Werken ("to work") is the template every regular Dutch verb follows. The vast majority of Dutch verbs are weak — they form their past and participle by adding a dental ending (-te/-de, -t/-d) to an unchanged stem, with no vowel shuffling. Master werken and you have, in effect, mastered the default conjugation for thousands of verbs: koken (cook), praten (talk), leren (learn), fietsen (cycle), and on and on. This page walks through the full paradigm and explains the one decision a weak verb forces on you — -te or -de? — using the classic memory aid 't kofschip.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Simple past (sg.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|
| werken | werkte | gewerkt | hebben |
Classification: weak (regular) — the model. No vowel change anywhere: the stem werk stays put and simply takes dental endings. The past is stem + -te (werkte), the participle is ge- + stem + -t (gewerkt). This is the pattern; everything else weak just plugs a different stem into these slots.
Present tense
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | werk | I work |
| jij / je | werkt | you work |
| u | werkt | you work (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | werkt | he / she / it works |
| wij / we | werken | we work |
| jullie | werken | you (pl.) work |
| zij / ze | werken | they work |
The universal present pattern, with nothing irregular: stem for ik (werk), stem + t for jij/u/hij/zij/het (werkt), and the infinitive for all plurals (werken). The single most important spelling rule lives here: when jij/je comes after the verb (in a question or after a fronted element), the -t drops — je werkt but werk je? The ending belongs to the jij-before-verb slot; flip the order and it disappears.
Werk je nog steeds bij dezelfde firma?
Do you still work at the same company? Inverted 'je' — the -t drops: 'werk je', not 'werkt je'.
Simple past: werkte and werkten — and the 't kofschip rule
Weak verbs build the past with -te(n) or -de(n), and you choose based on the last sound of the stem:
- If the stem ends in a voiceless consonant — one of the sounds in the mnemonic 't kofschip (t, k, f, s, ch, p) — add -te / -ten.
- Otherwise (voiced sounds and all vowels) add -de / -den.
The stem of werken is werk, ending in -k — a 't kofschip consonant, voiceless — so the past is werkte / werkten. Contrast a voiced stem like bellen (to call): its stem bel ends in -l, which is not in 't kofschip, so it takes -de → belde / belden. The choice is about the sound at the end of the stem, not the spelling; werk ends in a hard, voiceless [k], so -te it is.
| Person | Past form |
|---|---|
| ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het | werkte |
| wij / jullie / zij (pl.) | werkten |
Vroeger werkte ze als verpleegkundige.
She used to work as a nurse. Singular weak past 'werkte' (-te, because k is voiceless).
The perfect: heb gewerkt
The participle is gewerkt: prefix ge- + stem werk + the same voiceless ending -t (again 't kofschip: -t after a voiceless stem, -d otherwise). The auxiliary is hebben — working is an activity, not a change of state.
| Person | Perfect | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | heb gewerkt | I have worked |
| jij / u | hebt gewerkt | you have worked |
| hij / zij / het | heeft gewerkt | he/she/it has worked |
| wij / jullie / zij | hebben gewerkt | we/you/they have worked |
Ik heb de hele zaterdag in de tuin gewerkt.
I worked in the garden all Saturday. Perfect 'heb ... gewerkt'.
Imperative
| Form | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Werk! | bare stem, singular command | Work! |
| Werk rustig door. | everyday phrase | Carry on working calmly. |
| Werk samen. | instruction | Work together. |
Three model sentences
Mijn man werkt vier dagen per week.
My husband works four days a week. Third-person singular 'werkt'.
We werkten allebei aan hetzelfde project.
We were both working on the same project. Plural weak past 'werkten'.
Heb je vroeger ook in de horeca gewerkt?
Did you also work in hospitality back in the day? Perfect 'heb ... gewerkt', inverted 'je'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Werkt je in Amsterdam?
Incorrect — with inverted 'je' the -t drops: 'Werk je in Amsterdam?'
✅ Werk je in Amsterdam?
Do you work in Amsterdam?
❌ Ik werkde gisteren thuis.
Incorrect — the stem ends in voiceless -k ('t kofschip), so the past is 'werkte', not 'werkde'.
✅ Ik werkte gisteren thuis.
I worked from home yesterday.
❌ Hij heeft hard gewerken.
Incorrect — the participle is 'gewerkt' (ge- + stem + -t), not the infinitive.
✅ Hij heeft hard gewerkt.
He worked hard.
❌ Zij werkt al jaren samen, die twee.
Incorrect — the subject 'die twee / zij' is plural, so 'werken': 'Zij werken al jaren samen'.
✅ Zij werken al jaren samen, die twee.
Those two have worked together for years.
❌ Ik ben de hele dag gewerkt.
Incorrect — werken takes 'hebben', not 'zijn': 'Ik heb ... gewerkt'.
✅ Ik heb de hele dag gewerkt.
I worked all day.
Key Takeaways
- Werken is the model weak verb: no vowel change, just dental endings on a fixed stem.
- Past werkte / werkten, participle gewerkt, auxiliary hebben.
- Choose -te/-t vs -de/-d by the last sound of the stem: voiceless ('t kofschip: t, k, f, s, ch, p) → -te/-t; everything else → -de/-d. Werk ends in -k, so -te.
- Present-tense -t on jij/je drops after the verb (werk je?) but stays for hij (werkt hij?).
- This same template runs koken, praten, leren, fietsen, wonen, bellen and the great majority of Dutch verbs — learn it once, apply it everywhere.
Now practice Dutch
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Zingen (to sing) — Full ConjugationB1 — The complete paradigm of zingen (to sing): present (zing/zingt/zingen), past (zong/zongen), perfect (heb gezongen), imperative, and participle — a model class-3 strong verb with the i-o-o ablaut, cognate with English sing/sang/sung.
- Hebben or Zijn in the PerfectB1 — Most Dutch verbs build the perfect with hebben, but verbs of change of state or location — and motion verbs once a destination is named — switch to zijn, following a deep telicity logic English has no equivalent for.