hebben

To Have (Hebben)

Level 1

hebben (to have) is an irregular verb used to show ownership (I have a book) or to form the past tense (I have worked).

How It Works

The verb hebben is one of the most important verbs in Dutch. It has three main roles:

1. Possession: Just like in English, it shows you own something.
Ik heb een hond. (I have a dog.)

2. Auxiliary Verb: It is the primary helper verb for the perfect tense (VTT).
Ik heb gegeten. (I have eaten.)

3. Idiomatic States: Dutch uses hebben for physical feelings where English uses 'to be'.

  • Honger hebben (To be hungry / 'To have hunger')
  • Gelijk hebben (To be right / 'To have right')

Conjugation Table (Present Tense):

  • ik heb (I have) - Pronunciation tip: The final 'b' sounds like a 'p' due to final devoicing.
  • jij hebt (you have) - Note: becomes 'heb jij' in inversion.
  • u hebt / heeft (you formal have) - Both are correct. Unlike 'jij', the -t is kept in inversion: 'Hebt u?'.
  • hij/zij/het heeft (he/she/it has) - Irregular form.
  • wij/jullie/zij hebben (we/you/they have)

Past Tense & Participle:
To become proficient in using hebben, you should also know its past tense forms: had (singular) and hadden (plural). The past participle is gehad.

Examples (5)

  1. Ik heb een nieuwe fiets.

    I have a new bicycle.

    Word by Word: I have a new bicycle.

    A simple example of 'hebben' used for possession with the first-person singular 'ik'.

  2. Heeft hij een broer?

    Does he have a brother?

    Word by Word: Has he a brother?

    Shows the irregular third-person singular form 'heeft' in a question.

  3. Wij hebben vandaag veel werk.

    We have a lot of work today.

    Word by Word: We have today much work.

    The plural form 'hebben' is identical to the infinitive.

  4. Heb je honger?

    Are you hungry?

    Word by Word: Have you hunger?

    Demonstrates an idiomatic state and the dropping of the -t in 'heb je' due to inversion.

  5. Ik heb gisteren een film gekeken.

    I watched a movie yesterday.

    Word by Word: I have yesterday a film watched.

    Here 'hebben' acts as an auxiliary verb to form the past tense.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'hebt' for the third person (hij/zij/het).

    Hij hebt een auto.
    Hij heeft een auto.

    While regular verbs add -t to the stem, 'hebben' is irregular. The correct form for he/she/it is 'heeft'.

  • Keeping the -t in questions with 'jij'.

    Hebt jij een pen?
    Heb jij een pen?

    In Dutch, when 'jij' or 'je' follows the verb in a question, the -t ending is dropped.

  • Using 'zijn' (to be) for hunger or thirst.

    Ik ben honger.
    Ik heb honger.

    English speakers often translate 'I am hungry' literally. In Dutch, you 'have' hunger, not 'are' hunger.

How It Connects

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hebbenLevel 1To Have (Hebben)

Learn This First

To learn the conjugation of 'hebben', you must first be familiar with Dutch subject pronouns and the general concept of how verbs change their endings to match the subject.

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