Verbs in the present tense
Ik word, jij wordt, word je, hij wordt: they all sound the same. Find the stem, apply one rule about the t, and you spell every form correctly, even when you cannot hear the d.
You can start right here: you need no prior knowledge.
Why
You text your friend: Wanneer word je twaalf? She replies: Ik wordt twaalf in maart. Who wrote it correctly?
You cannot hear the difference. Word, wordt and even wort sound exactly the same. So writing by ear does not help you here.
Still, there is a rule that always works. You find the stem and then look at who is doing it and where that person stands. You had it right: word je. Your friend did not: ik word.
See it
Choose a verb and a person. See what comes after the stem: nothing, a t or the whole verb. Watch what happens when je comes after the verb.
Description of the picture
A verb is built from blocks: the stem in a highlighted block, followed by a green t, or nothing. With ik it shows word, with hij wordt, with word je word again.
Get it
Every verb has a stem (stam). It is easy to find: it is the form that goes with ik. For werken that is ik werk, for worden ik word, for vinden ik vind.
With ik you write only the stem. With jij, je, u, hij, zij, het or a name, a t goes after it: jij werkt, hij wordt, Sara vindt. If the stem already ends in t, no second t is added: hij zet.
One exception: if je or jij comes after the verb, the t drops away. Jij wordt but word je. With hij and u the t always stays: wordt hij, vindt u.
If it is more than one person (wij, jullie, zij, de kinderen), you write the whole verb: wij worden.
The d of the stem always stays, even though you hear a t. Vinden has the stem vind, so hij vindt, with a d and a t.
Stem + t with jij, u, hij and zij. Only the stem with ik and when je or jij comes after the verb. The whole verb in the plural.
Worked example
Fill in: … je morgen ook naar het feest? (gaan) and Mijn zus … morgen twaalf. (worden)
The stem of gaan is the ik form: ik ga.
Je comes after the verb. So the t drops away.
Ga je morgen ook naar het feest?
The stem of worden is ik word.
Mijn zus is one person, like zij: stem + t. The d of the stem stays.
Mijn zus wordt morgen twaalf.
- Answer
Ga je and mijn zus wordt.
Do it
Pick a level. You get a new exercise each time, checked straight away.
Pitfalls
Wrong:
Ik wordtmorgen twaalf.With ik there is never a t after the stem.
Right: Ik word morgen twaalf.
Wrong:
Wordt jemorgen twaalf?If je comes after the verb, the t drops away. You cannot hear it, you have to know it.
Right: Word je morgen twaalf?
Wrong: Hij
vintzijn jas niet.The stem is vind, with a d. That d stays, and with hij a t is added as well.
Right: Hij vindt zijn jas niet.
Wrong:
Wordhij morgen twaalf?The t only drops away with je and jij. With hij it stays, even after the verb.
Right: Wordt hij morgen twaalf?
In real life
- A message in the class group chat: Wanneer word je eigenlijk twaalf? or Wat vind jij van de film?
- An email to your teacher: Wordt de toets van vrijdag uitgesteld? Ik vind de datum niet terug.
- On the menu at the chip shop: Elke portie wordt vers gebakken.
History
The spelling rules are set out in the Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal. Because it has a green cover, everyone calls it the Green Booklet (het Groene Boekje). The first edition appeared in 1954. Today the Netherlands, Flanders and Suriname decide on the spelling together, through the Dutch Language Union (Nederlandse Taalunie).
At the table
Who at the table can spell the form of worden correctly in this sentence: Hoe oud … jij volgend jaar? And why is there no t after it here?
A question to talk about together, for parents and children. There is no wrong answer.