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    Irregular verbs
    quickinfo

    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. kunnencan and willenwant), and a few monosyllabic verbs (doendo, gaango, slaanhitstaanstand, ziensee).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.

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    Remember that Dutch inflection is stem-based, suffixal. In regularly inflected verbs, there are three forms for the present tense (e.g. hopenhope has hoopstem: 1SG, 2SG (inv), imperative, hooptstem+t: 2SG, 3SG and hopenstem+en: PL) and two for the past (hoopteSG and hooptenPL); 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:


    Table 1
    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
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    Zijnbe 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 gloriethine be the glory. In the case of the polite 2SG pronoun uyou, thou one finds both second and third person forms:

    Example 1

    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 afraidyou are afraid, heb u honger?have.2SG you hungerare 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.

    [+] Auxiliary verbs

    Four more simplex verbs show irregular inflection in the present tense, viz. the modal verbs mogenmay, kunnencan, zullenshall and willenwant. The following table gives an overview.


    Table 2
    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
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    Theoretically, the past participle of the verb zullen is *gezuld, but for grammatical reasons (IPP) it is never used.

    The subjunctive mogemay survives in various fixed constructions, usually with an optative meaning, e.g. moge de beste winnenmay 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 nemenMight you yet questions/remarks have hesitate you then not contact with us up to takeIf 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 thuisblijvenMust we not such-a super reception-mother have, then must one of us two home-stauIf 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 doenwhat would you do (hypothetical), bij het verkeersongeluk zouden vier slachtoffers gevallen zijnat 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 zorgenyou would yet for the drink carewe thought you had agreed to take care of the booze (counterfactual).

    [+] Monosyllabic verbs

    Apart from zijnbe, which was dealt with above, Dutch has five monosyllabic verb stems ending in a vowel: gago, stastand, slahit, doedo and ziesee. Their inflections are given in the table below.


    Table 3
    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

    [+] Strong verbs

    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.

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    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):

    • Class one (most frequent): /ɛi/ - /eː/ - /eː/ - /eː/, for example  kijken  -  keek  -  keken  -  gekekenlook.

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      Verb 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 gekresencry, krijten kreet gekretencry, zijgen zeeg gezegen are obsolete, krijsen can also get weak forms (krijste, gekrijst)), vrijen has a weak preterite (vrijde) as well.

    • Class two: /i/ - /oː/ - /oː/ - /oː/, for example bieden - bood - boden - gebodenoffer, bid, and /œy/ - /oː/ - /oː/ - /oː/, for example stuiven - stoof - stoven - gestovenbe dusty.

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      Verb 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 gelokenclose, zieden zood gezodenboil (also pret. ziedde) and vlieten vloot gevlotenflow are obsolete.

    • Class three (second largest). There are two subclasses: /ɪ/ - /ɔ/ - /ɔ/ - /ɔ/, for example klimmen - klom - klommen - geklommenclimb, and /ɛ/ - /ɔ/ - /ɔ/ - /ɔ/, for example zenden - zond - zonden - gezondensend.

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      Verb 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: bergensalvage is mixed: bergde, geborgen.

    • Class four: /eː/ - /ɑ/ - /aː/ - /oː/, for example breken - brak - braken - gebrokenbreak.

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      Verb 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.

    • Class five: /eː/ - /ɑ/ - /aː/ - /eː/, for example: geven - gaf - gaven - gegevengive, and /ɪ/ - /ɑ/ - /aː/ - /eː/, for example: zitten - zat - zaten - gezetensit.

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      Verb 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 gevroteneat is heard as well.

    • Class six: /aː/ - /u/ - /u/ - /aː/, for example: dragen - droeg - droegen - gedragencarry.

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      Verb 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 - geroepencry, and * - /ɪ/ - /ɪ/ - *, for example vangen - ving - vingen - gevangencatch. In every verb, the vowel denoted * is the same in both cases.

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      The 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 - geroepencry, and * - /ɪ/ - /ɪ/ - *, for example vangen - ving - vingen - gevangencatch.

      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: wassengrow is obsolete, except for certain idiomatic expressions; wassenwash is mixed: waste, gewassen.

    • 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).

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      Verb 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. uitscheidensecrete is regular (scheidde uit, uitgescheiden).

    [+] Partially strong verbs

    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 - gebakkenbake or the preterite is strong (ablaut) and the participle is weak (i.e. in -d/-t), e.g. vragen - vroeg - vroegen - gevraagdask.

    • strong participle (in -en) without ablaut, regular preterite (with -de or -te), e.g. bakken - bakte - gebakkenbake.
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    Verbs involved:

    Example 10

    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 glimlachensmile, grijnslachengrim, and schaterlachenroar with laughter have weak participles in -lacht, e.g. geglimlachtsmiled.

    The preterite form loech with lachenlaugh 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 - gewrokenrevenge.
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    Verbs involved:

    Example 11

    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):
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    Verbs involved:

    Example 12

    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 - gegeteneat
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    Verbs involved:

    Example 13

    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 geplogenhedenhabits)

    wrocht, gewrochtwork, bring about have no current present tense forms

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    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 weesbe! of zijn), the imperative is formally identical to the stem: gago, werk hardwork hard, vergeet je oude moeder nietdon’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 relatievalue 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 zijnbe 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. hebhave cannot be used imperatively in the meaning ‘possess’ (*heb een boekpossess a book) but it can in more idiomatic uses and/or when heb is a light verb: heb meelijhave pity. In the case of the modals the reason cannot be purely semantic, as French has an imperative of veuillerwant in veuillez patienterwant.2PL.IMP.PRS wait.INFplease wait. Dutch has a past tense imperative (had me gebeldhad me calledyou should have called me!(Duinhoven A.M. 2001: 163)), therefore, the “normal” imperative must be considered present tense.

    References:
    • Booij, Geert2002The morphology of DutchOxfordOxford University Press
    • Duinhoven, A.M2001Analyse en synthese in het Nederlands Van Gorcum
    • Haeringen, Coenraad B. van1940De taaie levenskracht van het sterke werkwoordDe Nieuwe Taalgids34241-255
    • Kate Hz., Lambert ten1723Aenleiding tot de kennisse van het verhevene deel der Nederduitsche sprake. Eerste deelUitgeverij Canaletto / Repro-Holland BV, Alphen aan den Rijn 2001
    • Postma, Gertjan1993Jij kan en hij heb - over structuurbehoud van analogische taalveranderingen TABU23115-127
    • Salverda, Reinier2006Over de sterke werkwoorden in het Nederlands, Engels en DuitsNederlands tussen Duits en Engels: Handelingen van de workshop op 30 september en 1 oktober 2005 aan de Freie Universität BerlinLeiden163-182
    • Santen, Ariane van1997Hoe sterk zijn de sterke werkwoordenTaal in tijd en ruimteSNL45-56
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    ABOUT THIS TOPIC
    Author(s):
    Ton van der Wouden
    Category:
    Dutch Morphology
    Publication date:
    07 August 2019
    Keywords:
    verbal inflection inflection verb ablaut strong verb
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