How to conjugate English verbs in Dutch

'Ik heb het systeem geüpgraded.' It may sound a little strange in Dutch, but linguistically it is correct. We are seeing more and more English verbs becoming established in the Dutch language. Although they retain their English pronunciation, they are conjugated in the Dutch manner. In this article, we explain the rules and provide a list of examples.

A mnemonic

To determine whether to write a verb in the past tense with a d or a t, use one of the well-known mnemonics: 't kofschip or soft ketchup. Look at the last letter of the verb stem. If it appears in your mnemonic (s, f, t, k, ch, p), write a t. In other cases, write a d.

For example:
Werken - werk - werkte
Wandelen - wandel - wandelde

Dutch rules for English verbs

English verbs follow the Dutch rules. The main difference with Dutch verbs is that you cannot take the stem of the verb, but must look at the entire verb.

There are two special features when conjugating English words:

1. Start from the final sound

An English verb can end in a letter combination that does not occur in Dutch. In that case, start from the final sound instead of the final letter. Example: brainwash ends in a hissing sound, so it is conjugated with a t.

2. Verbs with a stem ending in -e

Verbs ending in -e are conjugated with a t: delete, deleted, deleted and tape, tapete, tapete.

Examples of conjugated English verbs