The Infinitive
Dutch verbs appear in the dictionary in their full form, called the infinitive. Almost all Dutch infinitives end in -en.
To talk about yourself using ik (I), you use the verb stem. For regular verbs, simply drop the -en from the infinitive.
Dropping -en from werken (to work) gives the stem werk.
Keeping Vowels Long
Dutch spelling aims to keep vowel sounds consistent. If an infinitive has a single long vowel before a single consonant (like wonen, to live), dropping the -en would create a closed syllable and shorten the sound (won). To keep it long, we double the vowel. The stem of wonen is woon.
Plural pronouns like wij (we) don't use the stem. They just use the full infinitive.
Other verbs follow this same vowel-doubling pattern, like leren (to learn, stem: leer) and koken (to cook, stem: kook).
Adverb Placement
In a simple Dutch sentence, the verb stays in the second position. Adverbs like snel (fast) or altijd (always) usually come directly after it.