The pattern
For most regular verbs, the past participle is ge- plus the stem plus -t or -d, and it goes at the end of the sentence.
- The stem is the ik form of the verb (finding the stem): werk, woon, maak, fiets.
- The stem keeps its own spelling: maak gives gemaakt, fiets gives gefietst.
- Use 't kofschip to choose: in most cases, a stem ending in t, k, f, s, ch or p gives -t, and any other ending gives -d: gewoond, gebeld, geleerd.
- If the stem already ends in t or d, you do not write a second one: gewacht, geantwoord.
- Regular verbs whose infinitive (the dictionary form) has v or z right before -en take -d, even though the stem is written with f or s: leven gives geleefd, reizen gives gereisd. A v or z elsewhere in the verb does not count: vissen gives gevist. The next lesson covers this in detail.
- Verbs with the prefix be- or ver- (and a few others) get no ge-: betalen gives betaald (participles without ge-). Irregular verbs such as eten (gegeten) have their own forms.
Examples
| Ik heb gisteren hard gewerkt. | I worked hard yesterday. |
| Sanne heeft drie jaar in Utrecht gewoond. | Sanne lived in Utrecht for three years. |
| Daan heeft een taart gemaakt. | Daan made a cake. |
| Fatima heeft vanochtend een uur gefietst. | Fatima cycled for an hour this morning. |
| Het heeft de hele dag geregend. | It rained all day. |
| Joris heeft de buurvrouw gebeld. | Joris called the neighbour. |
| Wij hebben een kwartier op de bus gewacht. | We waited a quarter of an hour for the bus. |
| Mei heeft met de huisarts gepraat. | Mei talked to the GP. |
| Lotte heeft koffie gezet. | Lotte made coffee. |
Why it works this way
The six letters in 't kofschip stand for voiceless sounds: you make them with air only, with no buzz in your throat. Put a hand on your throat and say a long s, then a long z, and you will feel the difference. After a voiceless sound, t is the natural partner. That is also why reizen, with its buzzing z, gives gereisd.
You will not hear the d, though. At the end of a Dutch word, d sounds like t, so gewoond and gewerkt both end in a t sound. The choice shows in spelling, and it comes back later in the simple past (woonde, werkte).
Think of the participle as a sandwich: ge- and the t or d are the bread, the stem is the filling. You never change the filling, so maak stays maak in gemaakt.
For word order, picture two bookends: heb or heeft on one side, the participle at the end, and the rest of the sentence in between. English keeps have worked together; Dutch pulls them apart. A phrase with a preposition may sometimes follow the participle, but putting it before is the safe choice.
Remember: 't kofschip is an old type of Dutch sailing ship, and its name holds the letters t, k, f, s, ch and p. Stem ends in one of them? Usually t. Any other letter? Usually d.
Watch out
FoutIk heb gebeld de huisarts.
GoedIk heb de huisarts gebeld.
the participle goes after the object, at the end
FoutIk heb soep gemakt.
GoedIk heb soep gemaakt.
keep the stem maak exactly as it is
FoutWij hebben in Leiden gewoont.
GoedWij hebben in Leiden gewoond.
n is not in 't kofschip, so write d, even though you hear t
FoutIk heb op de trein gewachtt.
GoedIk heb op de trein gewacht.
the stem already ends in t, so you add nothing
Quick check
- Fill in the participle of koken: Priya heeft gisteren ...
- Fill in the participle of horen: Heb jij de bel ...?
- Choose gespeelt or gespeeld: De kinderen hebben buiten ...
- Fix the sentence: Carlos heeft gehuurd een fiets.
Toon de antwoorden
- gekookt: the stem kook ends in k, which is in 't kofschip.
- gehoord: the stem hoor ends in r, so d.
- gespeeld: the stem speel ends in l, so d.
- Carlos heeft een fiets gehuurd. The participle goes to the end.
Use it today
Tonight, write three true sentences about your day with ik heb and a regular verb, such as werken, fietsen or koken. Check each one: is the participle at the end, and did 't kofschip give you t or d?