Chapter 3: Verb irregularities
In the third chapter you'll find exemption rules for conjugating Dutch verbs. These rules are explained by example verbs. In addition to that the abbreviations are outlined, which the program Verbtime shows when conjugating Dutch verbs.
Strong verbs
Strong verbs are verbs that are built irregularly in the "Indicatief", "Onvoltooid verleden tijd" (OVT/Past) as well as "Voltooid deelwoord" (VD/Past Participle).
Many strong verbs fall into one of 7 categories (10 categories, when counting sub-categories). Within each of these categories the verbs are then built identically again. That means, if you understood the rules for one of the groups, then you are able to correctly build all verbs of this group. However, there are strong verbs, which do not belong to any of the 7 groups and which need to be learned separtely (see rule VIII below).
| # | Rule | Example verb | Verb primitive ending on | Conjugation | |||
| I. | ij-ee-e (#1) | 2. | blijven | "ij" plus consonant | OVT with "ee" (bleef) | VD with "e" (gebleven) | |
| II.a | ie-oo-o (#2a) | 3. | bieden | "ie" plus consonant | OVT with "oo" (bood) | VD with "o" (geboden) | |
| II.b | ui-oo-o (#2b) | 4. | sluiten | "ui" plus consonant | OVT with "oo" (sloot) | VD with "o" (gesloten) | |
| III.a | i-o-o (#3a) | 5. | drinken | "i" plus two consonants | OVT with "o" (dronk) | VD with "o" (gedronken) | |
| III.b | e-o-o (#3b) | 6. | smelten | "e" plus two consonants | OVT with "o" (smolt) | VD with "o" (gemsolten) | |
| IV. | e-a-o (#4) | 7. | nemen | "e" plus consonant | OVT with "a" (nam) | VD with "o" (genomen) | |
| V.a | e-a-e (#5a) | 8. | geven | "e" plus consonant | OVT with "a" (gaf) | VD with "e" (gegeven) | |
| V.b | i-a-e (#5b) | 9. | liggen | "i" plus double consonant | OVT with "a" (lag) | VD with "e" (gelegen) | |
| VI. | a-oe-a (#6) | 10. | varen | "a" plus consonant | OVT with "oe" (voer) | VD with "e" (gevaren) | |
| VII. | [v]-ie-[v] (#7) | 11. | vallen | Vocal "[v]", plus (double)consonant | OVT with "ie" (viel) | VD with "vocal [v]" (gevallen) | |
| VIII. | strong verb | 12. | helpen | Definition in the list of strong verbs | OVT according to list | VD according to list | |
Further building rules
In addition to the above, there are more Dutch conjugation rules, when consonants and vocals in the verb primitive are doubled, or used only in single representation, if a conjugation is using consonant "t" or "d" and how the Voltooid Deelwoord (Past Participle) is built.
| # | Rule | Example verb | Description | ||
| IX. | 't kofschip OVT/VD(t) | 13. | maken | The OVT (Past) and Voltooid Deelwoord is built with "t", if the verb primitive ends on "t, k, f, s, ch, p or x", else with "d" | |
| X. | v => f | 14. | leven (weak) | "v" becomes "f" in OTT (Present) Singular I-III, OVT (Past) all persons, VD and Imperatief | |
| 15. | graven (strong) | "v" becomes "f" in OTT (Present) and OVT (Past) for Singular I-III and Imperatief | |||
| XI. | z => s | 16. | reizen (weak) | "z" becomes "s" in OTT (Present) Singular I-III, OVT (Past) all persons, VD and Imperatief | |
| 17. | lezen (strong) | "z" becomes "s" in OTT (Present) and OVT (Past) for Singular I-III and Imperatief | |||
| XII. | [v]-[vv] | 18. | hopen | The last vocal in the verb primitive gets doubled for OTT (Present) Singular I-III, OVT (Past), VD and Imperatief for verbs with only one vocal | |
| XIII. | e-ee | 19. | repareren | The last vocal in the verb primitive gets doubled for OTT (Present) Singular I-III, OVT (Past), VD and Imperatief for elen/eren/enen verbs | |
| XIV. | (cc-c) | 20. | stillen (weak) | The double consonant is removed in OTT (Present) Singular I-III, OVT (Past) all persons, VD and Imperatief | |
| 21. | zwemmen (strong) | The double consonant is removed in OTT (Present) and OVT (Past) for Singular I-III and Imperatief | |||
| XV. | (tt) | 22. | groeten | In the OTT (Present) Singular II/III, as well as VD and Imperatief no additional "t" is appended, as the verb primitive already ends on "t" | |
| XVI. | (dd) | 23. | landen | In the Voltooid Deelwoord no additional "d" is appended, as the verb primitive already ends on "d" | |
| XVII. | (ge) | 24. | verminderen | In the Voltooid Deelwoord "ge" is not added, in case the verb begins with a non-separable verb prefix | |
also see:
Chapter 1: General Information
Chapter 2: The regular verbs
Chapter 3: Verb irregularities
Chapter 4: The irregular verbs
Chapter 5: Appendix