Geven ("to give") is a strong verb of the e–a–e type, and it is the textbook example of the feature that trips up nearly every English learner: the singular/plural vowel split in the past tense. The singular is ik gaf with a short a, but the plural is wij gaven with a long aa. English has nothing like this — gave is gave whether one person or a crowd did the giving. Getting this split right is the single most important thing on this page. Geven also shows up constantly in the double-object pattern "give someone something" (ik geef hem het boek), so it's worth knowing inside out.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Past (sg.) | Past (pl.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| geven | gaf | gaven | gegeven | hebben |
Classification: strong (class 5, e–a–e). The vowel travels ee → a/aa → ee: present geef, past gaf/gaven, participle gegeven. A weak verb would give geefde / gegeefd; those forms do not exist.
Present tense
The stem is geef-. Note the spelling shift: the infinitive geven has a single v and a single e, but the stem doubles the vowel to ee and turns v into f (Dutch words don't end in v). So ik geef, not ik gev.
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | geef | I give |
| jij / je | geeft | you give |
| u | geeft | you give (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | geeft | he / she / it gives |
| wij / we | geven | we give |
| jullie | geven | you (pl.) give |
| zij / ze | geven | they give |
When je / jij follows the verb, the -t drops: geef je?, never geeft je. The f/v alternation is regular across the language: f when the sound is final or before -t in the stem-based forms (geef, geeft), v when it sits between vowels (geven).
Simple past: gaf / gaven — the vowel split
This is the heart of the page. The strong past splits by number, and the split is vowel length, not just an ending:
| Person | Past form | Vowel |
|---|---|---|
| ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het | gaf | short a |
| wij / jullie / zij (pl.) | gaven | long aa |
In the singular gaf, the a is short and clipped, because it's a closed syllable (it ends in the consonant f). In the plural gaven, the syllable opens up — ga·ven — and an open syllable with a single vowel is long, so the a is pronounced aa even though it's written with one letter. This is not an exception; it's Dutch spelling doing exactly what it always does. But the audible result is a real difference: gaf rhymes with English "off-ish," gaven has the long aa of "father."
Mijn opa gaf me vroeger altijd een knipoog.
My grandpa always used to give me a wink. Singular past 'gaf' — short a.
De buren gaven ons een fles wijn als bedankje.
The neighbours gave us a bottle of wine as a thank-you. Plural past 'gaven' — long aa.
The perfect: hebben + gegeven
Geven takes hebben in the perfect. The participle is gegeven (strong -en ending, vowel back to long ee).
| Person | Perfect | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | heb gegeven | I have given |
| jij / u | hebt gegeven | you have given |
| hij / zij / het | heeft gegeven | he/she/it has given |
| wij / jullie / zij | hebben gegeven | we/you/they have given |
Imperative
The imperative is the bare stem geef — with the f spelling, since it's final.
| Form | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Geef! | singular / general | Give! |
| Geef mij maar het zout. | everyday phrase | Just pass me the salt. |
| Geeft u mij even uw paspoort. | formal (with 'u') | Please give me your passport. (formal) |
The "give someone something" pattern
Geven usually takes two objects: a recipient (indirect) and a thing (direct). Dutch can order them two ways — ik geef hem het boek (recipient first, no aan) or ik geef het boek aan hem (thing first, recipient marked with aan). With a pronoun recipient, the first order is the natural one.
Ik geef hem het boek straks wel terug.
I'll give him the book back later. Double object: 'hem' (recipient) + 'het boek' (thing).
Three model sentences
Geef je me even een seintje als je er bent?
Will you give me a quick heads-up when you arrive? Present, inverted 'geef je' (no -t).
Ze heeft me nooit een eerlijke kans gegeven.
She never gave me a fair chance. Perfect with hebben + participle 'gegeven'.
De docenten gaven veel te veel huiswerk op.
The teachers assigned far too much homework. Plural past 'gaven' — long aa.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hij geefde me een hand.
Incorrect — geven is strong, so the past is 'gaf', not a regularised 'geefde'.
✅ Hij gaf me een hand.
He shook my hand. (lit. gave me a hand)
❌ Wij gaf elkaar een cadeau.
Incorrect — the plural needs the long-vowel form 'gaven', not singular 'gaf'.
✅ Wij gaven elkaar een cadeau.
We gave each other a gift.
❌ Ik heb je het al gegeefd.
Incorrect — the participle is the strong 'gegeven', never 'gegeefd'.
✅ Ik heb het je al gegeven.
I've already given it to you.
❌ Geeft je me de afstandsbediening?
Incorrect — when 'je' follows the verb, the -t drops: 'Geef je me de afstandsbediening?'
✅ Geef je me de afstandsbediening?
Will you hand me the remote?
❌ Ik gev het aan jou.
Incorrect — the stem doubles the vowel and uses f: 'Ik geef het aan jou.'
✅ Ik geef het aan jou.
I'll give it to you.
Key Takeaways
- Strong verb: geef → gaf / gaven → gegeven; never geefde or gegeefd.
- The vowel split: singular gaf (short a), plural gaven (long aa) — the defining trap for English speakers.
- Spelling shift: geven (v) but geef / geeft (f); the stem doubles the vowel to ee.
- Inversion: geef je? drops the -t.
- Double object: ik geef hem het boek or ik geef het boek aan hem; perfect with hebben.
Now practice Dutch
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