This video covers the conjugation of the regular Dutch verb in the perfect tense.
Please make sure you are familiar with our video about the Dutch verb in the present tense,
before you watch this one.
In this video we will concentrate on the formation of the past participle.
After watching this video,
you will be able to form the past participle of the regular Dutch verb.
But let's start with two basic questions:
What is a past participle,
and what is the perfect tense?
Let's look at two examples of sentences in the perfect tense:
She has worked at this all day.
Wow! You have grown 10 cm in 2 months.
In English, as in Dutch, the perfect tense consists of two elements:
A conjugated form of the verb 'have' (we call this the auxiliary),
so in these examples:
she has and you have,
and a main verb in the form of a past participle.
Here it's 'worked' and 'grown'.
Let's look at these two sentences in Dutch:
Ze heeft hier de hele dag aan gewerkt.
Je bent in 2 maanden 10 cm gegroeid.
There are two things we need to look at here:
First the auxiliary, or the first part of the perfect tense.
Note that in English, you always use a conjugated form of the auxiliary 'have'.
In Dutch, most verbs also take a form of 'hebben' in the perfect tense,
but a considerable number of verbs take 'zijn' as their auxiliary in the perfect tense.
It is time for a rule -ish:
Always use 'hebben' in the perfect tense in Dutch,
unless...
the main verb expresses motion,
for example: rijden, vliegen, rennen.
In this case, we use the word 'zijn'.
Verbs that indicate a 'change of being' also use 'zijn' in the perfect tense.
This is a rather vague category, but it includes verbs such as
'beginnen', 'barsten' and 'groeien'.
Secondly, the position of the verbs.
Note that in English, the auxiliary and the main verb stick together:
she has worked, you have grown.
In Dutch, the auxiliary and the main verb have fixed positions in the sentence:
the auxiliary verb will be in SECOND position
and the past participle takes FINAL position.
Second and final are the classic positions for the Dutch verb.
Check our video on word order if you want to know more.
We are now ready to start predicting our past participle:
There are two tools you'll need to form the past participle of the regular verb in Dutch.
The first is a formula for the past participle:
ge + stem + t/d
The second tool are some magic words:
SoFT KetCHuP.
Let's see how we use these tools.
Let's take the verb 'werken'.
The formula tells us we need: ge + stem + t/d.
So let's start with 'ge'.
Let's then add the stem (werk) - and now we have a decision to make:
to t or to d, that is the question.
To decide whether to go for a t or a d, we turn to our second tool:
SoFT KetCHuP.
In these two words, we find all the consonants or sounds
that lead us to a 't' as the final letter of a past participle (s, f, t, k, ch, p).
Let's take 'werken'.
Look at the last letter of the stem,
and test it against 'SoFT KetCHuP'.
In this case, it's a 'k'. So yes, the 'k' is in 'SoFT KetCHuP.
So our final letter is a 't'.
So the past participle of werken = gewerkt.
Let's try another one.
Studeren.
So we need ge + stem + t/d.
Ge + studeer.
The last letter of the stem is 'r', which isn't in 'SoFT KetCHuP',
so the final letter is a 'd': gestudeerd.
Note the normal spelling rules still apply.
So let's take 'praten'.
Ge + praat.
'T' is in 'SoFT KetCHuP', so that would give us a 't' as the final letter: 'gepraatt'.
Ouch!
There's never a doubled consonant at the end of a word in Dutch.
So let's stick with 'gepraat'.
Two more things to note:
Let's take two verbs of the 'v/f' or 'z/s' category.
Leven.
Verhuizen.
We know that the stem of the verb 'leven' = 'leef'
and the stem of the verb 'verhuizen' = 'verhuis',
because a Dutch word cannot end in a 'v' or a 'z'.
But what does that do to our 'SoFT KetCHuP'?
Well, here goes with 'leven':
Ge + stem + t/d.
Ge + leef...
So which is our 'test letter'?
The 'v' of the full verb or the last letter of the stem?
Here's the rule:
In case of a 'v/f' or 'z/s' verb, the final letter of the past participle is a 'd': geleefd.
Let's try 'verhuizen':
In addition to the 'z/s', there is another feature of verhuizen:
it starts with a so-called unstressed prefix: 'ver'.
VerHUIzen.
There are quite a few of those unstressed prefixes in Dutch, for example:
geloven; ontdekken; bewegen;
Here comes a rule:
If a verb starts with an unstressed prefix, just don't add 'ge' in the past participle.
'Ge' is also an unstressed prefix and you just don't use two unstressed prefixes in a row.
So the solution, is just not to add the 'ge'.
Verhuizen -> verhuisd.
Let's recap:
You'll have to remember 'SoFT KetCHup' as your 't/d' indicator.
And then there is your formula:
Ge (but don't add it if the verb has an unstressed prefix) +
the stem of the verb + 't' or 'd', based on the last letter of the stem,
and in case of 'z/s' and 'v/f' verbs, it's always a 'd'.
Something worth remembering:
A 'd' or a 't' at the end of a Dutch word is pronounced exactly the same:
'Hart' sounds the same as 'hard'.
'Vindt' and 'vind' sound exactly the same.
So when you're speaking, you don't need to worry about soft ketchup.
Zo, ik heb mijn les geleerd!