Vinden is a strong verb with two everyday jobs that English splits between two different words. It means "to find" in the literal sense (to find your keys), and it also means "to think / to consider" in the sense of holding an opinion (ik vind het mooi — "I think it's beautiful"). One Dutch verb covers both. On top of that, vinden has a stem ending in -d, which produces the notorious silent -dt spelling (hij vindt), and it is strong, so its past tense is vond / vonden, not a regularised vindde. This page lays out every form and flags the three things English speakers reliably get wrong.
Principal parts
The principal parts are the forms you memorise to generate the rest. For a strong verb you cannot derive the past from the infinitive — you learn it.
| Infinitive | Past (sg.) | Past (pl.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vinden | vond | vonden | gevonden | hebben |
Classification: strong. The vowel changes through the paradigm (i → o → o: vind → vond → gevonden), and the participle ends in -en, never -d/-t. A weak verb would give vindde / gevind; those forms do not exist.
Present tense
The stem is vind- (infinitive vinden minus -en). The endings are the regular present set, but because the stem already ends in -d, the jij/hij ending -t lands directly after it, giving the written -dt.
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | vind | I find / I think |
| jij / je | vindt | you find |
| u | vindt | you find (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | vindt | he / she / it finds |
| wij / we | vinden | we find |
| jullie | vinden | you (pl.) find |
| zij / ze | vinden | they find |
The -dt is purely orthographic: vindt is pronounced exactly like vind, with a single final -t sound. You write both letters because the rule is "stem + t," and the stem already has the -d. The crucial exception: when je / jij follows the verb (in a question or after a fronted element), the -t drops, so you write just the stem: vind je?, never vindt je. This is the same inversion rule as every Dutch verb — it only looks dramatic here because of the -d.
The opinion meaning: vinden + het
When vinden means "to think / consider," it almost always needs an object to evaluate. To say "I think it's nice," Dutch says ik vind *het leuk — literally "I find it nice." You cannot drop the *het: bare ik vind leuk is ungrammatical. The pattern is vinden + [object] + [adjective]: "I find X (to be) Y."
Ik vind het hier veel te druk.
I think it's far too crowded here. Opinion use — note the obligatory 'het'.
This is the everyday way to give an opinion in Dutch — far more common than ik denk dat.... If you can substitute "in my opinion, it's..." in English, Dutch uses ik vind het....
Simple past: vond / vonden
The past is strong: singular vond, plural vonden. Unlike geven or nemen, the vowel does not change between singular and plural here — both have o. The only difference is the plural ending -en.
| Person | Past form |
|---|---|
| ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het | vond |
| wij / jullie / zij (pl.) | vonden |
Ik vond mijn telefoon uiteindelijk onder de bank.
I eventually found my phone under the sofa. Singular past 'vond'.
The perfect: hebben + gevonden
Vinden builds its perfect with hebben plus the participle gevonden. There is no motion or change of state, so zijn never appears.
| Person | Perfect | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | heb gevonden | I have found |
| jij / u | hebt gevonden | you have found |
| hij / zij / het | heeft gevonden | he/she/it has found |
| wij / jullie / zij | hebben gevonden | we/you/they have found |
The participle gevonden has the strong shape: ge- prefix, vowel o, and the -en ending. A regularised gevind or gevindt is simply wrong.
Imperative
The imperative is the bare stem vind — no -t, because the imperative never takes the -t ending.
| Form | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Vind! | singular / general | Find! |
| Vind het zelf maar uit. | everyday phrase | Figure it out yourself. |
| Vindt u maar een plekje. | formal (with toegevoegd 'u') | Do find yourself a seat. (formal) |
Three model sentences
Heb je je sleutels al gevonden, of moet ik nog meezoeken?
Have you found your keys yet, or should I help look? Literal 'find' + perfect with hebben.
Hij vindt het niet eerlijk dat hij altijd moet afwassen.
He thinks it's unfair that he always has to do the dishes. Opinion use: 'vindt het ... dat'.
We vonden een leuk café vlak bij het station.
We found a nice café right by the station. Plural past 'vonden'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hij vind het lekker.
Incorrect — third-person singular needs the -t: stem 'vind' + t = 'vindt'.
✅ Hij vindt het lekker.
He thinks it's tasty.
❌ Vindt je dit mooi?
Incorrect — when 'je' follows the verb, the -t drops: 'Vind je dit mooi?'
✅ Vind je dit mooi?
Do you think this is nice?
❌ Ik vind leuk.
Incorrect — the opinion use needs an object: 'Ik vind het leuk.'
✅ Ik vind het leuk.
I think it's nice / I like it.
❌ Ik vindde mijn bril niet.
Incorrect — vinden is strong, so the past is 'vond', not a regularised 'vindde'.
✅ Ik vond mijn bril niet.
I couldn't find my glasses.
❌ We hebben een oplossing gevind.
Incorrect — the participle is the strong 'gevonden', never 'gevind'.
✅ We hebben een oplossing gevonden.
We've found a solution.
Key Takeaways
- Strong verb: vind → vond / vonden → gevonden; never vindde or gevind.
- Silent -dt: write hij vindt (stem + t), but vind je? (no -t after an inverted je).
- Past does not split its vowel: both vond and vonden have o (unlike geven/nemen).
- Opinion use needs het: ik vind het leuk, not ik vind leuk — this is the everyday way to give an opinion.
- Perfect with hebben: ik heb gevonden — no motion, so no zijn.
Now practice Dutch
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