The spelling of the verbs – spelling van werkwoorden

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)
     Plural     infinitivewij lopen (we walk)
jullie lopen (you walk)
zij lopen (they walk)

Exercise finite verb form in the present tense

 This is what the finite form looks like in the past tense:

Strong verbs
singular and plural
vowelchange in the stem:
ik/jij/hij/zij/ het liep, wij/jullie/zij liepen
(I/you/he/she/it walked, we/you/they walked)
 The entire stem changes:
ik/jij/hij/zij/het ging, wij/jullie/zij gingen
(I/you/he/she/it went, we/you/they went)
weak verbs
plural and singular
stem + de(n)
ik/jij/hij/zij/het gooide, wij/jullie/zij gooiden
(I/you/he/she/it threw, we/you/they threw)
 stem + te(n)
ik/jij/hij/zij/het stopte, wij/jullie/zij stopten
(I/you/he/she/it stopped, we/you/they stopped)

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 deand z at the end of the stem change into an f or an s: ik verf , ik verbaas.
T
he 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 .

Exercise weak verbs in the paste tense

Exersice strong verbs in the paste tense

Past participles

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)

Present participles

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

Exercise present and past paticiples

The infinitive

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, raceteNote: 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.

Exercise English verbs in Dutch
Miscellaneous exercise 1
Miscellaneous exercise 2