Talking about yesterday

In English you say: I worked yesterday. In spoken Dutch you almost always say: I have yesterday worked. It sounds odd in English. It is completely normal in Dutch.

heb / ben (seat two) … then the past word at the very end.

• Ik heb gisteren gewerkt.

  I worked yesterday.

  literally: I have yesterday worked

• Ik heb hem gebeld.

  I called him.

  literally: I have him called

• Ik heb het gezien.

  I saw it.

  literally: I have it seen

So you need two things: heb or ben, and the past word. Here is how to build the past word.

1. 1Take the verb: werken.
2. 2Chop off -en to get the block: werk.
3. 3Stick ge- on the front: gewerk.
4. 4Add -t or -d on the end: gewerkt.

Which one, -t or -d? Say the block out loud. If it ends in a hard, sharp sound (t, k, f, s, ch, p), use -t. Everything else takes -d. If you get it wrong nobody will care — they sound almost identical in speech.

• werken → gewerkt

  worked

  werk ends in k → hard → t

• koken → gekookt

  cooked

  kook ends in k → hard → t

• bellen → gebeld

  called

  bel ends in l → soft → d

• mailen → gemaild

  emailed

  mail ends in l → soft → d

Now: heb or ben? Use heb for almost everything. Use ben when you moved somewhere or changed into something.

• Ik heb gewerkt.

  I worked.

  normal action → heb

• Ik ben naar huis gegaan.

  I went home.

  you moved → ben

• Ik ben ziek geworden.

  I got ill.

  you changed → ben