Problems with conjugation of verbs

• Should it be 'u hebt' or 'u heeft'?
• Past tense

Should it be 'u hebt' or 'u heeft'?

It's both OK, although u heeft is slightly more often used.

However, at this site (in Dutch), they choose to use u hebt.

This is because it's more consistent with u kunt, u bent and u zult.

All of these forms are equal to the 2nd person singular, and the same holds for u hebt. You can't say je heeft, but you can say je hebt.

Past tense

D- and t-words

You can categorize verbs in d- or t-words. The crude stem of t-words end in 't', 'h', 'f', 'c', 'k', 's' or 'p'. All other words are d-words.

You can remember these words by the consonants in the expression/word 't kofschip or 't fokschaap, or in the English (fictional) expression 'pocket fish'.

The crude stem is the infinitive, the verb in its unconjugated form (see this English page), but without the -en at the end.

Consequences for past tense

The past tense of a t-verb is '-te' (singular) or '-ten' (plural). The past tense of a d-verb is '-de' (singular) or '-den' (plural). See this English page.

Examples

Lachen (to laugh) is a 't'-word, so its past tense is lachte(n).
Rusten (to rest) is a 't'-word too, so its past tense is rustte(n).

Waaien (to blow (of the wind)) is a 'd'-word, so its past tense is waaide(n).
Doden (to kill) is a 'd'-word, and its past tense is a bit irregular: doodde. But that's a subject for another section.

Links