Sterke werkwoorden veranderen van klinker in de verleden tijd, zoals bleef, hielp, rook.

(Strong verbs change their vowel in the past tense, such as bleef, hielp, rook.)

  1. In the onvoltooid verleden tijd of strong verbs, you see a vowel change.
  2. In the plural, -en is added.
  3. Nothing is added in the singular.
  4. With strong verbs, no te(n)/de(n) is added.
Categorie (Category)Infinitief (Infinitive)O.v.t. (Past tense)
ij → eeblijven (to stay)
kijken (to look/watch)
rijden (to drive/ride)
lijken (to seem)
...		bleef (stayed)
keek (looked/watched)
reed (drove/rode)
leek (seemed)
...
ie → ookiezen (to choose)
vliegen (to fly)
bieden (to offer)
verliezen (to lose)
...		koos (chose)
vloog (flew)
bood (offered)
verloor (lost)
...
ui → ooruiken (to smell)
sluiten (to close)
fluiten (to whistle)
zuigen (to suck)
...		rook (smelled)
sloot (closed)
floot (whistled)
zoog (sucked)
...
i → obeginnen (to begin)
drinken (to drink)
springen (to jump)
vinden (to find)
...		begon (began)
dronk (drank)
sprong (jumped)
vond (found)
...
e → otrekken (to pull)
vechten (to fight)
zwemmen (to swim)
schenken (to give/pour/gift)
...		trok (pulled)
vocht (fought)
zwom (swam)
schonk (gave/poured/gifted)
...
e → ooscheren (to shave)
wegen (to weigh)
bewegen (to move)
zweren (to swear)
...		schoor (shaved)
woog (weighed)
bewoog (moved)
zwoor (swore)
...
a → ieblazen (to blow)
laten (to let/allow)
slapen (to sleep)
vallen (to fall)		blies (blew)
liet (let/allowed)
sliep (slept)
viel (fell)
e → aeten (to eat)
genezen (to heal/recover)
geven (to give)
vergeten (to forget)		at (ate)
genas (recovered/healed)
gaf (gave)
vergat (forgot)
e → iehelpen (to help)
bederven (to spoil/rot)
scheppen (to create/scoop)
sterven (to die)		hielp (helped)
bedierf (spoiled/rotten)
schiep (created/scooped)
stierf (died)

Overige: (Other:)
i → a



a → oe


ou → ie
e → i
o → e

liggen (to lie)
bidden (to pray)
zitten (to sit)

dragen (to carry/wear)
varen (to sail/travel by water)
graven (to dig)

houden (to hold/keep)
weten (to know)
worden (to become)

lag (lay)
bad (prayed/bathed)
zat (sat)

droeg (carried/wore)
voer (sailed/transported)
groef (dug)


hield (held)
wist (knew)
werd (became)

Exercise 1: Onvoltooid verleden tijd: sterke werkwoorden

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

lag, liet, boden, sprong, bleven, hielp, reden, gaven

1. Rijden:
Jullie ... snel naar de spoedeisende hulp.
(You drove quickly to the emergency department.)
2. Geven:
De hulpdiensten ... belangrijke informatie tijdens de evacuatie.
(The emergency services provided important information during the evacuation.)
3. Blijven:
Wij ... binnen vanwege de brand.
(We stayed inside because of the fire.)
4. Bieden:
We ... hulp bij het spoedgeval.
(We provided help in the emergency.)
5. Springen:
De brandweer ... in actie na de melding.
(The fire brigade sprang into action after the report.)
6. 3-Helpen:
Hij ... de ambulance met het slachtoffer.
(He helped the ambulance with the victim.)
7. Laten:
De agent ... de mensen het gebouw verlaten toen de brand begon.
(The agent let the people leave the building when the fire started.)
8. Liggen:
Het slachtoffer ... op de grond toen de ambulance arriveerde.
(The victim was lying on the ground when the ambulance arrived.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct sentence in each group with the right simple past tense of a strong verb. Pay attention to the vowel change and the correct conjugation without adding extra -te(n)/-de(n).

1.
Incorrect: singular does not take -en and the vowel change is wrong.
Incorrect: strong verbs do not get -de(n) endings in the past tense.
2.
Incorrect: 'kiest' is present tense, not past tense.
Incorrect: strong verbs do not get -de(n) endings in the past tense.
3.
Incorrect: 'vloog' is singular; plural is needed here.
Incorrect: strong verbs do not get -de(n) endings in the past tense.
4.
Incorrect: 'reden' is plural; singular is needed here.
Incorrect: 'rijkte' is wrong, with no vowel change and the wrong ending.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences in the simple past tense. Use the correct strong verbs (for example bleef, keek, reed, koos, dronk, vond, hielp, at, gaf, werd).

Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. Ik blijf altijd lang op mijn werk.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Ik bleef altijd lang op mijn werk.
    (I always stayed late at work.)
  2. Wij drinken koffie in de kantine.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Wij dronken koffie in de kantine.
    (We drank coffee in the canteen.)
  3. Hij vindt het rapport te lang.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Hij vond het rapport te lang.
    (He found the report too long.)
  4. De directeur geeft elke maandag een korte presentatie.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    De directeur gaf elke maandag een korte presentatie.
    (The director gave a short presentation every Monday.)
  5. Jullie kiezen een nieuwe datum voor de vergadering.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Jullie kozen een nieuwe datum voor de vergadering.
    (You chose a new date for the meeting.)
  6. Zij helpt haar collega met de computer.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Zij hielp haar collega met de computer.
    (She helped her colleague with the computer.)

Written by

This content has been designed and reviewed by the coLanguage pedagogical team: About coLanguage

Profile Picture

Kato De Paepe

Business and languages

KdG University of Applied Sciences and Arts Antwerp

University_Logo

Last Updated:

Saturday, 10/01/2026 02:08