The pattern
Put geleden after an amount of time for ago, sinds before a starting point for since, and over before an amount of time for in (the future). For a situation that started in the past and is still going on, Dutch normally uses the present tense with al or sinds.
- drie dagen geleden: a finished moment in the past, so the verb is in a past tense, usually the perfect (the past with hebben or zijn): Ik ben drie dagen geleden verhuisd.
- sinds maandag, sinds 2021, sinds mijn verjaardag: sinds plus the moment something began.
- al drie weken: al plus how long it has lasted so far, with the present: Ik werk hier al drie weken.
- al and sinds often team up: Ik werk hier al sinds maart.
- over een uur, over twee weken: counting forward from now. The present tense is usually enough: Ik heb over twee weken vakantie. You will sometimes hear in tien minuten with this meaning too, but over is the usual choice.
- Elsewhere over often means about (een boek over Amsterdam), but before an amount of time it means in.
Examples
| Ik ben drie jaar geleden naar Nederland gekomen. | I came to the Netherlands three years ago. |
| Sanne heeft me een uur geleden gebeld. | Sanne called me an hour ago. |
| Mei woont sinds 2022 in Utrecht. | Mei has lived in Utrecht since 2022. |
| Het regent al sinds vanochtend. | It has been raining since this morning. |
| Ahmed werkt al zes maanden bij de bakker. | Ahmed has worked at the baker's for six months. |
| Hoe lang leer je al Nederlands? | How long have you been learning Dutch? |
| Carlos woont al twee jaar in Delft. | Carlos has lived in Delft for two years (and still does). |
| Carlos heeft twee jaar in Delft gewoond, maar nu woont hij in Leiden. | Carlos lived in Delft for two years, but now he lives in Leiden. |
| Mijn ouders komen over twee weken op bezoek. | My parents are coming to visit in two weeks. |
| De huisarts kan u over tien minuten helpen. | The doctor can see you in ten minutes. |
Why it works this way
Picture a timeline with now in the middle. Geleden points back to a moment that is over. Over points forward to a moment that has not arrived yet. Al and sinds draw a line from the past up to now, and that line is still running.
Dutch picks the tense by asking one question: is it still true now? If yes, it normally uses the present, and al or sinds adds the history. This is the same al (already) from Al, nog, pas, nog niet, niet meer: al twee jaar is literally already two years. English needs its present perfect here (I have lived), which is why English speakers reach for ik heb gewoond. In Dutch, the perfect normally presents the period as finished: Ik heb twee jaar in Delft gewoond usually suggests that you no longer live there. German and Spanish also use the present here, so their speakers often find this part easy. You will also hear sinds twee jaar, but al twee jaar is the safer choice.
The perfect does show up when you count separate events or say that something has not happened: Sinds januari ben ik twee keer ziek geweest. Ik heb Lotte al weken niet gezien. Both are normal Dutch.
Remember: geleden looks back, over looks forward, and al and sinds are a bridge from then to now. While you are still standing on the bridge, the present is your default.
Watch out
NotIk ben geleden een jaar verhuisd.
SayIk ben een jaar geleden verhuisd.
geleden comes after the amount of time
NotIk heb hier sinds 2022 gewoond.
SayIk woon hier sinds 2022.
you still live here, so use the present
NotIk woon hier twee jaar geleden.
SayIk woon hier al twee jaar.
for how long something has lasted up to now, use al
NotTwee jaar geleden ik ben naar Nederland gekomen.
SayTwee jaar geleden ben ik naar Nederland gekomen.
when the time phrase comes first, the verb comes second, before the subject
Quick check
For 1 to 3, fill in geleden, sinds or over.
- Fatima is drie jaar ... naar Nederland gekomen.
- Daan werkt ... januari bij de gemeente.
- We hebben nog tijd: de bus komt pas ... tien minuten.
- Yara still works at the hospital, so this sentence uses the wrong tense. Correct it by changing only the verb: Yara heeft sinds 2024 in het ziekenhuis gewerkt.
Show the answers
- geleden: it follows the amount of time and points to a finished moment.
- sinds: januari is a starting point, not an amount of time.
- over: the bus comes in the future, counted from now.
- Yara werkt sinds 2024 in het ziekenhuis.: she still works there, so the perfect heeft gewerkt becomes the present werkt.
Use it today
Write three true sentences about your own life: one with geleden (when you came here or started a job), one with al (how long you have lived or worked here), and one with over (something coming up). Then practise your answer to Hoe lang woon je al in Nederland? out loud, because you will hear that question a lot.