Present Tense: Regular & Irregular Verbs

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To conjugate Dutch verbs, you first need the 'stam' (stem). Find it by taking the infinitive (the 'to' form) and removing the -en ending. For example: 'werken' (to work) becomes 'werk'. This stem is used for the 'ik' (I) form.

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For the subjects 'jij/je' (you), 'u' (formal you), 'hij' (he), 'zij/ze' (she), and 'het' (it), you take the stem and add a -t. Pattern: Stam + t.

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Plural forms in the present tense are the easiest: they are identical to the infinitive. This applies to 'wij/we' (we), 'jullie' (you all), and 'zij/ze' (they).

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If an infinitive has a long vowel in an open syllable (like 'slapen'), the stem must keep that long sound. When you remove -en, the syllable becomes closed, so you must double the vowel to keep it long: slapen -> slaap.

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If an infinitive has a double consonant to keep a vowel short (like 'bakken'), the stem only needs one consonant. Dutch syllables never end in two identical consonants: bakken -> bak.

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In Dutch, a syllable cannot end in -v or -z. When forming the stem, -v changes to -f and -z changes to -s. Example: 'lezen' (to read) -> 'lees'; 'schrijven' (to write) -> 'schrijf'.

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When 'jij' or 'je' (you) comes after the verb (usually in a question), the -t is dropped from the verb. This rule only applies to 'jij/je', not to 'u', 'hij', or 'zij'.

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The verb 'zijn' is highly irregular. Conjugation: ik ben, jij bent, u bent, hij/zij/het is, wij/jullie/zij zijn.

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The verb 'hebben' is slightly irregular in the third person. Conjugation: ik heb, jij hebt, u hebt, hij/zij/het heeft, wij/jullie/zij hebben.

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Verbs ending in -aan (gaan, staan, doen, zien) have short stems. Conjugation for 'gaan': ik ga, jij gaat, hij gaat, wij gaan.

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The verb 'komen' has a short vowel in the plural (komen) but a long vowel sound in the singular, though it is spelled with one 'o'. Conjugation: ik kom, jij komt, hij komt, wij komen.

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The verb 'willen' is a modal verb. In the singular, the 'jij' form can be 'jij wilt' or 'jij wil'. Conjugation: ik wil, jij wilt/wil, hij wil, wij willen.