werkwoordstijden: verleden tijd van regelmatige werkwoorden grammar in Dutch

Language: Dutch
Level: A2
Unit: Werkwoorden en tijden
Practice types: 0

What this grammar point covers

The past tense of regular verbs in Dutch is used to talk about actions that happened in the past. Regular verbs follow a simple pattern when forming the past tense.

When to use it

Use this form to describe actions or situations that happened and finished in the past.

Key forms

For most regular verbs, add -de or -te to the stem for singular, and -den or -ten for plural.
The ending depends on the last letter of the stem (use 't kofschip' rule).

Examples

Ik werkte gisteren.

English: I worked yesterday.

Jij luisterde naar muziek.

English: You listened to music.

Wij speelden in het park.

English: We played in the park.

Zij maakte een tekening.

English: She made a drawing.

Tips

Pay attention to the 't kofschip' rule: if the stem ends with one of the letters t, k, f, s, ch, or p, use -te/-ten; otherwise, use -de/-den.
Do not confuse regular verbs with irregular ones; irregular verbs do not follow this pattern.
The stem is the verb without -en at the end (e.g., 'werken' → 'werk').