These three verbs — dragen ("to carry, wear"), jagen ("to hunt, chase"), and varen ("to sail, travel by water") — belong to a small, distinctive strong group whose past tense replaces the aa of the present with oe: draag → droeg, vaar → voer, and (in the strong variant) jaag → joeg. This a → oe ablaut is one of the oldest sound patterns in the language and survives in only a handful of verbs. Two of them carry extra wrinkles: jagen has two legitimate pasts — the strong joeg and a weak jaagde — and varen switches its auxiliary by meaning, taking zijn when it expresses motion from A to B. This page lays out all three paradigms and untangles the choices.
The a → oe pattern at a glance
| Infinitive | Past (sg.) | Past (pl.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dragen | droeg | droegen | gedragen | hebben |
| jagen | joeg / jaagde | joegen / jaagden | gejaagd | hebben |
| varen | voer | voeren | gevaren | zijn / hebben (by meaning) |
The shared logic: the present-tense long aa collapses to oe in the past (draag → droeg, vaar → voer), while the participle returns to a — gedragen, gevaren. (Jagen's participle is the weak gejaagd, a sign that the verb is half-way to becoming regular.) There is no rule that tells you which verbs follow this pattern; you learn them as a set: dragen, jagen, varen, graven (to dig → groef), slaan (to hit → sloeg).
Dragen — to carry, to wear
Present tense
The stem is draag- (the a doubles to aa in the closed singular).
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | draag | I carry / wear |
| jij / je | draagt | you carry / wear |
| u | draagt | you carry / wear (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | draagt | he / she / it carries / wears |
| wij / we | dragen | we carry / wear |
| jullie | dragen | you (pl.) carry / wear |
| zij / ze | dragen | they carry / wear |
When je follows, the -t drops: draag je? Dragen covers both "carry" (a bag) and "wear" (clothes), where English splits the meaning across two verbs.
Simple past and perfect
The past is droeg / droegen (the oe of "boot"); the participle is gedragen (back to a), with hebben.
| Person | Past | Perfect |
|---|---|---|
| ik / jij / hij | droeg | heb / hebt / heeft gedragen |
| wij / jullie / zij | droegen | hebben gedragen |
Vroeger droeg mijn opa altijd een hoed naar de kerk.
My grandpa always used to wear a hat to church. Singular past 'droeg'.
De verhuizers droegen de bank de trap op.
The movers carried the sofa up the stairs. Plural past 'droegen'.
Heb je die jas vorig jaar ook al niet gedragen?
Didn't you wear that coat last year too? Perfect 'heb ... gedragen'.
Jagen — to hunt, to chase
Present tense
The stem is jaag-.
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | jaag | I hunt / chase |
| jij / je | jaagt | you hunt / chase |
| u | jaagt | you hunt / chase (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | jaagt | he / she / it hunts / chases |
| wij / we | jagen | we hunt / chase |
| jullie | jagen | you (pl.) hunt / chase |
| zij / ze | jagen | they hunt / chase |
The two pasts: joeg vs jaagde
Jagen sits exactly on the border between strong and weak. Both pasts are correct standard Dutch:
| Person | Strong (older) | Weak (modern) |
|---|---|---|
| ik / jij / hij | joeg | jaagde |
| wij / jullie / zij | joegen | jaagden |
The strong joeg / joegen follows the a → oe pattern and has a slightly more literary or traditional flavour; the weak jaagde / jaagden is the form most speakers reach for in everyday speech today. The participle, by contrast, is only the weak gejaagd — there is no gejogen. The verb takes hebben.
De hond joeg de kat de tuin door.
The dog chased the cat across the garden. Strong past 'joeg' (traditional).
De prijzen jaagden de inflatie verder op.
Prices drove inflation up further. Weak past 'jaagden' (everyday).
Vroeger hebben ze in deze bossen op herten gejaagd.
They used to hunt deer in these woods. Perfect 'hebben gejaagd' — weak participle only.
Varen — to sail, to go by water
Present tense
The stem is vaar-.
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | vaar | I sail |
| jij / je | vaart | you sail |
| u | vaart | you sail (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | vaart | he / she / it sails |
| wij / we | varen | we sail |
| jullie | varen | you (pl.) sail |
| zij / ze | varen | they sail |
Simple past and perfect — hebben or zijn
The past is voer / voeren; the participle is gevaren. The auxiliary depends on meaning, exactly as with verbs of motion like lopen and rijden:
- zijn when varen expresses a journey from one place to another (a destination is implied or stated) — the standard motion rule.
- hebben when the focus is on the activity itself, with no destination (e.g. "we sailed all afternoon").
| Reading | Auxiliary | Example |
|---|---|---|
| motion to a place | zijn | We zijn naar Texel gevaren. — We sailed to Texel. |
| activity, no destination | hebben | We hebben de hele dag gevaren. — We sailed all day. |
Afgelopen zomer zijn we met een zeilboot naar Friesland gevaren.
Last summer we sailed to Friesland in a sailboat. Motion to a place → zijn.
We hebben uren rondgevaren zonder ergens aan te leggen.
We sailed around for hours without docking anywhere. Activity, no destination → hebben.
De veerboot voer precies op tijd uit de haven.
The ferry sailed out of the harbour right on time. Singular past 'voer'.
Imperatives
| Verb | Imperative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| dragen | draag | Draag jij de boodschappen even? — Will you carry the groceries? |
| jagen | jaag | Jaag me niet zo op. — Don't rush me like that. |
| varen | vaar | Vaar maar voorzichtig de sluis in. — Sail carefully into the lock. |
Common Mistakes
❌ Mijn vader draagde altijd een pak naar zijn werk.
Incorrect — dragen is strong: the past is 'droeg', never 'draagde'.
✅ Mijn vader droeg altijd een pak naar zijn werk.
My father always wore a suit to work.
❌ Ze heeft die schoenen nog nooit gedroegen.
Incorrect — the participle returns to a: 'gedragen', not 'gedroegen'.
✅ Ze heeft die schoenen nog nooit gedragen.
She has never worn those shoes.
❌ De jagers hebben gisteren op fazanten gejogen.
Incorrect — jagen's participle is the weak 'gejaagd'; there is no 'gejogen'.
✅ De jagers hebben gisteren op fazanten gejaagd.
The hunters hunted pheasants yesterday.
❌ We hebben naar het eiland gevaren.
Incorrect — with a destination, motion takes 'zijn', not 'hebben'.
✅ We zijn naar het eiland gevaren.
We sailed to the island.
❌ Het schip vaarde de haven binnen.
Incorrect — varen is strong: the past is 'voer', never 'vaarde'.
✅ Het schip voer de haven binnen.
The ship sailed into the harbour.
Key Takeaways
- The a → oe past unites them: draag → droeg, vaar → voer, and strong jaag → joeg; participles return to a (gedragen, gevaren).
- dragen (hebben) means both "carry" and "wear"; never draagde or gedroegen.
- jagen has two valid pasts: strong joeg (traditional) and weak jaagde (everyday) — but only one participle, gejaagd.
- varen switches auxiliary: zijn for a journey to a place (we zijn naar Texel gevaren), hebben for the activity (we hebben gevaren).
- Learn the whole a → oe set together — dragen, jagen, varen, graven, slaan — since no rule predicts membership.
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
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