To talk about completed actions in the past, Dutch uses the present perfect tense (voltooid tegenwoordige tijd). It is formed using a conjugated auxiliary verb—usually hebben (to have)—and a past participle.
Forming Regular Past Participles
For regular verbs, the past participle is built by adding the prefix ge- to the verb stem, and ending with either -t or -d.
- If the verb stem ends in a voiceless consonant (like k, p, s, f, or ch), add -t (e.g., werk becomes gewerkt, pak becomes gepakt).
- For all other letters, add -d (e.g., huur becomes gehuurd, studeer becomes gestudeerd).
| I worked yesterday. | Ik heb gisteren gewerkt. |
| He has studied a lot for the exam. | Hij heeft veel voor het examen gestudeerd. |
Word Order: Participle at the End
In a standard Dutch sentence, the conjugated auxiliary verb (hebben) takes the second position. The past participle, however, is pushed to the very end of the sentence.
Any other information—such as time, objects, or prepositional phrases—goes between hebben and the past participle.
| She packed the suitcase at a quarter past three. | Ze heeft om kwart over drie de koffer gepakt. |
| We rented a boat yesterday. | We hebben gisteren een boot gehuurd. |
Asking Questions
To ask a question, simply invert the subject and the auxiliary verb hebben. Just like in a statement, the past participle remains firmly at the end of the sentence.
| Did you study for the exam? | Heb je voor het examen gestudeerd? |
| Have they booked the flight for us? | Hebben ze de vlucht voor ons geboekt? |