Perfect Tense with 'hebben' (Voltooid Tegenwoordige Tijd - V.T.T.) (A2)

The perfect tense describes actions that were completed in the past, often with a connection to the present. It's similar to the English "I have worked". Most verbs use hebben as the auxiliary (helping) verb.

Formation:

Subject + Conjugated hebben + (Rest of sentence) + Past Participle

1. Conjugated hebben:

• ik heb
• jij/u/hij/zij/het heeft
• wij/jullie/zij hebben

2. Past Participle (Voltooid Deelwoord):

• Regular Verbs: ge + stem + t (if stem ends in t, k, f, s, ch, p - 't kofschip') OR ge + stem + d (otherwise).
• werken (to work) -> stem werk -> gewerkt
• wonen (to live) -> stem woon -> gewoond
• praten (to talk) -> stem praat -> gepraat (no extra t needed)
• Irregular Verbs: Have unique past participles that must be memorized (e.g., zien -> gezien, kopen -> gekocht).

Examples:

• Ik werk. (I work - Present) -> Ik heb gewerkt. (I have worked - Perfect)
• Zij koopt een boek. (She buys a book - Present) -> Zij heeft een boek gekocht. (She has bought a book - Perfect)
• Wij wonen in Amsterdam. (We live in Amsterdam - Present) -> Wij hebben in Amsterdam gewoond. (We have lived in Amsterdam - Perfect)
• Heb jij de film gezien? (Have you seen the film? - Question)

Key Points:

• The auxiliary verb (hebben) is conjugated according to the subject.
• The main action verb goes to the end of the clause as a past participle.
• This is the most common way to talk about completed past actions in spoken Dutch.