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Dutch has a number of verbs whose inflection is partly or completely irregular, especially in the formation of the past tense. Only very few verbs are irregular in the present tense. As in many languages, the forms of the verbs for to be (zijn) and to have (hebben) are among the most irregular. Then there are some other auxiliary verbs (e.g. kunnen can and willen want), and a few monosyllabic verbs (doen do, gaan go, slaan hitstaan stand, zien see).The largest group of irregular verbs consists of ca. 200 so-called "strong" verbs, a number of them highly frequent, with irregular formation of past tense and/or past participle, with certain subregularities that can be traced back to the Germanic ablaut system.
Remember that Dutch inflection is stem-based, suffixal. In regularly inflected verbs, there are three forms for the present tense (e.g. hopen hope has hoop stem: 1SG, 2SG (inv), imperative, hoopt stem+t: 2SG, 3SG and hopen stem+en: PL) and two for the past (hoopte SG and hoopten PL); the infinitive has the same form as the present plural (hopen), the present participle is formed by adding /d/ to the infinitive (hopend), and the past participle is derived from the past by means of the prefix ge- and the suffix -d/t (ge-hoop-t).
As in many languages across the world, the forms of the verbs for to be (zijn) and to havehebben are among the most irregular. Their conjugational paradigms are given below:
| function | zijn | hebben |
| Present tense | ||
| 1SG | ben | heb |
| 2SG | bent | hebt |
| 2SG inv | ben | heb |
| 3SG | is | heeft |
| PL | zijn | hebben |
| Past tense | ||
| SG | was | had |
| PL | waren | hadden |
| Past participle | ||
| geweest | gehad |
Zijn be is the only Dutch verb that has an imperative form that is not identical to the verb stem, viz. wees (pl weest) rather than *ben. The present participle, on the other hand, is regular: infinitive plus d(e): zijnd(e) be-ing just like hebbend(e) have-ing. The (obsolete) subjunctive is irregular in the case of zijn as well: u zij de glorie thine be the glory. In the case of the polite 2SG pronoun u you, thou one finds both second and third person forms:
| u bent bang | you are.2SG afraid | you are afraid |
| bent u bang? | are.2SG you afraid | are you afraid |
| u is bang | you are.3SG afraid | you are afraid |
| is u bang? | are.3SG you afraid | are you afraid |
| u hebt honger | you have.2SG hunger | you are hungry |
| hebt u honger? | have.2SG you hunger | are you hungry |
| u heeft honger | you have.3SG hunger | you are hungry |
| heeft u honger? | have.3SG you hunger | are you hungry |
The variants without /t/ (ben u bang ? are.2SG you afraid you are afraid, heb u honger? have.2SG you hunger are you hungry) feel very colloquial, whereas hij heb is considered vulgar. See Postma (1993) on why these forms may have developed in the first place.
Four more simplex verbs show irregular inflection in the present tense, viz. the modal verbs mogen may, kunnen can, zullen shall and willen want. The following table gives an overview.
| function | mogen | kunnen | zullen | willen |
| Present tense | ||||
| 1SG | mag | kan | zal | wil |
| 2SG | mag | kan/kunt | zal/zult | wil/wilt |
| 2SG inv | mag | kan/kun | zal/zul | wil |
| 3SG | mag | kan | zal | wil |
| PL | mogen | kunnen | zullen | willen |
| Past tense | ||||
| SG | mocht | kon | zou | wou/wilde |
| PL | mochten | konden | zouden | wilde/wou(d)en |
| Past participle | ||||
| gemogen | gekund | * | gewild |
Theoretically, the past participle of the verb zullen is *gezuld, but for grammatical reasons (IPP) it is never used.
The subjunctive moge may survives in various fixed constructions, usually with an optative meaning, e.g. moge de beste winnen may the best win. Mocht(en) and moest(en) (the latter especially in Belgium) can also be used as heads of conditional constructions: Mocht u nog vragen/ opmerkingen hebben aarzelt u dan niet contact met ons op te nemen Might you yet questions/remarks have hesitate you then not contact with us up to take If you have any questions or remarks, please do not hesitate to contact us and Moesten we niet zo'n super onthaalmoeder hebben, dan moest één van ons twee thuisblijven Must we not such-a super reception-mother have, then must one of us two home-stau If we hadn'd had such a fantastic nanny, one of us had to stay home.
The past tense of zullen is used in various modal constructions, for example wat zou jij doen what would you do (hypothetical), bij het verkeersongeluk zouden vier slachtoffers gevallen zijn at the traffic-accident would four victims fallen be (as far as we know now) the traffic accident caused four casualties (evidential) and jij zou toch voor de drank zorgen you would yet for the drink care we thought you had agreed to take care of the booze (counterfactual).
Apart from zijn be, which was dealt with above, Dutch has five monosyllabic verb stems ending in a vowel: ga go, sta stand, sla hit, doe do and zie see. Their inflections are given in the table below.
| function | gaan | staan | slaan | doen | zien |
| Present tense | |||||
| 1SG | ga | sta | sla | doe | zie |
| 2SG | gaat | staat | slaat | doet | ziet |
| 2SG inv | ga | sta | sla | doe | zie |
| 3SG | gaat | staat | slaat | doet | ziet |
| PL | gaan | staan | slaan | doen | zien |
| Past tense | |||||
| SG | ging | stond | sloeg | deed | zag |
| PL | gingen | stonden | sloegen | deden | zagen |
| Past participle | |||||
| gegaan | gestaan | geslagen | gedaan | gezien |
Dutch has a group of irregular verbs consisting of ca. 200 so-called "strong" verb stems, a number of them higly frequent, with irregular formation of past tense and/or past participle, with certain subregularities that can be traced back to the Germanic ablaut system.
Booij (2002: 59) notes: "the terms 'regular' and irregular are not fully adequate [...], since these terms suggest that there is no regularity whatsoever involved in stem-alternating verbs. [...] One might therefore prefer the historical terms weak and strong verbs: weak verbs form their past tense by means of suffixation, strong (or ablauting) verbs form their past tense stems by means of vowel alternation. The problem for this latter classification is that there are also irregular verbs that do not fit into the historical class of ablauting verbs, because they have more complex stem alternations in which consonants also play a role. Therefore, the best distinction is that between suffixing verbs (the default class), and stem-alternation verbs.
Traditionally, a number of classes is distinguished (see Wikipedia):
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Class one (most frequent): /ɛi/ - /eː/ - /eː/ - /eː/, for example kijken - keek - keken - gekeken look.
[hide extra information]xVerb stems involved:
Example 2
benijden - beneed - beneden - beneden envy bezwijken - bezweek - bezweken - bezweken succumb, yield bijten - beet - beten - gebeten bite blijken - bleek - bleken - gebleken become clear blijven - bleef - bleven - gebleven stay drijven - dreef - dreven - gedreven float glijden - gleed -gleden - gegleden slide, glide grijpen - greep - grepen - gegrepen grab hijsen - hees - hesen - gehesen hoist kijken - keek - keken - gekeken look knijpen - kneep - knepen - geknepen pinch krijgen - kreeg - kregen - gekregen get krijsen - krees - kresen - gekresen cry krijten - kreet - kreten - gekreten cry kwijten - kweet - kweten - gekweten pay, discharge lijden - leed - leden - geleden suffer lijken - leek - leken - geleken seem mijden - meed - meden - gemeden avoid nijgen - neeg - negen - genegen bow prijzen - prees - prezen - geprezen praise rijden - reed - reden - gereden drive rijgen - reeg - regen - geregen string rijten - reet - reten - gereten tear rijzen - rees - rezen - gerezen rise schijnen - scheen - schenen - geschenen seem schijten - scheet - scheten - gescheten shit schrijden - schreed - schreden - geschreden stride schrijven - schreef - schreven - geschreven write slijpen - sleep - slepen - geslepen sharpen slijten - sleet - sleten - gesleten wear out, wear down smijten - smeet - smeten - gesmeten throw snijden - sneed - sneden - gesneden cut spijten - speet - speten - gespeten remorse splijten - spleet - spleten - gespleten split stijgen - steeg - stegen - gestegen rise strijden - streed - streden - gestreden fight strijken - streek - streken - gestreken iron, bow vrijen - vree - vreeën - gevreeën make love wijken - week - weken - geweken give way wijten - weet - weten - geweten blame wijzen - wees - wezen - gewezen point wrijven - wreef - wreven - gewreven rub zijgen - zeeg - zegen - gezegen strain zwijgen - zweeg - zwegen - gezwegen remain silent Note: krijsen krees gekresen cry, krijten kreet gekreten cry, zijgen zeeg gezegen are obsolete, krijsen can also get weak forms (krijste, gekrijst)), vrijen has a weak preterite (vrijde) as well.
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Class two: /i/ - /oː/ - /oː/ - /oː/, for example bieden - bood - boden - geboden offer, bid, and /œy/ - /oː/ - /oː/ - /oː/, for example stuiven - stoof - stoven - gestoven be dusty.
[hide extra information]xVerb stems involved:
Example 3
bedriegen - bedroog - bedrogen - bedrogen deceive bieden - bood - boden - geboden offer, bid buigen - boog - bogen - gebogen bend druipen - droop - dropen - gedropen drip duiken - dook - doken - gedoken duck, dive fluiten - floot - floten - gefloten whistle genieten - genoot - genoten - genoten enjoy gieten - goot - goten - gegoten pour kiezen - koos - kozen - gekozen choose kluiven - kloof - kloven - gekloven gnaw kruipen - kroop - kropen - gekropen creep, crawl liegen - loog - logen - gelogen lie luiken - look - loken - geloken close pluizen - ploos - plozen - geplozen fluff schieten - schoot - schoten - geschoten shoot schuilen - school - scholen - gescholen shelter schuiven - schoof - schoven - geschoven shift sluipen - sloop - slopen - geslopen steal sluiten - sloot - sloten - gesloten lock, close snuiten - snoot - snoten - gesnoten snuff, blow snuiven - snoof - snoven - gesnoven sniff spruiten - sproot - sproten - gesproten sprout spuiten - spoot - spoten - gespoten squirt stuiven - stoof - stoven - gestoven be dusty verliezen - verloor - verloren - verloren loose vlieden - vlood - vloden - gevloden flee, fly vliegen - vloog - vlogen - gevlogen fly vlieten - vloot - vloten - gevloten flow vriezen - vroor - vroren - gevroren freeze wuiven - woof - woven - gewoven wave zieden - zood - gezoden boil zuigen - zoog - zogen - gezogen suck zuipen - zoop - zopen - gezopen booze zweren - zwoor - zworen - gezworen ulcerate, fester Notes: luiken look geloken close, zieden zood gezoden boil (also pret. ziedde) and vlieten vloot gevloten flow are obsolete.
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Class three (second largest). There are two subclasses: /ɪ/ - /ɔ/ - /ɔ/ - /ɔ/, for example klimmen - klom - klommen - geklommen climb, and /ɛ/ - /ɔ/ - /ɔ/ - /ɔ/, for example zenden - zond - zonden - gezonden send.
[hide extra information]xVerb stems involved:
Example 4
beginnen - begon - begonnen - begonnen begin bergen - borg - borgen - geborgen store delven - dolf - dolven - gedolven dig dingen - dong - dongen - gedongen compete dringen - drong - drongen - gedrongen push, hustle dwingen - dwong - dwongen - gedwongen force klimmen - klom - klommen - geklommen climb schenken - schonk - schonken - geschonken pour, give springen - sprong - sprongen - gesprongen jump stinken - stonk - stonken - gestonken stink treffen - trof - troffen - getroffen hit trekken - trok - trokken - getrokken pull vechten - vocht - vochten - gevochten fight winnen - won -wonnen - gewonnen win zenden - zond - zonden - gezonden send zinken - zonk - zonken - gezonken sink zwellen - zwol - zwollen - gezwollen swell zwemmen - zwom - zwommen - gezwommen swim Notes: bergen salvage is mixed: bergde, geborgen.
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Class four: /eː/ - /ɑ/ - /aː/ - /oː/, for example breken - brak - braken - gebroken break.
[hide extra information]xVerb stems involved:
Example 5
bevelen - beval - bevalen - bevolen command breken - brak - braken - gebroken break nemen - nam - namen - genomen take spreken - sprak - spraken - gesproken speak steken - stak - staken - gestoken stab Notes: one also finds beveelde(n) rather than beval, bevalen.
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Class five: /eː/ - /ɑ/ - /aː/ - /eː/, for example: geven - gaf - gaven - gegeven give, and /ɪ/ - /ɑ/ - /aː/ - /eː/, for example: zitten - zat - zaten - gezeten sit.
[hide extra information]xVerb stems involved:
Example 6
bidden - bad - baden - gebeden pray eten - at - aten - gegeten eat genezen - genas - genazen - genezen heal geven - gaf -gaven - gegeven give lezen - las - lazen - gelezen read liggen - lag - lagen - gelegen lie meten - mat - maten - gemeten measure treden - trad - traden - getreden tread vreten - vrat - vraten - gevreten eat zitten - zat - zaten - gezeten sit Notes: vreten vrat gevroten eat is heard as well.
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Class six: /aː/ - /u/ - /u/ - /aː/, for example: dragen - droeg - droegen - gedragen carry.
[hide extra information]xVerb stems involved:
Example 7
dragen - droeg - droegen - gedragen carry graven - groef - groeven - gegraven dig varen - voer - voeren - gevaren sail -
Class seven: * - /i/ - /i/ - *, for example roepen - riep - riepen - geroepen cry, and * - /ɪ/ - /ɪ/ - *, for example vangen - ving - vingen - gevangen catch. In every verb, the vowel denoted * is the same in both cases.
[hide extra information]xThe seventh class was originally a collection of verbs from the other six classes that exhibited reduplication. Consequently, the sound of the present tense can vary but it is always the same as that of the past participle. There are two variations: * - /i/ - /i/ - *, for example roepen - riep - riepen - geroepen cry, and * - /ɪ/ - /ɪ/ - *, for example vangen - ving - vingen - gevangen catch.
In every verb, the vowel denoted * is the same in both cases.
Verb stems involved:
Example 8
blazen - blies - bliezen - geblazen blow hangen - hing - hingen - gehangen hang houwen - hieuw - hieuwen - gehouwen hew laten - liet - lieten - gelaten let lopen - liep - liepen - gelopen walk raden - ried - rieden - geraden advise, guess roepen - riep - riepen - geroepen cry slapen - sliep - sliepen - geslapen sleep stoten - stiet - stieten - gestoten push vallen - viel - vielen - gevallen fall vangen - ving - vingen - gevangen catch wassen - wies - wiesen - gewassen grow Notes: wassen grow is obsolete, except for certain idiomatic expressions; wassen wash is mixed: waste, gewassen.
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Rest class: This category is for Dutch strong verbs that do not fit into any of the 7 classes, yet are still purely strong (that is, they have a different vowel in the past tense and have a past participle in -en).
[hide extra information]xVerb stems involved:
Example 9
heffen - hief - hieven - geheven raise helpen - hielp - hielpen - geholpen help scheppen - schiep - schiepen - geschapen create scheren - schoor - schoren - geschoren shave sterven - stierf -stierven - gestorven die uitscheiden - scheed uit - scheden uit - uitgescheden stop verwerven - verwierf - verwierven - verworven obtain wegen - woog - wogen - gewogen weigh werpen (wierp - wierpen - geworpen) throw worden (werd - werden - geworden) become zeiken (zeek - zeken - gezeken) piss zweren (zwoer - zwoeren - gezworen) swear zwerven (zwierf - zwierven - gezworven) wander Notes: one finds ook regular scheerde, rather than schoor, and the past tense forms of uitscheiden are often avoided. uitscheiden secrete is regular (scheidde uit, uitgescheiden).
Partially strong verbs show a combination of weak and strong declension: either the preterite is weak (i.e. in -de/-te) and the participle is strong (i.e. in -en), e.g. bakken - bakte - bakten - gebakken bake or the preterite is strong (ablaut) and the participle is weak (i.e. in -d/-t), e.g. vragen - vroeg - vroegen - gevraagd ask.
- strong participle (in -en) without ablaut, regular preterite (with -de or -te), e.g. bakken - bakte - gebakken bake.
Verbs involved:
| bakken - bakte - gebakken | bake |
| bannen - bande - gebannen | put under a ban |
| barsten - barstte - gebarsten | burst, crack |
| braden - braadde - gebraden | roast, broil, fry |
| brouwen - brouwde - gebrouwen | brew |
| heten - heette - geheten | be called |
| hoeven - hoefde - gehoeven | need |
| lachen - lachte - gelachen | laugh |
| laden - laadde - geladen | load |
| malen - maalde - gemalen | grind |
| scheiden - scheidde - gescheiden | split |
| spannen - spande - gespannen | stretch, tighten |
| verbannen - verbande - verbannen | exile, banish |
| vouwen - vouwde - gevouwen | ply |
| wassen - waste - gewassen | wash |
| weven - weefde geweven | wave |
| zouten - zoutte gezouten | salt |
Notes: the compound verbs glimlachen smile, grijnslachen grim, and schaterlachen roar with laughter have weak participles in -lacht, e.g. geglimlacht smiled.
The preterite form loech with lachen laugh is obsolete.
- strong participle (in -en) with ablaut, regular preterite (with -de or -te), e.g. strong participle (in -en) with ablaut, e.g wreken - wreekte - gewroken revenge.
Verbs involved:
| wreken - wreekte - gewroken | revenge |
| zieden - ziedde - gezoden | boil |
Notes: zieden (obsolete) is also found with a strong preterite zood.
- with strong preterite (with ablaut) and weak participle (in -de or -te):
Verbs involved:
| jagen - joeg - gejaagd | hunt |
| klagen - kloeg - geklaagd | complain |
| vragen - vroeg - gevraagd | ask |
| waaien - woei - gewaaid | blow |
Notes: nowadays, regular klaagde is more popular than kloeg, and woei is threatened by regular waaide.
- with irregular preterite with vowel change zeggen (zei - gezegd) say
- with changes in vowels and consonants, e.g. eten - at - aten - gegeten eat
Verbs involved:
| bezoeken - bezocht - bezocht | visit |
| brengen - bracht - gebracht | bring |
| denken - dacht - gedacht | think |
| doen - deed - gedaan | do |
| dunken - docht - gedocht | think, seem |
| durven - durfde/dorst - gedurfd | dare |
| eten - at - aten - gegeten | eat |
| gaan - ging - gegaan | go |
| heffen - hief - geheven | lift |
| houden - hield - gehouden | hold, keep |
| komen - kwam - kwamen - gekomen | come |
| kopen - kocht - gekocht | buy |
| moeten - moest - gemoeten | must |
| plegen - placht | use to |
| slaan - sloeg - geslagen | hit |
| staan - stond - gestaan | stand |
| verliezen - verloor - verloren | lose |
| verstaan - verstond - verstaan | understand |
| vriezen - vroor - gevroren | freeze |
| wrocht, gewrocht | work, bring about |
| weten - wist - geweten | know |
| zien - zag - zagen - gezien | see |
| zoeken - zocht - gezocht | seek |
Notes: plegen has no past participle (but it must have been geplogen, given the old-fashioned drived noun geplogenheden habits)
wrocht, gewrocht work, bring about have no current present tense forms
Given the language's tendency towards systemisation, the "system" of strong verbs is under threat at least since it was first described by (Ten Kate in 1723. Certain verbs that were strong in Ten Kate's time have become weak, that is, more regular. However, frequent verbs tend to retain their irregularities (Van Haeringen 1940), whereas language users become more uncertain if the verbs involved are less frequent (Van Santen 1997). Moreover, other verbs that were weak historically have become strong, probably through analogy (Salverda 2006).
In all verbs but one (viz. irregular wees be! of zijn), the imperative is formally identical to the stem: ga go, werk hard work hard, vergeet je oude moeder niet don’t forget your old mother. The plural form of the imperative is obsolete, it is formed with the suffix –t: werkt hard! work hard. It is rather often found in writing, especially with stems ending in /d/, where one cannot hear the difference, as in the internet example Waardeer jezelf en wordt gelukkig in je relatie value yourself and become happy in your relationship: note that the writer uses the singular form in waardeer, where one does hear the difference with the plural form. The verb zijn be has a special imperative form, viz. wees (pl. weest). Certain verbs, such as the modals, do not have an imperative form, others only in certain usage patterns or meanings, e.g. heb have cannot be used imperatively in the meaning ‘possess’ (*heb een boek possess a book) but it can in more idiomatic uses and/or when heb is a light verb: heb meelij have pity. In the case of the modals the reason cannot be purely semantic, as French has an imperative of veuiller want in veuillez patienter want.2PL.IMP.PRS wait.INF please wait. Dutch has a past tense imperative (had me gebeld had me called you should have called me!(Duinhoven A.M. 2001: 163)), therefore, the “normal” imperative must be considered present tense.
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