Dutch Present Perfect Tense

Past indefinite tense in Dutch

The Netherlands  Belgium  Suriname

Need more Dutch? Try the Learn Dutch Online course at Udemy or the audio and video podcasts at DutchPod101.com


Learn Dutch phrases, vocabulary, and grammar online for free with audio recordings by native speakers - ielanguages.com Buy Dutch Language Tutorial as a PDF e-book! Dutch Language Tutorial includes a vocabulary and grammar review of the Dutch language (more than what is available online), with one hour of mp3 recordings by a native speaker, and Dutch realia photos taken in the Netherlands and Belgium so you can see how the language is used in real life. The PDF e-book and mp3s are available for immediate download with FREE lifetime updates. Thank you for supporting ielanguages.com! Download the first ten pages of Dutch Language Tutorial (including the table of contents).

Buy Dutch Language Tutorial


To download the Dutch mp3s, please purchase Dutch Language Tutorial.

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).

Verb   Stem Past Participle
hopen
maken
blaffen
missen
dromen
bellen
loven
vrezen
praten
koken
blaffen
kuchen
bouwen
horen
branden
bedoelen
bepraten
geloven
verhuizen
afmaken
to hope
to make
to bark
to miss
to dream
to ring
to praise
to be afraid
to talk
to cook
to bark
to cough
to build
to hear
to burn
to mean
to discuss
to believe
to move house
to finish
hoop
maak
blaf
mis
droom
bel
loof
vrees
praat
kook
blaf
kuch
bouw
hoor
brand
bedoel
bepraat
geloof
verhuis
af...maak
gehoopt
gemaakt
geblaft
gemist
gedroomd
gebeld
geloofd
gevreesd
gepraat
gekookt
geblaft
gekucht
gebouwd
gehoord
gebrand
bedoeld
bepraat
geloofd
verhuisd
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:

 

blijven
blijken
gaan
gebeuren
komen
to stay
to appear/seem
to go
to happen
to come
stoppen/ophouden
verdwijnen
verschijnen
worden
zijn
to stop
to disappear
to appear
to become
to be

 


 

Dutch Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar with free audio



Buy ielanguages.com language tutorials

If you enjoy the tutorials, then please consider buying French, Informal French, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, or Dutch Language Tutorials as a PDF e-book with free mp3s and free lifetime updates.

Buy French Tutorial

Buy Informal French

Both French e-books

Buy Italian Tutorial

Buy Spanish Tutorial

Buy German Tutorial

Buy Swedish Tutorial

Buy Dutch Tutorial





Please consider sending a donation of any amount to help support ielanguages.com. Thank you!

Donate




Return to top of page






Learn languages with videos and subtitles at FluentU

FluentU offers authentic videos in French, Spanish, German, English, Chinese and Japanese. Learn from captions and translations and enjoy access to ALL languages!

Learn languages with videos and subtitles at Yabla

Learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and English with authentic videos by Yabla that include subtitles and translations.



Learn languages by reading Interlinear Books

Learn to read languages with interlinear bilingual books that include the original language and an English translation below in a smaller font.

Udemy Language Learning Courses

Hundreds of free and paid online language learning video courses at Udemy. By native speakers and experts, from Arabic to Zulu.






© | About | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy