they are i waitng |
U wacht |
|
you are waiting (polite you) |
2
|
|