The present tense conjugation

Regular verbs

As a teacher, I highly recommend learning the present verb conjugation in Dutch as it is one of the most important building blocks of the language. As you progress in your Dutch language learning journey, the present tense will be the foundation upon which other tenses and more complex grammatical structures will be built. Being able to accurately use the present tense will help you express yourself more clearly and efficiently in everyday conversations. So, don't skip over this crucial step, take the time to master the present tense and it will pay dividends in your ability to communicate effectively in Dutch.

See the most used Dutch verbs first.

In English, there are three different forms of the present tense: "I run", "I am running", and "I do run". However, in Dutch, all three of these tenses are translated as a single present tense form. This form is typically formed by taking the verb stem (which is the infinitive form minus the "-en" ending) and adding the appropriate endings depending on the subject pronoun. 

So, here how it works:

The rules for conjugating regular Dutch verbs in the present tense are fairly straightforward:

1. Take the infinitive form of the verb and remove the "-en" ending to get the verb stem (e.g. lopen -> loop-).

2. Add the appropriate endings to the stem based on the subject pronoun.

3. For the first person singular (Ik), there is no ending added to the stem.

4. For the second person singular (Jij), as well as the third person singular (Hij/Zij/Het), add "-t" to the stem.

5. For the first person plural (Wij), as well as the second person plural (Jullie) and third person plural (Zij), add "-en" to the stem.

Irregular verbs

In addition to regular verbs, Dutch also has many irregular verbs. Irregular verbs have conjugation patterns that do not follow the regular pattern of adding "-en" to the stem and then adding the appropriate endings depending on the subject pronoun.

One of the most common irregular verbs in Dutch is "zijn" (to be). Here is its present tense conjugation:

As you can see, "zijn" has its own unique conjugation pattern in the present tense, and it is not formed in the same way as regular verbs.

Other common irregular verbs in Dutch include "hebben" (to have), "kunnen" (to be able to), "mogen" (to be allowed to), and "willen" (to want to). Each of these verbs has its own unique conjugation pattern that must be learned individually.

Here's the present tense conjugation for the irregular Dutch verb "hebben" (to have):

It's important to keep in mind that irregular verbs can be a bit more difficult to learn and remember than regular verbs, so it's a good idea to spend extra time practicing and memorizing them.

Now try to conjugate these verbs alone