These four verbs are all weak — they take the regular dental endings (-te/-de in the past, -t/-d in the participle) on an unchanged stem, exactly like werken. They earn a page together because each carries one small surprise an English speaker needs to anticipate: leren means both "learn" and "teach"; stellen is a workhorse that hides inside dozens of fixed expressions; and bestellen takes no ge- in its participle because be- is an inseparable prefix. Nail these and you have four very common verbs plus a rule that unlocks hundreds more.
Leren — to learn AND to teach
| Infinitive | Simple past (sg.) | Simple past (pl.) | Past participle | Auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| leren | leerde | leerden | geleerd | hebben |
The stem leer ends in -r, a voiced sound (not in 't kofschip), so the past takes -de (leerde) and the participle ends in -d (geleerd). Note the spelling: the infinitive leren has one e in the second syllable, but the stem doubles the vowel to keep it long — leer, leerde, geleerd.
The thing to internalise is that leren covers both directions of knowledge transfer. English splits "learn" (receiving) from "teach" (giving); Dutch uses one verb and lets context — or a dative object — sort it out.
Ik leer Nederlands op een app.
I'm learning Dutch on an app. Here leren = to learn.
Mijn opa heeft me leren schaken.
My grandpa taught me to play chess. Here leren = to teach; 'me' is the person being taught.
Ze leerde haar dochter fietsen toen die vijf was.
She taught her daughter to cycle when she was five. Past 'leerde' (-de, voiced stem).
Volgen — to follow
| Infinitive | Simple past (sg.) | Simple past (pl.) | Past participle | Auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| volgen | volgde | volgden | gevolgd | hebben |
Stem volg ends in -g, voiced, so again -de / -d: volgde, gevolgd. Volgen spans the same range as English "follow": following a person, a road, an argument, a course, or an account on social media.
Ik volg dit jaar een cursus fotografie.
I'm taking a photography course this year. 'een cursus volgen' = to take a course.
Sorry, ik kan je niet helemaal volgen.
Sorry, I can't quite follow you. 'volgen' = follow an argument/explanation.
We hebben de borden naar het centrum gevolgd.
We followed the signs to the centre. Perfect 'hebben ... gevolgd'.
Stellen — to put, to pose, to set
| Infinitive | Simple past (sg.) | Simple past (pl.) | Past participle | Auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stellen | stelde | stelden | gesteld | hebben |
Stem stel ends in -l, voiced, so -de / -d: stelde, gesteld. On its own stellen means "to place / to pose", but you will meet it far more often inside fixed combinations, where it carries the real meaning:
- een vraag stellen — to ask a question (literally "to pose a question")
- voorstellen — to introduce / to propose / to imagine
- vaststellen — to establish, to determine
- teleurstellen — to disappoint
This is the practical reason to learn stellen early: it is the engine inside a whole family of everyday verbs.
Mag ik je een persoonlijke vraag stellen?
May I ask you a personal question? 'een vraag stellen' = to ask a question.
De dokter stelde een paar vragen over mijn slaap.
The doctor asked a few questions about my sleep. Past 'stelde'.
Het onderzoek heeft duidelijk gesteld dat het veilig is.
The study clearly established that it is safe. Perfect 'heeft ... gesteld'.
Bestellen — to order (no ge-!)
| Infinitive | Simple past (sg.) | Simple past (pl.) | Past participle | Auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bestellen | bestelde | bestelden | besteld | hebben |
Bestellen is stellen with the prefix be- — and that prefix changes the participle in one crucial way. Dutch participles normally start with ge- (gesteld, gewerkt). But verbs beginning with an unstressed, inseparable prefix — be-, ge-, ver-, er-, her-, ont-, ver- — drop the ge- entirely. So the participle of bestellen is besteld, not gebesteld.
Why? The ge- prefix historically marked a "completed" feel, and these inseparable prefixes already sit unstressed at the front of the word, occupying that slot. Dutch refuses to stack a second unstressed prefix on top. The result is the rule you must simply apply: be-, ge-, ver-, ont-, her-, er- verbs take no ge- in the participle. The past tense is unaffected — bestelde is perfectly regular.
We bestellen meestal gewoon een pizza op vrijdag.
We usually just order a pizza on Friday. Present 'bestellen'.
Ik heb online een nieuwe telefoon besteld.
I ordered a new phone online. Participle 'besteld' — no ge-.
Side-by-side summary
| Verb | Past (sg.) | Participle | ge-? | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| leren | leerde | geleerd | yes | learn / teach |
| volgen | volgde | gevolgd | yes | follow |
| stellen | stelde | gesteld | yes | put / pose |
| bestellen | bestelde | besteld | no | order |
Common Mistakes
❌ Ik heb een pizza gebesteld.
Incorrect — bestellen starts with the inseparable prefix be-, so no ge-: 'besteld'.
✅ Ik heb een pizza besteld.
I ordered a pizza.
❌ Mijn moeder heeft me Nederlands geteached.
Incorrect — Dutch uses leren for 'teach' too: 'Mijn moeder heeft me Nederlands geleerd'.
✅ Mijn moeder heeft me Nederlands geleerd.
My mother taught me Dutch.
❌ Mag ik een vraag vragen?
Incorrect — Dutch 'asks a question' with stellen, not vragen: 'een vraag stellen'.
✅ Mag ik een vraag stellen?
May I ask a question?
❌ Ik lerde geen Frans op school.
Incorrect spelling — the stem keeps the long vowel by doubling it: 'leerde', not 'lerde'.
✅ Ik leerde geen Frans op school.
I didn't learn French at school. (Stem 'leer' doubles the vowel: leerde.)
❌ Hij heeft de gids gevolgen.
Incorrect — volgen is weak: the participle is 'gevolgd', not the strong-looking 'gevolgen'.
✅ Hij heeft de gids gevolgd.
He followed the guide.
Key Takeaways
- All four are weak: regular dental endings on a fixed stem.
- leren = both learn and teach — a dative person object signals "teach".
- stellen lives inside fixed phrases: een vraag stellen, voorstellen, vaststellen, teleurstellen.
- bestellen takes no ge- in the participle (besteld) because be- is an inseparable prefix — the same rule covers betalen, vertellen, gebruiken.
- Vowel-stem verbs (leren, voelen) double the vowel in the stem to keep it long: leer, leerde, geleerd.
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Verb Reference: How to Use These TablesA2 — A guide to reading the verb-reference pages: what each conjugation table shows (present, simple past, perfect with its auxiliary, participle), how strong/weak/mixed verbs are labelled, why the auxiliary is flagged, and which verbs to master first.
- Gebruiken, Proberen, Wachten — Everyday Weak VerbsA2 — Three weak verbs that each teach a spelling rule: gebruiken (no ge- in the participle), proberen (an -eren verb that DOES take ge-), and wachten (the t-stem that doubles its t in the past).
- The Regular Weak Verb: Full ParadigmA2 — The complete model paradigm of a regular Dutch weak verb (werken and maken) across every tense — present, simple past, present perfect, past perfect, future and conditional — plus the stem→present→past→participle pipeline and the 't kofschip rule that decides between -te and -de.
- Weak Past: The 't Kofschip Rule (-te vs -de)A2 — How to form the weak simple past in Dutch and how the 't kofschip rule decides between the endings -te(n) and -de(n) — applied to the underlying stem consonant, not the infinitive.
- Inseparable Prefixes: be-, ver-, ge-, ont-, her-, er-B1 — The six unstressed prefixes that never split off, take no ge- in the participle, and keep te in front of the whole verb — with the systematic meanings of ver-, ont-, and her-.