Staan ("to stand") is far more common in Dutch than "to stand" is in English, because Dutch uses it as a default positional verb: a bottle, a car, a word on a page, an appointment in your calendar — all staan. Where English is happy with "is" ("the bottle is in the cupboard"), Dutch reaches for a posture verb, and for anything tall or upright that verb is staan. The conjugation is irregular: the infinitive contracts to sta/staat in the present, and the past stond/stonden is a strong form with no -te/-de ending. This page gives every form, the positional logic, and the handy staan te + infinitive progressive.
Principal parts
These four forms drive the rest. Staan is a strong, irregular verb: the past stond shows a vowel change plus a -d, and the -aan infinitive contracts in the present, so you learn the parts directly.
| Infinitive | Simple past (sg.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|
| staan | stond | gestaan | hebben |
Classification: strong / irregular. It belongs to the small -aan family (staan, slaan, gaan) whose members all contract their stem and form strong, irregular pasts.
Present tense
The stem is sta. The third-person singular adds -t to give staat (the a doubles because the stem is stressed and open). The wij/jullie/zij plural is the full infinitive staan.
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | sta | I stand |
| jij / je | staat | you stand |
| u | staat | you stand (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | staat | he / she / it stands |
| wij / we | staan | we stand |
| jullie | staan | you (pl.) stand |
| zij / ze | staan | they stand |
When jij follows the verb, the -t drops: sta jij?, never staat jij. With u the -t stays: staat u?.
Ik sta al een kwartier in de rij.
I've been standing in the queue for fifteen minutes. The 'ik' form is 'sta'.
Simple past: stond and stonden
The past is stond (singular) / stonden (plural). It is strong — the aa of the stem becomes o, and a -d appears — so it never takes -te/-de as a weak verb would. Note the plural keeps the -d- in stonden.
| Person | Past form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het | stond | stood |
| wij / jullie / zij (pl.) | stonden | stood |
Er stond een lange rij voor de bakker.
There was a long queue in front of the baker's. Singular past 'stond'.
The perfect: hebben + gestaan
Staan takes hebben in the perfect, with the participle gestaan (ge- + staan → gestaan, contracted stem and all).
| Person | Perfect | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | heb gestaan | I have stood |
| jij / u | hebt gestaan | you have stood |
| hij / zij / het | heeft gestaan | he/she/it has stood |
| wij / jullie / zij | hebben gestaan | we/you/they have stood |
We hebben uren in de file gestaan.
We were stuck in traffic for hours. Auxiliary 'hebben' + participle 'gestaan'.
Imperative
The imperative is the bare stem sta. It's common in real commands, often with a particle: Sta op! ("Stand up! / Get up!"), Sta stil! ("Stand still!"), Blijf staan! ("Stop / don't move!").
| Form | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Sta! | bare imperative | Stand! |
| Sta op! | everyday phrase | Get up! / Stand up! |
| Sta stil! | everyday command | Stand still! |
Positional use: the default verb for upright things
This is the part that has no clean English parallel. Dutch dislikes a bare "is" for the location of a concrete object; it picks a posture verb. Staan is the choice for anything that rests on a base or stands tall: bottles, glasses, buildings, cars, a vase on the table — and, by extension, text on a page or surface (Wat staat er op het bord?) and entries in a schedule (De vergadering staat voor drie uur).
De melk staat in de koelkast, op de bovenste plank.
The milk is in the fridge, on the top shelf. Upright carton → 'staat', not 'is'.
Mijn auto staat al twee dagen voor de deur.
My car has been parked in front of the house for two days. A parked vehicle 'staat'.
Use liggen ("to lie") for flat things and zitten ("to sit") for things enclosed or fitted in something — but for default upright location, staan is your verb.
The staan te + infinitive progressive
Staan (and its sibling posture verbs) combines with te + infinitive to make a vivid progressive: someone is on their feet in the middle of doing something. Hij staat te koken literally pictures him standing and cooking — a fuller, more grounded "he's cooking" than the neutral present.
Wat sta je daar te lachen? Vertel op!
What are you laughing about over there? Out with it! 'staan te + infinitive' = caught in the act of laughing.
Three model sentences
These cover positional use, the progressive, and the past.
Er staat een typefout in de eerste zin.
There's a typo in the first sentence. Text 'on' the page 'staat'.
Ze stond te wachten bij de uitgang.
She was waiting by the exit. 'stond te + infinitive' — past progressive of waiting.
Op het examen stond een vraag die ik niet kende.
On the exam there was a question I didn't know. Past 'stond' for an item appearing on the paper.
Common Mistakes
❌ De fles is in de kast.
Incorrect (foreign-sounding) — an upright object takes a posture verb: 'De fles staat in de kast'.
✅ De fles staat in de kast.
The bottle is in the cupboard.
❌ Ik stonde een uur te wachten.
Incorrect — staan is strong; the past is 'stond', never the weak '*stonde'.
✅ Ik stond een uur te wachten.
I stood waiting for an hour.
❌ Wij stond op het perron.
Incorrect — a plural subject needs the plural past 'stonden'.
✅ Wij stonden op het perron.
We were standing on the platform.
❌ Hij is te koken in de keuken.
Incorrect — the progressive uses a posture verb: 'Hij staat te koken'.
✅ Hij staat te koken in de keuken.
He's cooking in the kitchen.
❌ Staat jij in de file?
Incorrect — when 'jij' follows the verb it drops the -t: 'Sta jij...'.
✅ Sta jij in de file?
Are you stuck in traffic?
Key Takeaways
- Present: ik sta, jij/u staat, hij/zij/het staat, wij/jullie/zij staan; inverted jij drops the -t (sta jij?).
- Past is strong: singular stond, plural stonden — note the -d-, never weak -te/-de.
- Perfect: heb gestaan with hebben.
- Staan is the default positional verb for upright objects: De fles staat in de kast, not is.
- staan te + infinitive makes a vivid progressive: Hij staat te koken ("he's cooking").
Now practice Dutch
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