schreef

Schreef is the simple past tense form of the Dutch verb schrijven, meaning to write. It is used with singular subjects to indicate a completed action in the past (ik schreef, jij schreef, hij/zij/het schreef). The corresponding plural past tense is schreven (wij schreven, jullie schreven, zij schreven). The past participle of schrijven is geschreven, used with the auxiliary hebben to form the present perfect: ik heb geschreven, hij heeft geschreven.

Schrijven is a strong-verb in Dutch, and schreven reflects an irregular past tense form within the verb’s conjugation. The present tense form is schrijf, while the past tense forms change to schreef and schreven, with schreef serving as the singular past and schreven as the plural past. The past participle unchanged in spelling will be geschreven, as noted, and is used in compound tenses such as ik heb geschreven.

In everyday language, many Dutch speakers prefer the present perfect (heb geschreven) over the simple past in conversation, especially in the Netherlands. The simple past, including schreef, can still occur in formal writing, narrative prose, or historical contexts to describe events as completed in the past.

Beyond its linguistic use, schrijf/schreef can appear as a proper name in some Dutch-speaking contexts, though it is not common as a given name. Overall, schreef is primarily recognized as the past tense form of een werkwoord meaning to write, with schreven forming the plural past and geschreven as the past participle.