---
title: "Old verb forms in fixed phrases: Leve de koning!"
level: C1
chapter: "Verbs in time"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/fixed-subjunctive
updated: 2026-10-09
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Old verb forms in fixed phrases: Leve de koning!

A handful of old verb forms survive mainly in fixed phrases: _Leve de koning!_, _Het ga je goed_, _Men neme_, _zij het_ and _God zegene je_. They are leftovers of the Dutch subjunctive (a verb form for wishes and for what should happen, rather than for facts). You meet them in speeches, songs, cards, signs and formal texts, so it pays to recognise them, but you never need them to build sentences of your own.

## The pattern

> Old subjunctive forms survive mainly in fixed phrases for wishes, blessings, old-style instructions and concessions (admitting a limit, as in albeit). Recognise them; in everyday sentences, use the normal verb forms.

- Wishes and blessings: _Leve de koning!_ (long live the king), _Het ga je goed_ (all the best), _God zegene je_ (God bless you), _godzijdank_ (thank God)
- Old-style instructions: _Men neme ..._ (take ..., in recipes), _Gelieve ..._ (please ..., on formal signs and in letters)
- Concessions: _zij het_ (albeit), _het zij zo_ (so be it), _hoe het ook zij_ (be that as it may)
- The form usually looks like the infinitive (the dictionary form) without its final -n: _leven_ gives _leve_, _nemen_ gives _neme_, _zegenen_ gives _zegene_. The short verbs _gaan_ and _zijn_ give _ga_ and _zij_. An old past form, _ware_, survives in _als het ware_ (as it were).
- Some frames still take new words: any noun after _Leve_ (_Leve de vrijdag!_), any instruction after _Gelieve_, and fresh wishes with _Moge_ (may), as in _Moge het nieuwe jaar je veel geluk brengen_. Such new sentences are correct, but they sound formal or literary.

## Examples

| Toen de koning op het balkon verscheen, klonk het uit duizenden kelen: **Leve de koning!** | When the king appeared on the balcony, thousands of voices rang out: Long live the king! |
| Op de afscheidskaart voor Joris stond in sierlijke letters: **Het ga je goed!** | The farewell card for Joris said, in elegant lettering: All the best! |
| **Men neme** een fiets, een regenjas en een flinke portie tegenwind, en klaar is Kees. | Take one bike, one raincoat and a generous helping of headwind, and Bob's your uncle. |
| Na de storing reden de treinen naar Groningen weer, **zij het** met een uur vertraging. | After the disruption the trains to Groningen were running again, albeit an hour late. |
| Bij het afscheid op Schiphol fluisterde de oma van Fatima: **God zegene je**, kind. | Saying goodbye at Schiphol, Fatima's grandmother whispered: God bless you, child. |
| De gemeente heeft het plan goedgekeurd, dus de oude kastanjes moeten wijken. **Het zij zo**, maar zonde blijft het. | The council has approved the plan, so the old chestnut trees have to go. So be it, but it's still a shame. |
| Op de deur van de huisartsenpraktijk hangt een bordje: **Gelieve uw fiets niet tegen het raam te zetten.** | On the door of the GP's practice there is a sign: Please do not lean your bike against the window. |
| Bij de beëdiging eindigde de nieuwe minister met de vaste formule: **Zo waarlijk helpe mij God almachtig!** | At the swearing-in, the new minister ended with the set formula: So help me God Almighty! |
| Bij de opening van het nieuwe gemeentehuis sprak de burgemeester: **Moge dit gebouw een huis voor alle inwoners zijn.** | At the opening of the new town hall, the mayor said: May this building be a home for all residents. |

## Why it works this way

Older Dutch had a full subjunctive (in Dutch: _de aanvoegende wijs_) for what is wished, ordered or imagined. Over the centuries, helpers like _moeten_, _laten_ and _ik hoop dat_ took over, and the forms vanished from daily speech. Modern Dutch does not even use them in reported speech, which surprises German speakers.

They survived where people kept repeating the exact same words: cheers, blessings, prayers, oaths and recipes. So today you find them in ritual language: the _Koningsdag_ cheer, a minister's oath, the Christmas song _Ere zij God_, the traditional Lord's Prayer (_Uw naam worde geheiligd_), and modern writers who use _Men neme_ with a wink. Only _moge_ still regularly opens brand-new wishes, and mostly in speeches, sermons and formal cards.

English kept the same fossils: "God save the King" (not "saves"), "long live the King", "so be it", "be that as it may", even "albeit" (from "all be it"). Match them with _God zegene je_, _Leve de koning_, _Het zij zo_, _Hoe het ook zij_ and _zij het_, and the Dutch suddenly feels familiar. It also shows why _Leve de koning!_ is not an [imperative](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/imperative) (an order): nobody is telling the king to live, they are wishing it.

Remember: think of these forms as museum pieces that occasionally leave the museum. Recognise them and enjoy them. A new wish with _moge_ is correct Dutch, but it sounds like a speech or a wedding card. For your own everyday wishes, use the normal present (_Ik hoop dat het je goed gaat_) or the patterns in wishes with maar.

## Watch out

- Not: _Lang leef de koning!_ Say: _Lang leve de koning!_ (_leef_ is an order to you, so it cannot take _de koning_ as its subject)
- Not: _Ik hoop dat het je goed ga in je nieuwe baan._ Say: _Ik hoop dat het je goed gaat in je nieuwe baan._ (after _hopen dat_ Dutch uses the normal present, unlike Spanish)
- Not: _Carlos zei dat de monteur morgen kome._ Say: _Carlos zei dat de monteur morgen komt._ (unlike German, Dutch reported speech uses ordinary verb forms)
- Not: _De wet is aangenomen, zei het met een krappe meerderheid._ Say: _De wet is aangenomen, zij het met een krappe meerderheid._ (_zij_ and _zei_ sound the same, but _zei_ means said)

## Quick check

1. Fill in one word: _Na de verbouwing is de bibliotheek weer open, ... het met kortere openingstijden._
2. On _Koningsdag_ the crowd chants: _Lang ... de koning!_ Choose: _leeft_, _leve_ or _leef_.
3. Fill in the right form of _gaan_: _Ik hoop dat het je in Rotterdam goed ..._
4. Fix the sentence by changing one word: _Volgens de huismeester werke de lift morgen weer._

## Answers

1. _zij_ (_zij het_ means albeit)
2. _leve_ (_leeft_ makes a statement and _leef_ is an order; the cheer needs the old wish form)
3. _gaat_ (outside the fixed farewell _Het ga je goed_, use the normal present)
4. _Volgens de huismeester werkt de lift morgen weer._ (modern Dutch passes on information with the normal present)

## Use it today

Write a farewell or good-luck card for a colleague or neighbour and end it with _Het ga je goed!_ Then add one modern line of your own, such as _Ik hoop dat je het naar je zin hebt in je nieuwe baan_, so the fossil and the living form sit side by side.

## Questions learners ask

**What does Leve de koning mean in Dutch?**

Leve de koning! means "Long live the king!". Leve is an old subjunctive form of leven (to live) that expresses a wish, and it is the cheer you hear on Koningsdag and at royal events.

**What does zij het mean in Dutch?**

Zij het means "albeit" or "though" and adds a limitation to what you just said, mostly in formal writing. For example: De trein reed weer, zij het met vertraging (The train was running again, albeit late).

**Does Dutch still have a subjunctive?**

Hardly: everyday Dutch uses the normal present or helpers like moeten, laten and hopen dat. The old subjunctive survives mainly in fixed phrases such as Het ga je goed, Men neme, God zegene je and Het zij zo, plus formal or literary wishes with moge. You need to recognise these forms, but you never need to produce them.

From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.