Hebben
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008The verb “hebben” (which means “to have” in English) is an irregular verb that has many uses. It is one of the most important Dutch verbs.
The Simple Present Tense forms of “Hebben”
| Dutch | English | ||||
| Singular | ik | heb | I | have | |
| hij / zij / het (’t) | heeft | he / she / it | has | ||
| je / jij | hebt | you (informal*) | have | ||
| u | hebt | you (formal*) | have | ||
| Plural | wij | hebben | we | have | |
| jullie | hebben | you (informal*) | have | ||
| u | hebt | you (formal*) | have | ||
| zij | hebben | they | have | ||
| * These are the same in English. | |||||
Examples:
| * | Ik heb een hond.. | I have a dog. |
| * | Zij heeft een baan. | She has a job. |
| * | Je hebt een huis. | You have a house. |
| * | Wij hebben een auto. | We have a car. |
| * | Jullie hebben tid. | You (all) have time. |
| * | Zij hebben te veel tid. | They have too much time. |
The Simple Past Tense forms of “Hebben”
| Dutch | English | ||||
| Singular | ik | had | I | had | |
| hij / zij / het (’t) | had | he / she / it | had | ||
| je / jij | had | you (informal*) | had | ||
| u | had | you (formal*) | had | ||
| Plural | wij | hadden | we | had | |
| jullie | hadden | you (informal*) | had | ||
| u | had | you (formal*) | had | ||
| zij | hadden | they | had | ||
| * These are the same in English. | |||||
Examples:
| * | Gisteren had ik te veel werk. | Yesterday I had too much work. |
| * | Zij had mazelen. | She had measles. |
| * | Gisteren hadden wij plezier op het kermisterrein. |
Yesterday we had fun at the fairground. |
| * | U had een belangrijke invitatie. | You (formal+plural) had an important invitation. |
| * | Zij hadden vorige week tijd. | They had time last week. |
The Perfect Tense forms of “Hebben”
| Dutch | English | ||||
| Singular | ik | heb … gehad | I | have had … | |
| hij / zij / het (’t) | heeft … gehad | he / she / it | has had … | ||
| je / jij | hebt … gehad | you (informal*) | have had … | ||
| u | hebt … gehad | you (formal*) | have had … | ||
| Plural | wij | hebben … gehad | we | have had … | |
| jullie | hebben … gehad | you (informal*) | have had … | ||
| u | hebt … gehad | you (formal*) | have had … | ||
| zij | hebben … gehad | they | have had … | ||
| * These are the same in English. | |||||
Examples:
| * | Ik heb te veel zon gehad. | I have had too much sun. |
| * | Hij heeft een gesprek met haar gehad. |
He has had a conversation with her. |
| * | Zij heeft een schok gehad. | She has had a shock. |
| * | Wij hebben een goede vakantie gehad. | We have had a good holiday. |
| * | Jullie hebben en lange pauze gehad. | You (all) have had a long rest. |
| * | Zij hebben wijn met hun avondeten gehad. |
They have had wine with their dinner. |
The Future Tense forms of “Hebben” (using “zullen”)
The Dutch verb zullen is used to in conjunction with another verb (in this case “hebben”), to refer to actions in the future in much the same way as the words “will”, or “shall” are used in English, e.g. “I will have something tomorrow”, or “I shall have something tomorrow”. However, in English these words are often simplified in everyday speech to: “I’ll have something tomorrow”.
| Dutch | English | ||||
| Singular | ik | zal … hebben | I | will/shall have … | |
| hij / zij / het (’t) | zal … hebben | he / she / it | will/shall have … | ||
| je / jij | zult … hebben | you (informal*) | will/shall have … | ||
| u | zal … hebben | you (formal*) | will/shall have … | ||
| Plural | wij | zullen … hebben | we | will/shall have … | |
| jullie | zullen … hebben | you (informal*) | will/shall have … | ||
| u | zullen … hebben | you (formal*) | will/shall have … | ||
| zij | zullen … hebben | they | will/shall have … | ||
| * These are the same in English. | |||||
Examples:
| * | Ik zal op dinsdag ontbijt met u hebben. |
I will have breakfast with you on Tuesday. |
| * | Hij zal onvoldoende tijd hebben om dat te beëindigen. |
He will have insufficient time to finish that. |
| * | Wij zullen een mooie tijd aan de kust hebben. |
We will have a nice time at the coast. |
| * | U zult het op vrijdag hebben. | You (formal+singular) will have it on Friday. |
| * | Zij zullen rode handboeken volgend jaar hebben. |
They will have red textbooks next year. |
The Future Tense forms of “Hebben” (using “gaan”)
The Dutch verb gaan may be used to in conjunction with another verb (in this case “hebben”), to refer to actions in the future the same way as the verb “go” in English, e.g. “I am going to have something tomorrow”.
| Dutch | English | ||||
| Singular | ik | ga … hebben | I | am going to have … | |
| hij / zij / het (’t) | gaat … hebben | he / she / it | is going to have … | ||
| je / jij | gaat … hebben | you (informal*) | are going to have … | ||
| u | gaat … hebben | you (formal*) | are going to have … | ||
| Plural | wij | gaan … hebben | we | are going to have … | |
| jullie | gaan … hebben | you (informal*) | are going to have … | ||
| u | gaat … hebben | you (formal*) | are going to have … | ||
| zij | gaan … hebben | they | are going to have … | ||
| * These are the same in English. | |||||
Examples:
| * | Ik ga het in ieder geval hebben. | I am going to have it anyway. |
| * | Hij gaat de dag van volgende woensdag hebben. |
He is going to have the day off next Wednesday. |
| * | Wij gaan thee met onze vrienden hebben. |
We are going to have tea with our friends. |
| * | Jullie gaan te veel werk hebben om te doen. |
You (informal+plural) are going to have too much work to do. |
| * | Zij gaan een rit op een trein hebben. | They are going to have a ride on a train. |
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