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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*).

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### 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.

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### 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.

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The present perfect tense with regular verbs (hebben gewerkt)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

determiner/pronoun

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular pronouns and 'to be' (ik ben, hij is)

The formal 'you' (u bent)

Definite articles (de, het)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (wij zijn)

The verb 'to have' (hebben)

Basic word order

Numbers 1 to 10 (een, twee, drie)

Verb stems and the 'I' form (ik werk)

Long vowels in verb stems (maken, ik maak)

Short vowels in verb stems (zitten, ik zit)

Present tense singular (-t)

Present tense plural (-en)

Yes/no questions

Question words (wie, wat, waar)

Noun negation (geen)

Plural nouns (-en)

Plural nouns (-s)

Diminutives (-je)

Adjective modifiers (heel, erg, te)

Verb negation (niet)

Singular possessives (mijn, jouw, zijn, haar)

Plural and formal possessives (ons/onze, jullie, hun, uw)

This and these (deze, dit)

That and those (die, dat)

Asking which (welke, welk)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elf, twaalf, dertien...)

Tens and compound numbers (dertig, veertig...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (eerste, tweede...)

Telling time: hours and half hours (uur, half)

Telling time: quarters (kwart over, kwart voor)

Question words (hoeveel, waarom)

Irregular verbs (doen, gaan, staan, zien, komen)

Adjective endings (+e)

Adjectives with 'het' words

Prepositions of place (uit, bij)

Subject-verb inversion

Time before place

Modal verbs (willen, kunnen)

Modal verbs (moeten, mogen)

The verb bracket

Separable prefix verbs

The imperative mood (kom, luister)

Singular object pronouns (mij, jou, hem, haar)

Plural and formal object pronouns (ons, jullie, hen, u)

Reflexive verbs and pronouns (zich, me, je)

Position of negation (niet)

The present perfect tense with motion verbs (zijn gegaan)

Irregular past participles (gezien, gedaan)

The present continuous (zijn aan het)

There is / there are (er is, er zijn)

Unstressed there (er)

And, but, or (en, maar, of)

Because (want)

Months of the year

Prepositions of time (om, van ... tot)

Greetings and politeness

Conversational glue

Prepositions with days (op)

Prepositions with seasons (in)

Genitive of time ('s morgens, 's nachts)

Adverbs of frequency (altijd, vaak)

The future tense (gaan)

The future tense (zullen)

Separable verbs with auxiliary verbs

Apostrophe plurals ('-s)

Irregular plurals (-eren)

Complex diminutives (-pje, -etje, -kje)

Possessive 's (Jan's, vaders)

Indefinite pronouns (iets, niemand, alles)

Indefinite subject pronoun (je)

Reciprocal pronoun (elkaar)

Comparative adjectives (-er dan)

Comparatives with spelling change (-der)

Superlative adjectives (-st)

Irregular comparisons (beter, meer, minder)

Expressing preference (graag, liever, het liefst)

Equality comparisons (even ... als)

Fixed prepositions

That clauses (dat)

Because clauses (omdat)

If and when clauses (als)

Inversion after clauses

Separable verbs in clauses

Negation in clauses (niet)

Past tense of to be (was / waren)

Past tense of to have (had / hadden)

Past tense of modal verbs (wilde, kon, moest, mocht)

Question	Answer
yesterday	gisteren
I worked yesterday.	Ik heb gisteren gewerkt.
We have not cooked today.	We hebben vandaag niet gekookt.
the exam	het examen
to study	studeren
Did you study for the exam?	Heb je voor het examen gestudeerd?
He has studied a lot for the exam.	Hij heeft veel voor het examen gestudeerd.
the flight	de vlucht
to book	boeken
I booked the flight.	Ik heb de vlucht geboekt.
Have they booked the flight for us?	Hebben ze de vlucht voor ons geboekt?
the suitcase	de koffer
I packed my suitcase yesterday.	Ik heb gisteren mijn koffer gepakt.
to travel	reizen
Have you traveled a lot?	Hebben jullie veel gereisd?
She packed the suitcase at a quarter past three.	Ze heeft om kwart over drie de koffer gepakt.
the boat	de boot
to rent	huren
We rented a boat yesterday.	We hebben gisteren een boot gehuurd.
great	geweldig
The boat is great. We rented it.	De boot is geweldig. We hebben hem gehuurd.
The vacation is great. We have traveled a lot.	De vakantie is geweldig. We hebben veel gereisd.
I want to book a flight, but I have rented a car.	Ik wil een vlucht boeken, maar ik heb een auto gehuurd.
I cannot play outside, because I have not studied for the exam.	Ik kan niet buiten spelen, want ik heb niet voor het examen gestudeerd.
The party is great! We have danced a lot.	Het feest is geweldig! We hebben veel gedanst.
They traveled a lot on vacation.	Ze hebben op vakantie veel gereisd.