Verb exercises Online Verb Conjugator

For the perfect tense, we use a past participle. For the conjugation of the past participle, we must distinguish between t-verbs and d-verbs (just like we did for the simple past). To establish whether we are dealing with a t-verb or a d-verb, we have to look at the last letter of the verb stem. If this is t, h, f, c, k, s or p, ("pocket fish") it is a t-verb, all other verbs are d-verbs.

past participle = ge + [stem] + t / d

Whether the past participle ends in a -t or -d depends of course on whether the verb is a t or a d-verb.

In Dutch I have made becomes: ik heb gemaakt.

The ge + stem + t/d rule applies to most regular verbs, but there are also verbs that need an extra or different treatment.

Two points to bear in mind for the past participle:

1. A past participle never ends in double t or double d

If the stem ends in -t we do not add an extra t to the past participle, if a stem ends in -d, we skip the extra d. This is actually not really an exception, if you remember that a syllable never ends in two identical consonants.

2. Prefixes be-, er-, ge-, her-, ont- and ver -

All verbs that begin with the prefixes: be-, er-, ge-, her-*, ont-, and ver- do not get ge- before the past participle. The prefix replaces ge-. The rule for forming the past participle is here: (no ge) stem + t/d.

*) In the category of her-words, there are a few exceptions:

A very useful web site is www.verbix.com. It conjugates Dutch verbs for you in all eight tenses.