Dutch Present Perfect Tense

Past indefinite tense in Dutch

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Dutch Present Perfect Tense

This tense is used more often than the simple past, especially in conversation, and is equivalent to I have asked or I asked.  Regular verbs use a form of hebben or zijn and a past participle.  Past participles are made by adding ge- to the beginning of the verb stem and -t or -d to the end.   Verb stems are the infinitives minus the -en, with the appropriate spelling changes. The stems are identical to the first person singular present tense form.

-t is added to stems ending in t, k, f, s, ch, and p (note that if the stem ends in -t already, you do not double the consonant), while -d is added to all other stems, except those already ending in -d. (If a stem ends in -f or -s, but the infinitive contained -v or -z, then still add a -d)

Verbs with inseparable prefixes do not add ge- in this tense. Verbs with separable prefixes add the ge after the prefix and before the stem (afgemaakt).

Modals
The past participles of the modals (kunnen: gekund; moeten: gemoeten; mogen: gemoogd, willen: gewild) are only used when the modal is used independently of another verb.
Ik heb het gemoeten. I had to (do it).

If the perfect tense of a modal is used with another verb, then the past participle of the modal is replaced by its infinitive. This double infinitive construction (infinitive of modal + other infinitive) is always placed at the end of the clause or sentence.
Ik heb gisteren kunnen komen. I was able to come yesterday.

Hebben vs. Zijn
Some verbs of motion can take either hebben or zijn depending on whether it is the action that is stressed (hebben) or the destination/direction (zijn.) Verbs taking zijn are generally intransitive (they do not take direct objects) and denote a change in motion/position or change in state/condition. Most verbs derived from zijn verbs also take zijn in the perfect tense.

A few common verbs that take zijn instead of hebben in the present perfect tense are: