This is the single most infamous spelling error in Dutch — so common that native speakers fail it on tests and newspapers print it wrong. It bites English speakers especially hard, because English present-tense verbs barely change (I work, he works) and never hide a silent ending the way Dutch does. The trouble is concentrated in verbs whose stem ends in -d, like worden (to become) and vinden (to find). For these, the regular present-tense endings collide with the stem in ways that look like a doubled or vanished letter. The rule is fully logical once you see it as plain arithmetic — stem + ending — and this page builds it from that arithmetic so the spelling stops being a guess.
First, the present-tense endings (no exceptions)
Dutch present tense is built by adding endings to the stem (the infinitive minus -en). The endings are mechanical:
| Person | Ending | Form of werken (stem werk) |
|---|---|---|
| ik | — (bare stem) | ik werk |
| jij / je / u |
| jij werkt |
| hij / zij / het |
| hij werkt |
| wij / jullie / zij (plural) |
| wij werken |
Memorise the spine: ik = bare stem; jij and hij = stem + t. Everything below is just this rule applied to a stem that already ends in -d.
The d-stem verbs: word + t = wordt
Take worden. Drop -en → stem word (it ends in -d). Now apply the endings exactly as before:
| Person | Arithmetic | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ik | word (bare stem) | ik word |
| jij / je | word + t | jij wordt |
| hij / zij / het | word + t | hij wordt |
| wij / jullie / zij | word + en | wij worden |
So ik word has no -t (it's the bare stem), but hij wordt and jij wordt have a -t glued onto a stem that already ends in -d, giving the -dt spelling. You hear only one /t/ sound — the -d and the -t merge in speech — which is exactly why the spelling is so error-prone. Your ear gives you no help; you must reason it out.
Ik word moe van al dat wachten.
I'm getting tired of all this waiting. 'ik word' = bare stem, NO -t.
Het wordt steeds kouder buiten.
It's getting colder and colder outside. 'het wordt' = word + t = wordt.
Jij wordt later opgehaald, toch?
You're getting picked up later, right? 'jij wordt' = word + t.
The same arithmetic governs every d-stem verb. Vinden → stem vind: ik vind, jij/hij vindt, wij vinden. Antwoorden → ik antwoord, hij antwoordt. Houden → ik houd (often hou), hij houdt.
Ik vind het een goed idee.
I think it's a good idea. 'ik vind' = bare stem, no -t.
Hij vindt altijd wel iets om over te klagen.
He always finds something to complain about. 'hij vindt' = vind + t.
Inversion drops the -t before 'je' (word je?)
There is one twist that catches everyone. When je (or jij) comes after the verb — in a question or after fronting — the -t disappears. Not the -d of the stem, the -t of the ending. So the statement jij wordt becomes the question word je? This drop happens only with je/jij, and only after the verb.
❌ Wordt je morgen opgehaald?
Incorrect — when 'je' follows the verb, the -t ending drops.
✅ Word je morgen opgehaald?
Are you getting picked up tomorrow? 'word je' — the ending -t is gone; only the stem's -d remains.
✅ Wat vind je ervan?
What do you think of it? 'vind je', not 'vindt je' — the ending drops after 'je'.
Be careful: this drop is only for je/jij. With hij/zij/het after the verb, the -t stays: Wat wordt het? (What will it be?), Wanneer komt hij? So word je but wordt het.
✅ Wanneer wordt hij dertig?
When does he turn thirty? 'wordt hij' keeps the -t — the drop is only before 'je'.
Participle -d vs present -t: gebeurd ≠ gebeurt
The second great trap is the past participle of weak verbs ending in -d, set against the present tense ending in -t. They sound identical but are spelled differently and mean different things. Consider gebeuren (to happen):
- Present, hij-form: het gebeurt — stem gebeur
- ending -t. "It happens / is happening."
- Past participle: gebeurd — the weak participle of a stem ending in a voiced sound takes -d (the 't kofschip rule: gebeur doesn't end in a voiceless consonant, so the participle is -d, not -t). Used with zijn/hebben: het is gebeurd. "It (has) happened."
Er gebeurt hier nooit iets.
Nothing ever happens here. Present tense → -t (gebeur + t).
Er is gisteren iets ergs gebeurd.
Something bad happened yesterday. Past participle with 'is' → -d (gebeurd).
The test is foolproof: is there a form of hebben or zijn (or are you after worden in a passive)? Then you need the participle in -d. Is the verb the main present-tense verb of the clause? Then it's -t. The same split hits antwoorden: hij antwoordt (present) vs hij heeft geantwoord (participle, -d).
Hij antwoordt nooit op mijn berichten.
He never replies to my messages. Present → antwoord + t = antwoordt.
Hij heeft nog niet geantwoord.
He hasn't replied yet. Participle with 'heeft' → geantwoord (-d).
A reliable self-test
When you're unsure whether a present-tense form needs -t, mentally swap in a verb whose stem doesn't end in -d, like lopen (stem loop). You'd write hij loopt without hesitation. The d-stem verb takes the same ending, so hij + word gets the same -t: hij wordt. And ik loop has no -t, so ik word has none either. The audible /t/ is irrelevant — copy the ending from the easy verb.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hij word boos.
Incorrect — 'hij' needs stem + t. The audible single /t/ hides the missing ending.
✅ Hij wordt boos.
He's getting angry. word + t = wordt.
❌ Ik wordt morgen 30.
Incorrect — the ik-form is the bare stem, with NO -t.
✅ Ik word morgen 30.
I turn 30 tomorrow.
❌ Wat vindt je van de film?
Incorrect — when 'je' follows the verb, the -t ending drops.
✅ Wat vind je van de film?
What do you think of the film?
❌ Er is iets ergs gebeurt.
Incorrect — after 'is' you need the past participle in -d, not the present -t.
✅ Er is iets ergs gebeurd.
Something bad has happened.
❌ Dat gebeurd elke dag.
Incorrect — this is the present tense (no 'hebben/zijn'), so it must be -t.
✅ Dat gebeurt elke dag.
That happens every day.
Key Takeaways
- Present tense is always stem + ending: ik = bare stem, jij/hij = stem + t, wij/jullie/zij = stem + en.
- For d-stem verbs the -t glues onto the -d: word + t = wordt, vind + t = vindt. The ik-form keeps no -t (ik word, ik vind).
- Inversion before je drops the -t ending (not the stem's -d): word je?, vind je? — but wordt hij? keeps it, because the drop is only before je/jij.
- Participle (-d) ≠ present (-t): het is gebeurd (participle, with zijn/hebben) vs het gebeurt (present). Test: if there's a hebben/zijn, use the -d participle.
- Stuck? Copy the ending from a non-d verb (hij loopt → hij wordt; ik loop → ik word). The single audible /t/ is no guide.
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Verbs with a D-Stem: The Silent Extra T (hij wordt)A2 — Why a d-stem verb still adds the agreement -t, giving the written -dt that sounds like a single t — Dutch's single most error-prone spelling rule.
- Hyphenation and Word DivisionC1 — How Dutch breaks words at the end of a line (afbreken): split on syllable boundaries, divide doubled consonants, and never break an indivisible digraph like ch, ng, or the lange ij.
- Common Mistakes English Speakers Make: OverviewA2 — A map of the recurring errors English speakers make in Dutch — V2 word-order slips, de/het gender, niet vs geen, false friends, the hebben/zijn auxiliary, omdat vs want order, and English calques like do-support and the progressive. Each is previewed with a one-line example and linked to its dedicated page.
- Mistake: Splitting Compounds (de Engelse ziekte)B1 — English writes noun compounds as separate words (taxi driver); Dutch glues them into a single solid word (taxichauffeur), sometimes with a linking -s- or -en-. Splitting them — nicknamed 'de Engelse ziekte', the English disease — is the most visible written anglicism in Dutch. This page drills the solid-compound rule and the linking letters.