The pattern
If the stem ends in a consonant from 't kofschip, use -t in the past participle and -te in the simple past; otherwise use -d and -de. If the stem ends in f or s, check the infinitive first: a v or z there means -d and -de.
- Past participle (the "worked" in "I have worked"): usually ge- + stem + -t or -d, so gewerkt, gewoond (regular participles).
- Simple past (the "worked" in "I worked yesterday"): stem + -te or -de, plus -n in the plural: werkte, werkten, woonde, woonden (more on the simple past).
- leven (stem leef) and reizen (stem reis): v and z are not in 't kofschip, so leefde, geleefd, reisde, gereisd.
- A stem that already ends in t or d gets no extra letter in the participle (gewacht, geantwoord), but the full ending in the simple past (wachtte, antwoordde).
- Mixed verbs like bakken (bakte, gebakken) and irregular verbs have their own participles, and a few English loanwords follow the sound: skypen, skypete, geskypet.
Examples
| Daan werkte gisteren thuis. | Daan worked from home yesterday. |
| Ik heb drie jaar in Utrecht gewoond. | I lived in Utrecht for three years. |
| Fatima fietste door de regen naar haar werk. | Fatima cycled to work in the rain. |
| We hebben soep gekookt. | We made soup. |
| Sanne belde de huisarts. | Sanne called the GP. |
| Mei heeft een bakfiets gehuurd. | Mei rented a cargo bike. |
| Emma wachtte tien minuten op de trein. | Emma waited ten minutes for the train. |
| Onze kat leefde achttien jaar. | Our cat lived for eighteen years. |
| Priya reisde met de trein naar Parijs. | Priya travelled to Paris by train. |
Why it works this way
The consonants on board are all voiceless: you make them without a buzz in your throat. Put two fingers on your throat and say a long s, then a long z. Only the z buzzes. A voiceless t slides easily after a voiceless sound (werkte, fietste), while a buzzing d fits after a vowel or a buzzing consonant (woonde, belde). The x joins the crew because it is really k plus s: faxen gives faxte and gefaxt.
That explains leven and reizen too. Their v and z are the buzzing partners of f and s, but Dutch spelling usually writes f and s at the end of a word (v and f, z and s), so the stems look like leef and reis. The ending follows the infinitive.
Your ear won't always help. A final d sounds like t (why that happens), so gewoond sounds just like the wrong gewoont. For g, go by the letter, not the accent: many people in the Netherlands say it like ch, yet leggen gives legde and gelegd.
Remember: a kof is a real type of old Dutch sailing ship. Its consonants travel with -t; v and z are not on board, so they travel with -d, even when spelling dresses them up as f and s.
Watch out
IncorrectoIk werkde tot zes uur.
CorrectoIk werkte tot zes uur.
werk ends in k; the English -ed is no guide here
IncorrectoWe hebben in Leiden gewoont.
CorrectoWe hebben in Leiden gewoond.
n is not on the ship; German speakers often write -t out of habit
IncorrectoEmma wachte op de bus.
CorrectoEmma wachtte op de bus.
stem wacht plus -te gives two t's
IncorrectoOpa leefte heel gezond.
CorrectoOpa leefde heel gezond.
the infinitive leven has a v
IncorrectoIk heb veel gereist.
CorrectoIk heb veel gereisd.
the infinitive reizen has a z
Quick check
- Fill in the past participle of spelen: De kinderen hebben de hele middag buiten ...
- Choose: Mei (stopte / stopde) vorig jaar met roken.
- Fill in the simple past of reizen: Yara ... in de zomer naar Marokko.
- Fix the sentence: Ahmed heeft zijn moeder gebelt.
Ver las respuestas
- gespeeld: the stem speel ends in l, which is not on the ship.
- stopte: the stem stop ends in p.
- reisde: the infinitive reizen has a z.
- Ahmed heeft zijn moeder gebeld.: the stem bel ends in l, so -d.
Use it today
Tonight, write three sentences about your day with regular verbs such as werken, fietsen, koken or bellen, for example Ik heb soep gekookt. Before you write each ending, find the stem and ask yourself: is that letter on the ship?