DUTCH VERBS - Ziggomembers.home.nl/rondeleeuw/dutchverbs.pdf · 5 Verbs 11 5.1.4 zijn-verbs and hebben-verbs Dutch verbs are divided into two categories, irrespective whether they

DUTCH VERBS

An introduction to Dutch verbs

Ron de Leeuw

1

2

Contents

I Introduction to the tutorial 4

1 Prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 IPA [aI phI: eI] (International Phonetic Alphabet) . . . . . . . . . 5

3 Short and long vowel sounds and their spelling . . . . . . . . . . 6

3.1 Long and short vowel sounds and their occurence . . . . . . . . . 6

4 Personal pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

5 Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

5.1 The basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

5.1.1 The tenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

5.1.2 Continuous tenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5.1.3 Most basic verbs: zijn, hebben, and zullen . . . . . . . . . 10

5.1.4 zijn-verbs and hebben-verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

5.1.5 Types of verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

5.2 Regular verbs: weak verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

5.2.1 Regular verbs: weak verbs; simple present and past tense 14

5.2.2 Regular verbs: weak verbs; rules for simple present andpast tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

5.2.3 Regular verbs: weak verbs; when to add: -te(n) or -de(n)? 16

5.2.4 Regular verbs: weak verbs; past participle . . . . . . . . . 17

5.3 Irregular verbs: strong verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

5.3.1 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; rules for simple present andpast tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

5.3.2 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 1 - ij [Efli“] - ee / e [e] . 20

3

5.3.3 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 2a - ie [i] - oo / o [o] . 21

5.3.4 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 2b - ui [œy] - oo / o [o] 22

5.3.5 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 3a - i [I] - o [O] . . . . 23

5.3.6 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 3b - e [E] - o [O] . . . . 24

5.3.7 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 3c - e [e] - oo / o [o] . 25

5.3.8 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 3d - e [e] - ie [i] - o [O] 26

5.3.9 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 4 - e [e] - a [A] - a [a]- o [o] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

5.3.10 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 5a - e [e] - a [A] - a [a]- e [e] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

5.3.11 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 5b - i [I] - a [A] - a [a]- e [e] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

5.3.12 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 6 - a [a] - oe [u] - a [a] 30

5.3.13 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 7a - a [a] - ie [i] - a [a] 31

5.3.14 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 7b - a [A] - i [I] - a [A] 32

5.3.15 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; past participle . . . . . . . . 33

5.4 Irregular verbs: mixed verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5.4.1 Irregular verbs: mixed verbs: type 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5.4.2 Irregular verbs: mixed verbs: type 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

5.5 Irregular verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

4

Part I. Introduction to the tutorial

1 Prologue

This tutorial is a continuation of the tutorial on Dutchnouns which I’ve published in November 2015. In thistutorial I want to help people who learn Dutch as asecond languge to master the Dutch verbs in all theirforms and conjugations.

10th of January 2016, Tilburg, the NetherlandsRon de Leeuw

2 IPA [aI phI: eI] (International Phonetic Alphabet) 5

2 IPA [aI phI: eI] (International Phonetic Alphabet)

The International Phonetic Alphabet is used in this tutorial to clarify the pronunciationof certain vowels, particles, syllables or entire words. I’ve chosen to not use ittoo extensively. Because it might be distracting to especially the layman.

The International Phonetic Alphabet (in short: IPA) is an alphabetic systemof phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin alphabet. It was devised bythe International Phonetic Association as a standardised representation of thesounds of oral language. The IPA is used by lexicographers, foreign languagestudents and teachers, linguists, speech-language pathologists, singers, actors,constructed language creators, and translators.

If you like to read to more about the International Phonetic Alphabet then youmight start with the Wikipedia article about the IPA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet

3 Short and long vowel sounds and their spelling 6

3 Short and long vowel sounds and their spelling

The Dutch spelling is based on the pronunciation of the language. There aretwo types of vowels: long and short vowel sounds. Think of the o in bomb or ingo. These vowels are pronounced differently but are respresented by the samevowel. The terms long and short are not used by linguists, these use preciseand complex descriptions for every vowel. These descriptions are not used inthis tutorial it would make this tutorial far less accessible for a layman. Youmight also check the Wikipedia page about Dutch phonology.

The difference between a long and a short vowel sound is crucial in Dutch. Inseveral cases it makes a difference in meaning. For example the noun: boom[bo:m] (tree) and the noun: bom [bOm] (bomb).

3.1 Long and short vowel sounds and their occurence

It is important to know whether a syllable is open or closed. A syllable isconsidered closed when it ends in a consonant, otherwise it is considered tobe open. The so-called long vowel sounds can occur in both closed and opensyllables. Short vowel sounds only occur in closed syllables; with one exceptionthe schwa [@] written as e in -en in plurals and infinitives. In closed syllableslong vowel sounds are written with two identical vowels, short vowel sounds arewritten with one vowel, like in: boom (tree) and bom (bomb).

This works for nouns but also for verbs. Thus, the verb: leren [le.R@(n)] (tolearn) is made up by the syllables: le and ren. The last syllable begins with aconsonant, the schwa [@] usually demands to be preceded by a consonant. Thus,le must be a syllable on its own and it is an open syllable, which means the erepresents a long vowel sound.

The verb ’leren’ conjugated to the the simple past 1st person singular becomes:leerde [leR.d@]. In this example the d precedes the schwa [@]. The r closes thefirst syllable. The e is in this case a long vowel sound and therefore it must bedoubled to ee. In order to maintain the pronunciation of a short vowel sound,like in bakken, the consonant is doubled. One to close the first syllable and oneto start the last one.

(IPA) short written invowel sounds closed syllables

A aE eI iO oY u

(IPA) long written invowel sounds closed syllables open syllables

a aa ae ee ei ie io oo oy uu u

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_phonology

4 Personal pronouns 7

4 Personal pronouns

Pronoun

Language

1 st person singular

2nd person singular

f

3 rd person singular

♂

♀

{

f

1 st person plural

2nd person pluralf

3 rd person plural

Subject Form

Dutch English

ik I

jij

youje*

gij†

ge*

u

hijhe

ie*p / die*�

zijshe

ze*

hetit

’t*

u you

wijwe

we*

jullieyou

u

zijthey

ze*

Object Form

Dutch English

mijme

me*

jou

youje*

u

hemhim

’m*p

haarher

’r*p / d’r�

het it

u you

ons us

jullieyou

u

hena / hundthem

ze*

Possessive Adjective

Dutch English

mijnmy

m’n*

jouw / dijn†

yourje*

uw

zijn his

haar her

- its

uw your

onsŤ/ onzeŢ our

jullieyour

uw

hun their

Possessive Pronoun

Dutch English

mijne mine

jouweyours

uwe

zijne his

hare hers

- its

uwe yours

onze ours

-yours

uwe

hunne theirs

♂ masculine � objectionable

♀ feminine a accusative case

{ neuter d dative case

* unstressed ˇ associated with het-nouns and diminutives

f formal ˘ associated with de-nouns and plurals

p informal † archaic, poetical and/or dialectical

• The asterisk: * indicates that the respective pronoun is an unstressed variant ofthe previously listed pronoun. Many of the unstressed pronouns in Dutch have incommon that they end in a schwa: [@], with: ie, die, ’t , ’m, ’r , d’r and m’n asthe sole exceptions.

• The lightning bolt: � indicates that the usage of the pronoun is considered ascolloquial and therfore is discouraged to be used in written Dutch. These pronounsare ought, if used at all, to be used in spoken Dutch only.

5 Verbs 8

5 Verbs

A verb is a word that conveys: an action, an occurrence or a state of being.This can apply to either living or lifeless objects, but also to concepts. A verbusually appears in different forms. These are formed in accordance with thegrammatical number and person of the subject.

English DutchIPA

infinitive infinitive

to feel voelen [vu.l@(n)]to see zien [zi:n]to hear horen [Ho:r@n]

5.1 The basics

5.1.1 The tenses

The action described by a verb can happen right now, it may have happened in the past or itmight happen in the future.We use tenses to make clear in what time a certain action, occurence or a state of being takesplace. Due to tenses one can describe that e.g.:

• an apple falls from a tree

• an apple is currently falling from a tree

• an apple fell from a tree a couple of hours (days, weeks, months, years, etc.) ago.

• an apple shall fall from a tree very soon due to an emerging storm.

• an apple will fall from a tree somewhere sometime.

This chart shows you the 8 tenses used in Dutch with its English equivalents. For claritypurposes two columns were added with the Dutch verb: werken and its English cognateconjugated in the 1st person singular.

present

past

future

English Dutch Dutch Dutch English

tense tense abbreviation example translation

simple present onvoltooid tegenwoordige tijd o.t.t. Ik werk I work

present perfect voltooid tegenwoordige tijd v.t.t. Ik heb gewerkt I have worked

simple past onvoltooid verleden tijd o.v.t. Ik werkte I worked

past perfect voltooid verleden tijd v.v.t. Ik had gewerkt I had worked

simple future onvoltooid tegenwoordige toekomende tijd o.t.t.t. Ik zal werken I will work

future perfect voltooid tegenwoordige toekomende tijd v.t.t.t. Ik zou werken I would work

conditional onvoltooid verleden toekomende tijd o.v.t.t. Ik zal gewerkt hebben I will have worked

conditional perfect voltooid verleden toekomende tijd v.v.t.t. Ik zou gewerkt hebben I would have worked

5 Verbs 9

5.1.2 Continuous tenses

In English one also uses six continuous tenses. One would not easily encounterthese tenses in traditional Dutch grammar overviews, but nevertheless they doexist and are used.

present

past

future

English Dutch Dutch English

tense abbreviation example translation

simple present o.t.t. Ik werk I worksimple present continuous o.t.c.t Ik ben aan het werk I am working

present perfect v.t.t. Ik heb gewerkt I have workedpresent perfect continuous v.t.c.t Ik ben aan het werk geweest I have been working

simple past o.v.t. Ik werkte I workedsimple past continuous o.v.c.t. Ik was aan het werk I was working

past perfect v.v.t. Ik had gewerkt I had worked

simple future o.t.t.t. Ik zal werken I will worksimple future continuous o.t.t.c.t. Ik zal aan het werk zijn I will be working

future perfect v.t.t.t. Ik zou werken I would workfuture perfect continuous v.t.t.c.t. Ik zou aan het werk zijn I will be working

conditional o.v.t.t. Ik zal gewerkt hebben I will have workedconditional perfect v.v.t.t. Ik zou gewerkt hebben I would have worked

The Dutch tense names might look a little bit intimidating at first sight. But one will get usedto it after a while. In this chart one can see the literal translation of the Dutch tense namesand the actual translation of the English tense names. The tenses indicated by a lightningbold are not recognised in traditional grammar resources.

Dutch abbreviation literal English Englishtense translation tense

onvoltooid tegenwoordige tijd o.t.t. unfinished present time simple present� onvoltooid tegenwoordige continuerende tijd o.t.c.t. unfinished present continuing time simple present continous

voltooid tegenwoordige tijd v.t.t. finished present time present perfect� voltooid tegenwoordige continuerende tijd v.t.c.t. finished present continuing time present perfect continuous

onvoltooid verleden tijd o.v.t. unfinished past time simple past� onvoltooid verleden continuerende tijd o.v.c.t. unfinished past continuing time simple past continuous

voltooid verleden tijd v.v.t. finished past time past perfectonvoltooid tegenwoordige toekomende tijd o.t.t.t. unfinished present future time simple future

� onvoltooid tegenwoordige toekomende continuerende tijd o.t.t.c.t. unfinished present future continuing time simple future continuousvoltooid tegenwoordige toekomende tijd v.t.t.t. finished present future time future perfect

� voltooid tegenwoordige toekomende continuerende tijd v.t.t.c.t. finished present future continuing time future perfect continuousonvoltooid verleden toekomende tijd o.v.t.t. unfinished past future time conditionalvoltooid verleden toekomende tijd v.v.t.t. finished past future time conditional perfect

5 Verbs 10

5.1.3 Most basic verbs: zijn, hebben, and zullen

Perhaps the most basic verbs in every language: to be and to have. The auxiliaryverb shall plays a special role, but is nevertheless crucial.

zijn - to be simple present

Dutch pronoun Dutch English

ik ben am

jijbent are

u

hijis iszij

het

wij zijn are

jullie zijn are

zij zijn are

hebben - to have simple present


ik heb have

jijhebt have

u

hijheeft haszij

het

wij hebben have

jullie hebben have

zij hebben have

zullen - shall simple present


ik zal shall

jijzult shall

u

hijzal shallzij

het

wij zullen shall

jullie zullen shall

zij zulen shall

zijn - to be simple past


ik was was

jijwas was

u

hijwas waszij

het

wij waren were

jullie waren were

zijn waren were

Past participle: geweest been

Imperative: wees be

hebben - to have simple past


ik had had

jijhad had

u

hijhad hadzij

het

wij hadden had

jullie hadden had

zij hadden had

Past participle: gehad had

Imperative: heb have

zullen - shall simple past


ik zou shall

jijzou shall

u

hijzou shallzij

het

wij zouden should

jullie zouden should

zij zouden should

Past participle: — —

Imperative: — —

The verbs zijn (to be), hebben (to have), and zullen (shall) are without a doubtthe most important auxiliary verbs in Dutch. It is deemed absolutely necessaryto learn these auxiliary verbs first in order to form the most primordial of phrasespossible. Since these verbs are irregular it is essential that one learns these byheart.

5 Verbs 11

5.1.4 zijn-verbs and hebben-verbs

Dutch verbs are divided into two categories, irrespective whether they are:regular or irregular. A verb is either a zijn- or a hebben-verb. This givenmanifests in the conjugation of a the verbs in these respective tenses: presentperfect tense; past perfect tense; conditional tense and conditional perfect tensealways contain a conjugation of the verb zijn or hebben.

zijn-verb: verhuizen (to move out)tense personal finite preposition 2nd verb auxiliary example

pronoun verb + article predicate verb

simple present × × Ik verhuis� simple present continuous × × × × Ik ben aan het verhuizen

present perfect × × × Ik ben verhuisd� present perfect continuous × × × × × Ik ben aan het verhuizen geweest

simple past × × Ik verhuisde� simple past continuous × × × × Ik was aan het verhuizen

past perfect × × × Ik was verhuisdsimple future × × × Ik zal verhuizen

� simple future continuous × × × × × Ik zal aan het verhuizen zijnfuture perfect × × × Ik zou verhuizen

� future perfect continous × × × × × Ik zou aan het verhuizen zijnconditional × × × × Ik zal verhuisd zijn

conditional perfect × × × × Ik zou verhuisd zijn

The construction for a sentence formed with the verb hebben is exactly similarto a sentence formed the verb zijn.

hebben-verb: werken (to work)tense personal finite preposition 2nd verb auxiliary example

pronoun verb + article predicate verb

simple present × × Ik werk� simple present continuous × × × × Ik ben aan het werk

present perfect × × × Ik heb gewerkt� present perfect continuous × × × × × Ik ben aan het werk geweest

simple past × × Ik werkte� simple past continuous × × × × Ik was aan het werk

past perfect × × × Ik had gewerktsimple future × × × Ik zal werken

� simple future continuous × × × × × Ik zal aan het werk zijnfuture perfect × × × Ik zou werken

� future perfect continous × × × × × Ik zou aan het werk zijnconditional × × × × Ik zal gewerkt hebben

conditional perfect × × × × Ik zou gewerkt hebben

5 Verbs 12

5.1.5 Types of verbs

Dutch verbs are either: regular or irregular. Although an irregular verb can besubdivided into three subcategories: strong, mixed or truly irregular.

regular verb • weak

• strongirregular verb • mixed

• truly irregular

A distinction is fairly simple to make;

• A weak verb is a regular verb that is conjugated according to all main conjugationrules. These weak verbs are the easiest verbs to conjugate.

• A strong verb is an irregular verb because it is not conjugated according to themain conjugation rules. However, it does follow a set of subrules, this makesthat a strong verb has its regular tendencies and is sometimes, by some, evenconsidered to be a regular verb.

• A mixed verb is an irregular verb because it is conjugated according to a mixof weak and strong conjugation paterns; these verbs’ conjugation patterns areunfortunately fairly arbitrary and should therefore be learnt by heart.

• A truly irregular verb is a true irregular verb, it is not conjugated according anygiven rule; although some parts can be somewhat regular. Unfortunately, theseverbs are amongst the most frequently used verbs in the Dutch language. Itsconjugation pattern has been altered by frequent usage over the past centuriesand should entirely be learnt by heart.

5 Verbs 13

5.2 Regular verbs: weak verbs

One can use a list with the most frequently used Dutch verbs conjugatedlike here: http://www.mijnwoordenboek.nl/ww.php. But learning how toconjugate the verbs yourself is really much better and eventually quicker thanchecking this list.

http://www.mijnwoordenboek.nl/ww.php

5 Verbs 14

5.2.1 Regular verbs: weak verbs; simple present and past tense

A weak verb is a regular verb that is conjugated according to all main conjugation rules.These weak verbs are the easiest verbs to conjugate.

The verb koken (to cook) is a weak verb. The infinitive of the verb is: kokenand the stem of the verb is: kook*. The stem or the root is used to conjugatethe verb in the right form so it will agree with the person and the number of thesubject. The verb itself will indicate the tense in which the action takes place.

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

koken - to cook simple present


ik kook cook

jijkookt cook

u

hijkookt cookszij

het

wij koken cook

jullie koken cook

zij koken cook

koken - to cook simple past


ik kookte cooked

jijkookte cooked

u

hijkookte cookedzij

het

wij kookten cooked

jullie kookten cooked

zij kookten cooked

The verb baden (to bath) is a weak verb. The infinitive of the verb is: badenand the stem of the verb is: baad.

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

baden - to bath simple present


ik baad bath

jijbaadt bath

u

hijbaadt bathszij

het

wij baden bath

jullie baden bath

zij baden bath

baden - to bath simple past


ik baadde bathed

jijbaadde bathed

u

hijbaadde bathedzij

het

wij baadden bathed

jullie baadden bathed

zij baadden bathed

5 Verbs 15

5.2.2 Regular verbs: weak verbs; rules for simple present and past tense

The rules for the conjugation of a weak verb in the simple present tense:

• The 1st person singular is always solely the stem of the verb. The stem of a verbis usually the infinitive without the -en suffix.

• The 2nd and 3rd person singular is the stem + -t .

• The 2nd person singular is written without the -t when the verb precedes thesubject of the sentence; like in a question.

• The 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural are always equal to the infinitive.

The rules for the conjugation of a weak verb in the simple past tense:

• The 1st, 2nd and 3rd person singular are always conjugated in the same manner.

• The 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural are always conjugated in the same manner.

• The singular persons are formed by: the stem + -te or -de; this is due to thepronunciation of the last consonant of the stem.

• The plural persons are formed by: the stem + -ten or -den; this is due to thepronunciation of the last consonant of the stem.

5 Verbs 16

5.2.3 Regular verbs: weak verbs; when to add: -te(n) or -de(n)?

Weak verbs in Dutch are conjugated in the past tense with either the participles:-te, -ten, -de or -den.

• When the subject is in singular form, the conjugated main verb in thepast tense will take the participles: -te or -de.

• When the subject is in plural form the conjugated main verb in the pasttense wil take the participles: -ten or -den.

In order to decide whether -te(n) or -de(n) should be added to the verb’s stem,one should pay attention to the stem’s last letter. If this last letter is an unvoicedconsonant the verb will take the particle -te(n); if it is voiced: -de(n). Noteverybody will be familiar with voiced and unvoiced consonants, let alone be ableto recognise them. Therefore the mnemonic device: ’t ex-fokschip is created, inwhich all the consonants (t, x, f, k, s, ch or p) are unvoiced. Second-languagelearners tend to prefer the mnemonic: soft ketchup.

• When the verb ends in: t , x , f , k , s, ch or p (think of: soft ketchup) one shouldadd the particle: -te(n).

• In all other cases one adds: -de(n).

• the voiced letters z and v change into the unvoiced counterparts s and f whenat the end of a syllable and followed by the particle -en. The verb is howeverconjugated with the original final letter belonging to the verb’s stem.

5 Verbs 17

5.2.4 Regular verbs: weak verbs; past participle

The past participle of a weak verb always ends in either: -t or -d. Almost thesame rules are applied as for the simple past conjugation.

• A stem starting with either one of the inherent prefixes: be-, ver-, her- or ont- willnot get the prefix ge-.

• When the verb ends in: x , f , k , s, ch or p (think of: soft ketchup) one should addthe particle: -t .

• In all other cases one adds: -d .

• If the verb’s stem already ends in either: -d or -t , the addition of a suffix will beomitted.

• the voiced letters z and v change into the unvoiced counterparts s and f when atthe end of a syllable which is followed by another syllable or a suffix like: -t or-d . However, the verb is conjugated with the original final letter belonging to theverb’s stem. The verb is thus conjugated according a rudimentary stem ending ineither z or v , only to be replaced by s or f .

But the most distinct feature of the past participles in Dutch is that it oftenstarts with the prefix: ge-. But the prefix ge- will not precede the stem whenthis very stem contains one of these inherent prefixes: be-, ver-, her- or ont-. Forexample the past participle of the verb: herinneren (to remember) is: herinnerd.Often confusement arises because the past participle and the conjugation ofthe 3rd person singular in the simple present tense are very much alike andsometimes these are even spelt in the same manner. In this chart examples andtheir conjugations in both forms are shown.

English Dutchprefix stem suffix

past 3rd personverb verb participle present simple

to cook koken ge- kook -t gekookt kooktto bath baden gebaad - gebaad baadtto smoke roken ge- rook -t gerookt rooktto run rennen ge- ren -d gerend rent

to remember herinneren - herinner -d herinnerd herinnertto move out verhuizen - verhuis -d verhuisd verhuistto discover ontdekken - ontdek -t ontdekt ontdektto determine bepalen - bepaal -d bepaald bepaalt

5 Verbs 18

5.3 Irregular verbs: strong verbs

Strong verbs are - contrary to weak verbs - not conjugated according the standardrules. The strong verbs do however follow a set of sub-rules. Characteristicallythe simple past tense undergoes a vowel shift, called: apophony or stem alternation.But also the past participle is affected by this vowel shift*.

* For the sake of clarity the non-official term vowel shift shall be used in this tutorial.

Strong verbs are among the most frequently used regular verbs in the Dutchlanguage; about: 1,400 verbs. It is believed that their frequent use has madethem strong. However it is not uncommon that verbs shift over time from weakto strong and vice versa.

• The infinitive vowel shifts to another vowel when conjugated to the simple pasttense. The vowel length remains irrespective the vowel it gets changed into.

• Strong verbs’ past participles always end in the -en suffix.

• The strong verbs are divided within 7 classes and 6 sub-classes, the verbs areconjugated accordingly. This will be explained further in this tutorial.

There are 7 verb classes and 6 sub-classes for the strong verbs, these are:

verbclass

Class 1

Class 2ab

Class 3

abcd

Class 4

Class 5ab

Class 6

Class 7ab

infinitiveIPAvowel

ij [Efli“]

ie [i]ui [œy]

i [I]e [E]e [E]e [E]

e [e] / [e:]

e [e] / [e:]i [I]

a [a]

a [a]a [A]

simpleIPApast

singular

ee [e]

oo [o]oo [o]

o [O]o [O]oo [o] / [o:]ie [i]

a [A]

a [A]a [A]

oe [u]

ie [i]i [I]

simpleIPApast

plural

e [e]

o [o]o [o]

o [O]o [O]o [o] / [o:]ie [i]

a [a]

a [a]a [a]

oe [u]

ie [i]i [I]

pastIPAparticiple

e [e]

o [o]o [o]

o [O]o [O]o [o] / [o:]o [O]

o [o]

e [e]e [e]

a [a]

a [a]a [A]

Each verb within one class gets conjugated in exactly the same manner.

5 Verbs 19

5.3.1 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; rules for simple present and past tense

The rules for the conjugation of a strong verb in the simple present tense:

• The 1st person singular is always solely the stem of the verb. The stem of a verbis usually the infinitive without the -en suffix.

• The 2nd and 3rd person singular is the stem + -t .

• The 2nd person singular is written without the -t when the verb precedes thesubject of the sentence; like in a question.

• The 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural are always equal to the infinitive.

The rules for the conjugation of a strong verb in the simple past tense:

• The verb undergoes a vowel shift, it depends to what class the verb belongs.- ij [Efli“

] - ee [e] - e [e]

- ie [i] - oo [o] - o [o]

- ui [œy] - o [o] - o [o]

- i [I] - o [O] - o [O]

- e [E] - o [O] - o [O]

- e [E] - oo [o] / [o:] - o [o] / [o:]

- e [E] - ie [i] - o [O]

- e [e] / [o:] - a [A] / [a] - o [o]

- e [e] / [o:] - a [A] / [a] - e [e]

- i [I] - a [A] / [a] - e [e]

- a [a] - oe [u] - a [a]

- a [a] - ie [i] - a [a]

- a [A] - i [I] - a [A]

• The 1st, 2nd and 3rd person singular are always conjugated in the same manner.

• The 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural are always conjugated in the same manner.

All strong verbs are conjugated in a similar manner, they all get conjugatedaccording the class they belong to. With these rules one can conjugate everystrong verb flawlessly in the past tense.

5 Verbs 20

5.3.2 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 1 - ij [Efli“] - ee / e [e]

In class one the digraph ij [Efli“] is changed into: ee / e [e].

English Dutch simple past simple past pastverb verb singular plural participle

to understand begrijpen begreep begrepen begrepento bite bijten beet beten gebeten

to appear / to seem blijken bleek bleken geblekento stay blijven bleef bleven geblevento float drijven dreef dreven gedrevento slide glijden gleed gleden gegledento watch kijken keek keken gekekento get krijgen kreeg kregen gekregen

to suffer lijden leed leden geledento seem lijken leek leken gelekento avoid mijden meed meden gemeden

to praise / to price prijzen prees prezen geprezento drive rijden reed reden geredento rise rijzen rees rezen gerezento write schrijven schreef schreven geschrevento cut snijden sneed sneden gesneden

to lift off stijgen steeg stegen gestegento fight / to battle strijden streed streden gestreden

to disappear verdwijnen verdween verdwenen verdwenento avoid vermijden vermeed vermeden vermedento point wijzen wees wezen gewezen

to be silent zwijgen zweeg zwegen gezwegen

Example for the verb snijden (to cut)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

schrijven - to write simple present


ik schrijf write

jijschrijft write

u

hijschrijft writeszij

het

wij schrijven write

jullie schrijven write

zij schrijven write

schrijven - to write simple past


ik schreef wrote

jijschreef wrote

u

hijschreef wrotezij

het

wij schreven wrote

jullie schreven wrote

zij schreven wrote

5 Verbs 21

5.3.3 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 2a - ie [i] - oo / o [o]

In class 2a the digraph ie [i] is changed into: oo / o [o].

English Dutch simple simple past pastverb verb past plural participle

to offer bieden bood boden gebodento enjoy genieten genoot genoten genoten

to cast / to pour kiezen koos kozen gekozento choose liegen loog logen gelogento lie schieten schoot schoten geschoten

to prohibit verbieden verbood verboden verbodento fly vliegen vloog vlogen gevlogen

Example for the verb kiezen (to choose)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

kiezen - to choose simple present


ik kies smell

jijkiest smell

u

hijkiest smellszij

het

wij kiezen smell

jullie kiezen smell

zij kiezen smell

kiezen - to choose simple past


ik koos smelled

jijkoos smelled

u

hijkoos smelledzij

het

wij kozen smelled

jullie kozen smelled

zij kozen smelled

Example for the verb vliegen (to fly)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

vliegen - to fly simple present


ik vlieg fly

jijvliegt fly

u

hijvliegt flieszij

het

wij vliegen fly

jullie vliegen fly

zij vliegen fly

vliegen - to fly simple past


ik vloog flew

jijvloog flew

u

hijvloog flewzij

het

wij vlogen flew

jullie vlogen flew

zij vlogen flew

5 Verbs 22

5.3.4 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 2b - ui [œy] - oo / o [o]

In class 2b the digraph ui [œy] is changed into: oo / o [o].


to bend buigen boog bogen gebogento crawl kruipen kroop kropen gekropento smell ruiken rook roken gerokento shove schuiven schoof schoven geschovento close sluiten sloot sloten geslootto hide verschuilen verschool verscholen verscholen

Example for the verb ruiken (to smell)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

ruiken - to smell simple present


ik ruik smell

jijruikt smell

u

hijruikt smellszij

het

wij ruiken smell

jullie ruiken smell

zij ruiken smell

ruiken - to smell simple past


ik rook smelled

jijrook smelled

u

hijrook smelledzij

het

wij roken smelled

jullie roken smelled

zij roken smelled

Example for the verb kruipen (to crawl)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

kruipen - to crawl simple present


ik kruip crawl

jijkruipt crawl

u

hijkruipt crawlszij

het

wij kruipen crawl

jullie kruipen crawl

zij kruipen crawl

kruipen - to crawl simple past


ik kroop crawled

jijkroop crawled

u

hijkroop crawledzij

het

wij kropen crawled

jullie kropen crawled

zij kropen crawled

5 Verbs 23

5.3.5 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 3a - i [I] - o [O]

In class 3a the vowel i [I] is changed into: o [O].


to begin beginnen begon begonnen begonnento force dwingen dwong dwongen gedwongento climb klimmen klom klommen geklommento sound klinken klonk klonken geklonkento startle schrikken schrok schrokken geschrokkento jump springen sprong sprongen gesprongento find vinden vond vonden gevondento wind winden wond wonden gewondento win winnen won wonnen gewonnento sing zingen zong zongen gezongento sink zinken zonk zonken gezonken

Example for the verb zingen (to sing)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

zingen - to sing simple present


ik zing sing

jijzingt sing

u

hijzingt singszij

het

wij zingen sing

jullie zingen sing

zij zingen sing

zingen - to sing simple past


ik zong sang

jijzong sang

u

hijzong sangzij

het

wij zongen sang

jullie zongen sang

zij zongen sang

5 Verbs 24

5.3.6 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 3b - e [E] - o [O]

In class 3b the vowel e [E] is changed into: o [O].


to give / to pour schenken schonk schonken geschonkento hit / to meet treffen trof troffen getroffen

to pull trekken trok trokken getrokkento fight vechten vocht vochten gevochtento send zenden zond zonden gezondento swim zwemmen zwom zwommen gezwommen

Example for the verb vechten (to fight)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

vechten - to fight simple present


ik vecht fight

jijvecht fight

u

hijvecht fightszij

het

wij vechten fight

jullie vechten fight

zij vechten fight

vechten - to fight simple past


ik vocht fought

jijvocht fought

u

hijvocht foughtzij

het

wij vochten fought

jullie vochten fought

zij vochten fought

5 Verbs 25

5.3.7 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 3c - e [e] - oo / o [o]

In class 3c the vowel e [e] is changed into: oo / o [o].


to shave scheren schoor schoren geschorento weigh wegen woog wogen gewogento swear zweren zwoor zworen gezworen

Example for the verb scheren (to shave)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

scheren - to shave simple present


ik scheer shave

jijscheert shave

u

hijscheert shaveszij

het

wij scheren shave

jullie scheren shave

zij scheren shave

scheren - to shave simple past


ik schoor shaved

jijschoor shaved

u

hijschoor shavedzij

het

wij schoren shaved

jullie schoren shaved

zij schoren shaved

Example for the verb wegen (to weigh)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

wegen - to weigh simple present


ik weeg weigh

jijweegt weigh

u

hijweegt weighszij

het

wij wegen weigh

jullie wegen weigh

zij wegen weigh

wegen - to weigh simple past


ik woog weighed

jijwoog weighed

u

hijwoog weighedzij

het

wij wogen weighed

jullie wogen weighed

zij wogen weighed

5 Verbs 26

5.3.8 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 3d - e [e] - ie [i] - o [O]

In class 3d the vowel e [e] is changed into: ie [i] and o [O].


to spoil bederven bedierf bedierven bedorvento help helpen hielp hielpen geholpento die sterven stierf stierven gestorven

to throw werpen wierp wierpen geworpento recruit werven wierf wierven geworvento stray zwerven zwierf zwierven gezworven

Example for the verb scheren (to shave)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

scheren - to shave simple present


ik scheer shave

jijscheert shave

u

hijscheert shaveszij

het

wij scheren shave

jullie scheren shave

zij scheren shave

scheren - to shave simple past


ik schoor shaved

jijschoor shaved

u

hijschoor shavedzij

het

wij schoren shaved

jullie schoren shaved

zij schoren shaved

5 Verbs 27

5.3.9 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 4 - e [e] - a [A] - a [a] - o [o]

In class 4 the long vowel sound e [e] is changed into: a [A], a [a] and o [o]. It isa special class because the a in the simple past singular is always pronouncedshort, while the a in the plural form is always long. Class 4 and 5 are the onlyclasses where this occurs continously.


to command bevelen beval bevalen bevolento break breken brak braken gebrokento take nemen nam namen genomento speak spreken sprak spraken gesprokento stab steken stak staken gestokento steal stelen stal stalen gestolen

Example for the verb spreken (to speak)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

spreken - to speak simple present


ik spreek speak

jijspreekt speak

u

hijspreekt speakszij

het

wij spreken speak

jullie spreken speak

zij spreken speak

spreken - to speak simple past


ik sprak spoke

jijsprak spoke

u

hijsprak spokezij

het

wij spraken spoke

jullie spraken spoke

zij spraken spoke

5 Verbs 28

5.3.10 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 5a - e [e] - a [A] - a [a] - e [e]

In class 5a the long vowel sound e [e] is changed into: a [A], a [a] and e [e]. It isa special class because the a in the simple past singular is always pronouncedshort, while the a in the plural form is always long. Classes 4, 5a and 5b arethe only classes where this occurs continously.


to give geven gaf gaven gegevento eat eten at aten gegetento heal genezen genas genazen genezento read lezen las lazen gelezen

to measure meten mat maten gemetento step treden trad traden getreden

to ingurgitate vreten vrat vraten gevretento forget vergeten vergat vergaten vergeten

Example for the verb lezen (to read)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

lezen - to read simple present


ik lees read

jijleest read

u

hijleest readszij

het

wij lezen read

jullie lezen read

zij lezen read

lezen - to read simple past


ik las read

jijlas read

u

hijlas readzij

het

wij lazen read

jullie lazen read

zij lazen read

5 Verbs 29

5.3.11 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 5b - i [I] - a [A] - a [a] - e [e]

In class 5b the long vowel sound i [I] is changed into: a [A], a [a] and e [e]. Itis a small and special class because the a in the simple past singular is alwayspronounced short, while the a in the plural form is always long. Classes 4, 5aand 5b are the only classes where this occurs continously.


to sit zitten zat zaten gezetento lie (resting) liggen lag lagen gelegen

to pray bidden bad baden gebeden

Example for the verb zitten (to sit)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

zitten - to sit simple present


ik zit sit

jijzit sit

u

hijzit sitszij

het

wij zitten sit

jullie zitten sit

zij zitten sit

zitten - to sit simple past


ik zat sat

jijzat sat

u

hijzat satzij

het

wij zaten sat

jullie zaten sat

zij zaten sat

5 Verbs 30

5.3.12 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 6 - a [a] - oe [u] - a [a]

In class 6 the long vowel sound a [a] is changed into: oe [u] and a [a]. It is asmall class that is slowly disappearing.


to carry dragen droeg droegen gedragento dig graven groef groeven gegravento hit slaan sloeg sloegen geslagento sail varen voer voeren gevaren

Example for the verb varen (to sail)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

varen - to sail simple present


ik vaar sail

jijvaart sail

u

hijvaart sailszij

het

wij varen sail

jullie varen sail

zij varen sail

varen - to sail simple past


ik voer sail

jijvoer sail

u

hijvoer sailzij

het

wij voeren sail

jullie voeren sail

zij voeren sail

5 Verbs 31

5.3.13 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 7a - a [a] - ie [i] - a [a]

In class 7a the long vowel sound a [a] is changed into: ie [i] and a [a]. It is asmall class that is slowly disappearing. Most verbs that belonged to this classare these days classified as: mixed verbs; neither weak, nor strong. The exampleof the verb: raden in this chart is considered outdated by most. The verb radenwould rather be considered to be a weak verb and get conjugated accordingly.


to guess raden ried rieden geradento sleep slapen sliep sliepen geslapento blow blazen blies bliezen geblazento let laten liet lieten gelaten

Example for the verb slapen (to sleep)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

slapen - to sleep simple present


ik slaap sleep

jijslaapt sleep

u

hijslaapt sleepszij

het

wij slapen sleep

jullie slapen sleep

zij slapen sleep

slapen - to sleep simple past


ik sliep slept

jijsliep slept

u

hijsliep sleptzij

het

wij sliepen slept

jullie sliepen slept

zij sliepen slept

5 Verbs 32

5.3.14 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; class 7b - a [A] - i [I] - a [A]

In class 7b the short vowel sound a [A] is changed into: i [I] and a [A]. It is a verysmall sub-class that has a very noticible feature: the stressed syllable alwaysends in the consonant digraph ng [ŋ]. This digraph avoids that a consonantmoves to the unstressed syllable (which contains the schwa: @) and leaves thestressed syllable open.


to hang hangen hing hingen gehangento catch vangen ving vingen gevangen

Example for the verb slapen (to sleep)

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

vangen - to catch simple present


ik vang catch

jijvangt catch

u

hijvangt catchzij

het

wij vangen catch

jullie vangen catch

zij vangen catch

vangen - to catch simple past


ik ving caught

jijving caught

u

hijving caughtzij

het

wij vingen caught

jullie vingen caught

zij vingen caught

5 Verbs 33

5.3.15 Irregular verbs: strong verbs; past participle

The past participle of a weak verb always ends in: -en. Almost the same rulesare applied as for the past participle conjugation for weak verbs.

• A stem starting with either one of the inherent prefixes: be-, ver-, her- or ont- willnot get the prefix ge-.

• The strong past participle always ends in: -en.

• In case a digraph is the shifting vowel, like: -ij , -ui or -ie, the end consonant ofthe stem will move to the next syllable and precede the -en suffix.

• In case the shifted vowel is a short sounding one, like: -i to -o ([I] → [O]) or -e to-o ([E] → [O]) the initial end consonant of the stem is doubled and the latter willprecede the -en suffix.

• the voiced letters z and v change into the unvoiced counterparts s and f when atthe end of a syllable which is followed by another syllable or a suffix like: -en. Theverb is however conjugated with the original final letter belonging to the verb’sstem.

The most distinct feature of the past participles in Dutch is that it often startswith the prefix: ge-. But the prefix ge- will not precede the stem when thisvery stem contains one of these prefixes: be-, ver-, her- or ont- inherently. Forexample the past participle of the verb: verdwijnen (to disappear) is: verdween.Although, the conjugation of a strong verb in the 3rd person singular, in thesimple present tense, is often very different from the past participle - unlike weakverbs - the conjugation is still shown in this chart to illustrate the difference.

English Dutch Vowel simpleprefix

rudimentarysuffix

past 3rd personverb verb shift past tense stem participle present simple

to write schrijven ij → ee schreef ge- schre -ven geschreven schrijftto enjoy genieten ie → oo genoot - geno -ten genoten genietto hide verschuil ui → oo school ver- scho -len verscholen schuiltto sing zingen i → o zong ge- zong -en gezongen zingtto swim zwemmen e → o zwom ge- zwom -men gezwommen zwemtto shave scheren ee → oo schoor ge- scho -ren geschoren scheertto help helpen e → ie → o hielp ge- holp -en geholpen helptto speak spreken e → a → o sprak ge- spro -ken gesproken spreektto read lezen e → a → e las ge- le -zen gelezen leestto carry dragen a → oe → a droeg ge- dra -gen gedragen draagtto sleep slapen a → ie → a sliep ge- sla -pen geslapen slaaptto sit zitten i → a → e zat ge- ze -ten gezeten zit

5 Verbs 34

5.4 Irregular verbs: mixed verbs

Mixed verbs are a relative small group of verbs. These verbs are neither weak,nor strong ; they are both. A mixed verb is conjugated according to a definedpattern. It means that the simple past tense can be weak and the past participlecan be strong or vice versa. The mixed verbs are so different from the standardweak verbs that they are almost truly irregular. Several of the mixed verbsare in a transitional phase from either weak to strong or vice versa. Such atransition can takes decades to centuries.

In short there are two types of mixed verbs. The type 2 mixed verbs havea strong simple past tense and a weak past participle. This last type can bedivided in 2 sub-classes; weak past participles with either: a weak or a strongstem. Irrespective the stem, these type 2 past participles are always consideredweak.

type

type 1

type 2

simplepast tense

weak

strong

pastparticiple

strong

weak

participlestem

weak

weakstrong

class

-

ab

5.4.1 Irregular verbs: mixed verbs: type 1

Some examples of mixed verbs belonging to: type 1

5 Verbs 35

English Dutch simpleprefix

rudimentarysuffix

pastverb verb past tense stem participle

(weak) (weak) (weak)

to bake bakken bakte ge- bak -ken gebakkento burst barsten barstte ge- barst -en gebarstento roast braden braadde ge- bra -den gebradento brew brouwen brouwde ge- brouw -en gebrouwento hew houwen houwde ge- houw -en gehouwento laugh lachen lachte ge- lach -en gelachento load laden laadde ge- la -den geladento grind malen maalde ge- ma -len gemalento guess raden raadde ge- rad -en geradento divorce scheiden scheidde ge- scheid -en gescheidento span spannen spande ge- span -nen gespannento bump stoten stootte ge- sto -ten gestotento ban verbannen verbande - verban -nen verbannento fold vouwen vouwde ge- vouw -en gevouwento wash wassen waste ge- was -sen gewassento salt zouten zoutte ge- zou -ten gezouten

5 Verbs 36

5.4.2 Irregular verbs: mixed verbs: type 2

Some examples of mixed verbs belonging to: type 2

English Dutch Vowel simpleprefix

rudimentarysuffix

pastclassverb verb shift past tense stem participle

(strong) (weak / strong) (weak)

to hunt jagen a → oe joeg ge- jaag -d gejaagd ato whiffle waaien a → oe woei ge- waai -d gewaaid ato ask vragen a → oe vroeg ge- vraag -d gevraagd ato say zeggen e → ei zei ge- zeg -d gezegd ato bring brengen e → a bracht gebracht - gebracht bto think denken e → a dacht gedacht - gedacht bto seem dunken u → o docht gedocht - gedocht bto buy kopen o → o kocht gekocht - gekocht b

to search zoeken oe → o zocht gezocht - gezocht b

5 Verbs 37

5.5 Irregular verbs

Like every other natural language Dutch also has a selection of irregular verbs.Irregular verbs do not follow any of the rules, hence the categorisation: irregular.The conjugation of these verbs can only be learnt by heart.

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

Participle

zijn - to be simple present


ik ben am

jijbent are

uhij

is iszijhet

wij zijn are

jullie zijn are

zij zijn are

Present zijnd being

zijn - to be simple past


ik was was

jijwas was

uhij

was waszijhet

wij waren were

jullie waren were

zij waren were

Past zijnd being

Infinitive


2nd person singular


1 st person plural

2nd person plural

3 rd person plural

kunnen - to can simple present


ik kan can

jijkunt can

u

hijkan canzij

het

wij kunnen can

jullie kunnen can

zij kunnen can

kunnen - to can simple past


ik kon could

jijkon could

u

hijkon couldzij

het

wij konden could

jullie konden could

zij konden could

DUTCH VERBS - Ziggomembers.home.nl/rondeleeuw/dutchverbs.pdf · 5 Verbs 11 5.1.4 zijn-verbs and hebben-verbs Dutch verbs are divided into two categories, irrespective whether they

Documents