This is one of the places where Dutch quietly refuses to mirror English, and the mismatch is not in the words but in the tense. English says "I have lived here for three years" — a present perfect, because the action reaches back into the past. Dutch looks at the same situation and says Ik *woon hier al drie jaar — a plain *present tense — because for Dutch what matters is that the living is still going on now. Get that one reflex right and the rest of this cluster (sinds, sedert, al, pas, over, binnen) falls into place.
The core tense difference: present, not perfect
Here is the rule that English speakers have to consciously override. When a situation began in the past and is still true now, English uses the present perfect ("have lived," "have been waiting"), but Dutch uses the simple present. The Dutch logic is: the state is ongoing, so describe it in the tense of now. The starting point is given by sinds or al, and the verb stays present.
Ik woon hier al drie jaar.
I have lived here for three years. (Dutch present 'woon', not a perfect — the living is still happening.)
We kennen elkaar al sinds de basisschool.
We've known each other since primary school. (present 'kennen', not 'have known').
Hoe lang werk je hier al?
How long have you been working here? (present 'werk je', literally 'how long do you work here already').
The flip side confirms the logic: if the situation has ended, Dutch does use the perfect. Ik heb daar drie jaar gewoond ("I lived there for three years") — perfect, because I no longer live there. So the tense itself encodes whether the state continues.
Ik heb daar drie jaar gewoond, maar nu woon ik in Utrecht.
I lived there for three years, but now I live in Utrecht. (perfect 'heb gewoond' — that period is over).
Sinds — since a starting point
Sinds marks the point in time a still-running situation began: sinds maandag, sinds 2020, sinds mijn verhuizing. It answers "since when?" and pairs with the present tense for ongoing states (and with the perfect only when describing something completed within that window).
Sinds maandag voel ik me een stuk beter.
Since Monday I've been feeling a lot better.
Sinds de verhuizing zie ik mijn oude buren bijna nooit meer.
Since the move I hardly ever see my old neighbours any more.
Ze is sinds januari met pensioen.
She's been retired since January.
Sinds names a starting point, not a length. "Since Monday" (a point) takes sinds; "for three days" (a length) takes al — keep those two roles apart and you'll never misuse either.
Sedert — the formal "since"
Sedert means exactly the same as sinds but is formal and now sounds rather bookish or legalistic. You'll meet it in contracts, official notices, and elevated prose, but using it in casual speech sounds stiff and old-fashioned. Recognise it; default to sinds.
Sedert de inwerkingtreding van de wet zijn de regels strenger. (formal)
Since the law came into force, the rules have been stricter. (formal/legal register)
Sinds de nieuwe wet zijn de regels strenger.
Since the new law the rules have been stricter. (the everyday version)
Al — "already" and durational "for"
Al is doing two jobs, and English splits them. As a plain adverb it means "already" (Ben je al klaar?, "Are you ready already?"). In a duration phrase it means "for / by now," stressing that the span has already been running: al drie jaar = "for three years (already, and counting)." It is the duration counterpart to sinds: sinds gives the start point, al gives the elapsed length.
Ben je nu al klaar? Dat ging snel.
Are you ready already? That was quick. (al = 'already').
Ik sta hier al twintig minuten te wachten.
I've been standing here waiting for twenty minutes. (al + present, durational).
Die winkel zit hier al jaren.
That shop has been here for years. (al jaren = 'for years now').
Pas — "only just," the opposite of al
Pas is the mirror image of durational al. Where al says "as much as / already this long," pas says "only / not until / merely this recently." It downplays the amount of time. Ik werk hier pas een week = "I've only been working here a week" (so little time). It also means "not until" with a future point: De winkel gaat pas om tien uur open ("the shop doesn't open until ten").
Ik werk hier pas een week, dus vraag het even aan een collega.
I've only been working here a week, so ask a colleague.
Het is pas acht uur — je hebt nog zeeën van tijd.
It's only eight o'clock — you've got loads of time.
De dokter kan me pas volgende week zien.
The doctor can't see me until next week.
The al / pas contrast is one of attitude: al drie uur ("three hours already," that's a lot) versus pas drie uur ("only three hours," that's not much). Same three hours, opposite framing.
Over and binnen — looking into the future
Over and binnen point forward from now. Over means "in / after" a span — the moment at the end of the span: over een week = "in a week('s time)," i.e. a week from now. Binnen means "within" — at some point before the span runs out: binnen een week = "within a week, inside seven days."
De bus komt over tien minuten.
The bus is coming in ten minutes.
We zien elkaar over een week weer.
We'll see each other again in a week.
Ik bel je binnen een uur terug.
I'll call you back within an hour.
The crucial point for English speakers: future "in" is over, not in. In een week is wrong for "a week from now" — it reads as a stray locative and at best means "during the course of a week." For "a week from now," it must be over een week.
De verbouwing is over twee maanden klaar.
The renovation will be finished in two months. (over, not in).
A related deadline word is voor, "before / by": voor vrijdag = "by Friday, before Friday is out." That pins a deadline, while binnen gives a window and over gives a point. (Voor has several other jobs — see Voor and Na.)
Lever het rapport voor vrijdag in.
Hand in the report by Friday.
Common Mistakes
The recurring errors are the perfect-for-present transfer, the over/in future mix-up, and confusing sinds (point) with al (length).
❌ Ik heb hier al drie jaar gewoond. (meaning 'and I still live here')
Wrong tense for an ongoing state — the perfect signals the living is over. For 'still living here', use the present.
✅ Ik woon hier al drie jaar.
I've lived here for three years (and still do).
❌ De trein vertrekt in vijf minuten. (meaning 'five minutes from now')
Wrong — future 'in X time' is over, not in. 'In vijf minuten' suggests 'over the course of five minutes'.
✅ De trein vertrekt over vijf minuten.
The train leaves in five minutes.
❌ Ik woon hier sinds drie jaar.
Wrong — sinds takes a point in time, not a length. For a length, use al.
✅ Ik woon hier al drie jaar. / Ik woon hier sinds 2022.
I've lived here for three years. / I've lived here since 2022.
❌ Sedert wanneer ben je hier? (in casual chat)
Understood, but stilted — sedert is formal/legal. In everyday speech use sinds. (formal)
✅ Sinds wanneer ben je hier?
Since when have you been here?
❌ Ik werk hier al een week. (meaning 'only a week, so I'm new')
Wrong nuance — al stresses 'as much as a week already'. To downplay the short time ('only a week'), use pas.
✅ Ik werk hier pas een week.
I've only been working here a week.
Key Takeaways
- For a situation that began in the past and is still true, Dutch uses the present tense, not the perfect: Ik woon hier al drie jaar = "I have lived here for three years."
- sinds marks a starting point (sinds maandag); al marks an elapsed length (al drie jaar). Combine them as al sinds... for "ever since."
- sedert is the formal twin of sinds — recognise it, but default to sinds.
- al and pas frame the same span oppositely: al = "as much as / already," pas = "only / not until."
- Future "in X time" is over (over een week), never in; binnen = "within," and voor = "by/before" a deadline.
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
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