---
title: "Patterns in irregular verbs"
level: B1
chapter: "Verbs in time"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/strong-verb-patterns
updated: 2026-10-08
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Patterns in irregular verbs

Irregular Dutch verbs are much less random than they look. Most of them change their vowel in a limited set of fixed patterns, so _schrijven, schreef, geschreven_ and _blijven, bleef, gebleven_ follow exactly the same tune. Learn the six big families below and most new irregular verbs become variations on something you already know.

## The pattern

> Most irregular verbs change their vowel across three forms: the infinitive (the dictionary form), the simple past (the one-word past) and the past participle (the form after _heb_ or _ben_). Verbs that change in the same way form a family.

- **ij, ee, ee**: _schrijven, schreef, geschreven_; _blijven, bleef, gebleven_. Also _kijken_, _rijden_, _krijgen_.
- **ie, oo, oo**: _kiezen, koos, gekozen_; _bieden, bood, geboden_. Also _vliegen_, _schieten_.
- **i, o, o**: _drinken, dronk, gedronken_; _zingen, zong, gezongen_; _beginnen, begon, begonnen_ (no _ge-_ after the prefix _be-_). Also _vinden_, _winnen_. Many have _nk_, _ng_, _nd_ or _nn_ after the _i_.
- **e, a, e**: _geven, gaf, gegeven_; _lezen, las, gelezen_; _eten, at, gegeten_.
- **e, a, o**: _nemen, nam, genomen_; _breken, brak, gebroken_. Also _spreken_.
- **a or oo, ie, a or oo**: _slapen, sliep, geslapen_; _lopen, liep, gelopen_. Also _laten_, _vallen_.
- The plural past adds _-en_: _wij schreven, kozen, dronken, sliepen_. In the two families with _a_, that _a_ becomes long in the plural: _ik gaf_ but _wij gaven_, _ik nam_ but _wij namen_.
- The family names describe sound. In these verb forms, a long _ee_ or _oo_ is written double before a consonant in the same syllable and single when the syllable ends in the vowel: _koos_ but _ge-ko-zen_ ([open and closed syllables](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/open-closed-syllables)). An _f_ or _s_ in the singular often becomes _v_ or _z_ in the plural: _schreef, schreven_; _las, lazen_ ([v and f, z and s](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/v-f-z-s)).

## Examples

| Toen Fatima bij de gemeente werkte, **schreef** ze elke dag tientallen e-mails. | When Fatima worked at the municipality, she wrote dozens of emails every day. |
| Ik ben gisteren thuis **gebleven**, omdat het zo hard regende. | I stayed at home yesterday because it was raining so hard. |
| De buren **boden** aan om onze planten water te geven terwijl wij op vakantie waren. | The neighbours offered to water our plants while we were on holiday. |
| Op Lottes verjaardag **zongen** we zo hard dat de buren aanbelden. | At Lotte's birthday we sang so loudly that the neighbours rang the doorbell. |
| De vergadering was al **begonnen** toen Joris eindelijk binnenkwam. | The meeting had already started when Joris finally came in. |
| Sanne **las** de brief van de huisarts twee keer, omdat ze hem niet meteen begreep. | Sanne read the letter from the GP twice because she didn't understand it straight away. |
| Carlos **nam** de trein van kwart over acht, maar die had vertraging. | Carlos took the quarter past eight train, but it was delayed. |
| Omdat er geen bus meer reed, **liep** Bas naar huis. | Because there were no more buses, Bas walked home. |

## Why it works this way

These verbs are often called strong verbs (_sterke werkwoorden_): they show the past by changing their vowel instead of adding _-te_ or _-de_. Dutch shares this old system with English and German, which is why _drinken, dronk, gedronken_ sounds so much like drink, drank, drunk. The verbs that kept it are mostly everyday ones, and words you use constantly tend to resist change.

The families sort verbs; they do not predict them. The infinitive does not tell you whether a verb is irregular: _rijden_ gives _reed_, but _bevrijden_ (to set free) is regular, _bevrijdde_. _Winnen_ gives _won_, but _pinnen_ (to pay by card) gives _pinde_. Verbs with _e_ are the trickiest, because they spread over several families: _geven_ (_gaf, gegeven_), _nemen_ (_nam, genomen_), _helpen_ (_hielp, geholpen_). There are smaller families too, like _sluiten, sloot, gesloten_, and a few loners such as _zijn, was, geweest_.

So check a new verb once, then file it in its family. That second step is where the real saving happens.

Remember: say each new irregular verb as a set of three, like a little tune: _drinken, dronk, gedronken_. Once a family's tune is in your head, _vinden, vond, gevonden_ is just new words to a melody you already know.

## Watch out

- Not: _Ik drank gisteren te veel koffie._ Say: _Ik dronk gisteren te veel koffie._ (English drank misleads you; in Dutch _drank_ is a noun meaning drinks)
- Not: _Ik heb een nieuwe telefoon gekiesd._ Say: _Ik heb een nieuwe telefoon gekozen._ (_kiezen_ is irregular: _koos, gekozen_)
- Not: _We hebben bij Yara Indonesisch gegaten._ Say: _We hebben bij Yara Indonesisch gegeten._ (in the _e, a, e_ family the participle goes back to _e_)
- Not: _Daan is naar het station geliepen._ Say: _Daan is naar het station gelopen._ (in this family the participle returns to the vowel of _lopen_)
- Not: _Wij schreefen een kaart voor oma._ Say: _Wij schreven een kaart voor oma._ (open syllable, so one _e_, and _f_ becomes _v_)

## Quick check

1. Fill in the simple past of _schrijven_: _Vorig jaar ... Priya haar eerste brief aan de gemeente in het Nederlands._
2. Fill in the past participle of _lezen_: _Heb jij de mail van de huisarts al ...?_
3. Choose the right form: _Joris heeft zijn arm (gebraken / gebroken / gebreken) toen hij van de trap viel._
4. Fix the sentence: _Mei is vorig jaar naar Japan gevliegen._

## Answers

1. _schreef_: the _ij, ee, ee_ family, singular because the subject is _Priya_.
2. _gelezen_: the _e, a, e_ family, so the participle goes back to _e_.
3. _gebroken_: the _e, a, o_ family, like _nemen, genomen_.
4. _Mei is vorig jaar naar Japan gevlogen._: _vliegen_ is in the _ie, oo, oo_ family (_vloog, gevlogen_).

## Use it today

Tonight, write five short sentences about your day in the simple past using _at_, _las_, _dronk_, _liep_ and _schreef_, such as _Ik dronk koffie met Ahmed._ Then say the three forms of each verb out loud and name its family.

## Questions learners ask

**What are the most common vowel patterns in Dutch irregular verbs?**

The big families are ij, ee, ee (schrijven, schreef, geschreven), ie, oo, oo (kiezen, koos, gekozen), i, o, o (drinken, dronk, gedronken), e, a, e (geven, gaf, gegeven), e, a, o (nemen, nam, genomen) and a or oo, ie, a or oo (slapen, sliep, geslapen). Most irregular verbs you meet in daily life fit one of these.

**How can I tell if a Dutch verb is irregular?**

You cannot tell from the infinitive alone: rijden is irregular (reed), but bevrijden is regular (bevrijdde). Check a new verb once in a dictionary or verb list, then learn its three forms and link them to a vowel family.

**What is the past participle of lezen, eten and nemen?**

Lezen and eten belong to the e, a, e family, so their participles are gelezen and gegeten. Nemen belongs to the e, a, o family, so its participle is genomen.

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