Vervoegen

Vervoegen is the process of conjugating a Dutch verb—changing it into different forms to express person, number, tense, mood, and voice. The term is standard in grammar descriptions and language learning materials, and the related noun is vervoeging.

In Dutch, most verbs display regular patterns in the present and past tenses, typically by adding endings to the stem. For example, the verb lopen (to walk) in the present tense is: ik loop, jij loopt, hij loopt, wij lopen, jullie lopen, zij lopen. In the simple past: ik liep, jij liep, hij liep, wij liepen, jullie liepen, zij liepen. The past participle is gelopen, and the present participle is lopend. Compound tenses are formed with an auxiliary verb, usually hebben, and for some verbs of movement or change of state, zijn is used (for example, ik ben gelopen).

Some verbs are irregular and do not follow the standard endings. Examples include zijn and hebben. The present tense of zijn is ik ben, jij bent, hij is, wij zijn; the simple past is ik was, jij was, hij was, wij waren; the past participle is geweest. For hebben, the present tense is ik heb, jij hebt, hij heeft, wij hebben; the simple past is ik had, jij had, hij had, wij hadden; the past participle is gehad.

In practice, vervoegen encompasses all forms a verb can take to fit grammatical context, including less frequent moods and tenses in formal grammar. See also conjugation, grammar, and verb inflection.