Dutch Present Tense Verb Conjugation

Now that you know the Dutch pronouns, the next step is verbs. In Dutch, every sentence needs a subject and a verb. A verb tells what happens, and its form changes (conjugates) based on the subject and tense.

For a regular verb in the present tense, start with the infinitive (full form), for example "werken." Remove -en to get the stem (the "ik-vorm"): werk. Then use the stem for ik, add -t for singular forms like jij / hij / zij / u, and use the full infinitive for plural forms wij / jullie / zij.

Pronoun	Rule	werken to work Ik werk elke dag — I work every day	luisteren to listen Ik luister naar muziek — I listen to music	reizen to travel Wij reizen naar Spanje — We travel to Spain	lopen to walk Hij loopt naar school — He walks to school
ik	stem	werk	luister	reis	loop
jij / u	stem + t	werkt	luistert	reist	loopt
hij / zij	stem + t	werkt	luistert	reist	loopt
wij	infinitive	werken	luisteren	reizen	lopen
jullie	infinitive	werken	luisteren	reizen	lopen
zij (pl.)	infinitive	werken	luisteren	reizen	lopen

The S/V Rule & Vowel Spelling

If you look at the verb "reizen," you'll notice the stem is "reis" and not "reiz." And "durven" becomes "durf," not "durv." Why? Because in Dutch there is a rule that words can never end on a "z" or "v." So when forming the stem, you must change z → s and v → f. This is called the s/v rule.

You'll also notice that "lopen" becomes "loop" (with a double "o"). This is about vowel spelling. In Dutch, the way you write vowels depends on whether the sound is long or short and how many syllables the word has:

Situation	Spelling	Example
1 syllable + long sound	double vowel	loop , raam
2+ syllables + long sound	single vowel	lo-pen , ta-len
1 syllable + short sound	single vowel	tas , man
2+ syllables + short sound	vowel + double consonant	jassen , mannen

Irregular Verbs

All the information above works for regular verbs. But irregular verbs simply don't follow the rules — they are the rebels! You need to memorize their forms. Here are some of the most important irregular verbs:

	hebbento have	zijnto be	gaanto go
ik	heb	ben	ga
jij	hebt	bent	gaat
hij/zij	heeft	is	gaat
u	hebt / heeft	bent	gaat
wij	hebben	zijn	gaan
jullie	hebben	zijn	gaan
zij (pl.)	hebben	zijn	gaan

Frequently Used Verbs

These are the most common Dutch verbs you'll encounter. Try to learn them together with their English meaning and practice conjugating each one with different pronouns.

Dutch	English
zijn	to be
hebben	to have
worden	to become
doen	to do
zeggen	to say
komen	to come
zien	to see
vinden	to find
denken	to think
nemen	to take
maken	to make
werken	to work
spreken	to speak
lezen	to read
schrijven	to write
eten	to eat
drinken	to drink
slapen	to sleep

Dutch	English
lopen	to walk
blijven	to stay
weten	to know
staan	to stand
zitten	to sit
liggen	to lie (down)
krijgen	to get/receive
geven	to give
kijken	to watch
luisteren	to listen
houden	to hold
brengen	to bring
wachten	to wait
spelen	to play
leren	to learn
reizen	to travel
helpen	to help
heten	to be called

How to Actually Conjugate a Dutch Verb

English marks only one present-tense form — "he/she/it" gets an -s, and every other pronoun stays as the bare infinitive ("I work," "we work," "they work"). Dutch spreads the marking further: the stem shows up bare only for ik, while jij, hij, zij, and het all take -t, and the plural row simply reuses the infinitive you started from.

In practice that's three moves, not six forms to memorize separately: take the stem for ik, add -t to the stem for any singular jij / hij / zij / het, and switch back to the full infinitive the moment the subject is plural (wij, jullie, zij). One exception is worth locking in early: right before "jij" — as in a question — the verb's -t drops, so you say "werk jij?", not "werkt jij?"

Mistakes English Speakers Make

English barely marks its verbs at all — only "he/she/it" gets an ending, and everything else stays bare — so it's easy to put Dutch's -t in the wrong place, or leave it off completely. These four slips cover the most common present-tense mix-ups at A0–A1.

Lesson 4 Practice

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