This is what the finite form
looks like in the present tense:
(The stem of a verb is the form of the verb you get when
conjugating the verb it with ‘I’)
stem
ik loop (I walk)
loop jij? (do you walk?)
Singular
stem + t
jij/ u loopt (you walk)
hij/zij/het loopt (he/she/it walks)
When the stem ends with one of the following consonants: k,
f, s, c, h, p, the past tense is created stem + te(n). In
all other cases it’s stem+ de(n). You can remember the
consonants by remembering the word kofschip or fokschaap.
Note:
With weak verbs such as verven (to paint) and verbazen (to
amaze) the de v and z at the end of the stem
change into an f or an s: ik verf , ik verbaas.
The past tenses of these verbs, however, are created
with stem+de(n) (ik verfde, ik verbaasde), because there’s a
z and an n in their infinitives .
Past participles end in –en: gelopen (walked),
verdronken (drowned), gesneden (cut). They never
change, not even when used as an adject: De geslagen
man, (the hit man) het verdronken paard (the drowned
horse)
Exceptions to this rules are participles ending in
–n. When using these participles, write them as
short as possible: (vergaan - vergane, gezien -
geziene)
- Ending in –d or -t: gered (saved), gewit
(whitened)
When you use such words, place an e at the end of
them
You then write them:
- the way you hear them: het geredde
paard (the saved horse), het gewitte plafond (the
whitened ceiling)
- as short as possible: de gehate
dictator (the hated dictator)
A present participle is a verbal that is used as
an adjective and in Dutch always ends in –d(e)
Examles: zwaaiend(e), lachend(e), fietsend(e),
etc. – waving, laughing, biking
When conjugating a verb, we start with its
infinitve form. The infinitve form of a verb
is the form you can find in a dictionary.
The infinive almost always ends with –en:
lopen (to walk), werken (to work), leren (to
learn) etc.
Exceptions are: staan (to stand), slaan (to
hit), gaan (to go) etc.
English verbs
English verbs should be conjugated as weak
Dutch verbs. That means their past tense is
created either stem+te(n) or stem+de(n),
depending on whether or not their stem ends
in one of the letters of the word ‘kofschip’
Examples with de(n):
rugbyde, jogde, tackelde
Examples with te(n):
faxte, racete
Note: Dutch stems originally never ended in
–x. The stems of English verbs ending in –x,
should be conjugated stem+te(n), even though
the x is not a letter of the word kofschip.
