Dutch Verbs - Introduction - Smartphone Page

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Introduction to Dutch Verbs - Smartphones Page

Dutch verbs are a little more complicated than English verbs. The verb stem is not as obvious as in English and the present tense has three forms, compared to two in English. Dutch also has separate words for 'you' in singular and plural, and there is a 'polite you.'
(het) werkwoord

['work-word'] 'verb'
(de) vervoeging

2 'conjugation'
(het) enkelvoud

2 'singular'
(het) meervoud

2 'plural'

The Present Tense (Introduction)

(de) tegenwoordige tijd

2 3 'present tense'

See and hear for example:

zoeken	to search, to seek
ik zoek	I'm searching
jij zoekt	you're searching	(singular, informal you)
hij zoekt	he's searching
wij zoeken	we're searching
jullie zoeken	you're searching	(plural, informal you)
zij zoeken	they're searching
U zoekt	you're searching	(polite you)
2

The next page will explain The Verb Stem

Personal Pronouns with examples of usage

I often translate the Dutch simple present tense into English as a continuous/progressive:
De zon schijnt The sun [shines] is shining 't Regent 2 3 4 It is raining Ik zoek een kamer 2 I'm looking for a room (to rent) Ik loop in 't bos 2 3 I'm walking in the forest Dutch does have ways to indicate ongoing activity, but they're not as common as the English continuous. There will be a page about that ‑>>

Several Dutch personal pronouns have an alternate form with a 'voiceless, unstressed E' (the schwa) instead of IJ 2 In most cases you can use the 'E'-form ->>

jij

you (singular)

zij

she

wij

zij

they

For the third person singular, instead of hij

('he') you can also say (if appropriate) zij

/ ze

('she') or het

2 3 ('it') - the last is often shortened to 't

(do note the vowel change) ->>

Slang: For the third person plural -- 'they' -- some Dutchmen, encouraged by the famous soccer player and coach Johan Cruijff 2 will say hun 2 ('them') instead of zij or ze ('they.') In proper Dutch, 'hun' is possessive pronoun ('their') or the object or the indirect object for the third person plural ('them.')

More verb examples:

ik fiets

'I bike,' I'm riding a bike

fietsen	to ride a bike
ik fiets	I'm riding a bike
jij fietst	you are riding a bike	(singular, informal you)
hij fietst	he is riding a bike
wij fietsen	we are riding a bike
jullie fietsen	you are riding a bike	(plural, informal you)
zij fietsen	they are riding a bike
U fietst	you are riding a bike	(polite you)
2

ik denk

'I think,' I'm thinking

denken		to think
ik denk		I'm thinking
jij denkt		you are thinking
hij denkt		he is thinking
wij denken		we are thinking
jullie denken		y'all are thinking
zij denken		they are thinking
U denkt		you are thinking

- The Smartphone Simple Present Tense Page

The Past Tense: 'Strong' and 'Weak' Verbs (Introduction)

(de) verleden tijd

2 3 the past tense
sterke werkwoorden

2 'strong verbs'
zwakke werkwoorden

2 3 'weak verbs'

The simple past tense has two forms (singular and plural) - English has just one. Like English, Dutch has many 'strong verbs,' that have a vowel change and sometimes a consonant change for the past tense. There is often some similarity in the forms of the Dutch and English strong verbs, for instance:

(zoeken 2 )		to search, to seek
ik zocht		I searched, I sought
jij zocht		you searched, you sought
hij zocht		he searched, he sought
wij zochten		we searched, we sought
jullie zochten		y'all searched, y'all sought
zij zochten		they searched, they sought
U zocht		you searched, you sought
2

The Past Tense, Weak Verbs: 't kofschip

Dutch has two classes of 'weak verbs,' known by the 't kofschip-rule: verb stems ending in T, K, F, S, CH and P have past endings with T, while the other verbs have endings with D.
't kofschip

(fietsen 2 )		to ride a bike
ik fietste		I rode a bike
jij fietste		you rode a bike
hij fietste		he rode a bike
wij fietsten		we rode a bike
jullie fietsten		y'all rode a bike
zij fietsten		they rode a bike
U fietste		you rode a bike

(willen 2 )		~to want to, desire
ik wilde		I wanted
jij wilde		you wanted
hij wilde		he wanted
wij wilden		we wanted
jullie wilden		y'all wanted
zij wilden		they wanted
U wilde		you wanted

- The Simple Past Tense Smartphone Page

Irregular Verbs (Introduction)

Some of the most common verbs are irregular, do not follow the rules for the tenses mentioned above, for instance

zijn	to be
ik ben	I am
jij bent	you are	(singular, informal you)
hij is	he is
wij zijn	we are
jullie zijn	you are	(plural, informal you)
zij zijn	they are
U bent	you are	(polite you)

hebben	to have
ik heb	I have
jij hebt	you have	(singular, informal you)
hij heeft	he has
wij hebben	we have
jullie hebben	you have	(plural, informal you)
zij hebben	they have

U heeft	you have	(polite you)

'U hebt'

is also said.

The Perfect Tense (Introduction)

For the perfect tenses, Dutch uses the auxiliary verb hebben, like English 'to have,' with the past participle of the main verb - but a small group of common Dutch verbs take zijn ('to be') as the auxiliary verb for the perfect tense - list
The Dutch past participle is usually formed by adding a GE- prefix and a -D, -T or -EN suffix to the verb stem.
(het) hulpwerkwoord

['helping verb'] - auxiliary verb
(de) voltooide tijd

2 3 perfect tense
(het) voltooid deelwoord

past participle

ik heb gehad	I have had
ik heb gewacht	I have waited
ik heb gegeven	I have given
ik ben geweest	I have been
ik ben gevallen 2 3	I have fallen
ik ben gegaan	I have gone

Unlike in English, there is little difference between the Dutch simple past tense and the present perfect tense.
Ik leerde hem kennen in het leger 2 3
Ik heb hem leren kennen in het leger 2 3 (4)
I came to know him in the army (I first met him when I was in the army)

- The Smartphone Perfect Tenses Page

The Future Tense and The Passive Voice (Introduction)

Dutch has the auxiliary verb zullen

('shall/will') for the future tense, and the auxiliary verb worden

2 for the passive voice.
de toekomende tijd

2 the future tense
(de) lijdende vorm

the passive voice

Wie zal dat betalen? 2	Who'll pay for that? Who's going to pay for that?
Hij wordt gemarteld 2	He is being tortured

Word Order

In Dutch, 'secondary verbs' like infinitives and past participles are usually put at the end of the line >>

Jan heeft een boek aan Piet gegeven. 2
Jan has given a book to Piet.

Ik zal Jan morgen in Amsterdam geld geven
Tomorrow in Amsterdam I'll give Jan money

De bal werd door Jan in het doel geschopt 2
The ball was kicked into the goal by Jan

Verbs Library

Next to the pages with rules and forms for the various tenses of the verb, there will be separate pages with the full conjugation of about sixty common Dutch verbs and simple sample sentences.

Dutchmen don't spend much time in school learning grammar, correct usage and things like that, just some study of fine points. When you hear the correct use around you from a young age it will all come 'naturally' and incorrect use will feel 'wrong.'

Start Studying Dutch Verbs: The Verb Stem >>

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