Nemen ("to take") is a strong verb of the e–a–o type, and like its cousin geven it shows the singular/plural vowel split in the past: ik nam with a short a, but wij namen with a long aa. Its participle, though, breaks the geven pattern: it ends in o — genomen — not in e. Nemen is also the base of one of the most useful separable verbs in everyday Dutch, meenemen ("to take along / bring with you"), so this page covers both the simple verb and how it behaves once a prefix is bolted on.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Past (sg.) | Past (pl.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nemen | nam | namen | genomen | hebben |
Classification: strong (class 4, e–a–o). The vowel runs ee → a/aa → o: present neem, past nam/namen, participle genomen. A weak verb would give neemde / geneemd; those forms do not exist.
Present tense
The stem is neem- (the infinitive nemen doubles its vowel to ee in the stem, the standard open-to-closed spelling adjustment).
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | neem | I take |
| jij / je | neemt | you take |
| u | neemt | you take (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | neemt | he / she / it takes |
| wij / we | nemen | we take |
| jullie | nemen | you (pl.) take |
| zij / ze | nemen | they take |
When je / jij follows the verb, the -t drops: neem je?, never neemt je. The vowel is written ee in neem/neemt (closed syllable, needs two letters to stay long) but a single e in nemen (open syllable ne·men, already long) — same logic as geven/geef.
Simple past: nam / namen — the vowel split
The strong past splits by number, and the difference is vowel length:
| Person | Past form | Vowel |
|---|---|---|
| ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het | nam | short a |
| wij / jullie / zij (pl.) | namen | long aa |
In nam the a is short and clipped, because the syllable is closed by the m. In namen the syllable opens — na·men — so the single a is pronounced long, like the aa in "father." This is exactly the gaf/gaven split, and it deserves the same care: a native speaker hears the difference instantly, and wij nam sounds as wrong to them as "we was" does to you.
Ik nam de eerste trein, anders was ik te laat geweest.
I took the first train, otherwise I'd have been late. Singular past 'nam' — short a.
Ze namen ruim de tijd voor de lunch.
They took plenty of time over lunch. Plural past 'namen' — long aa.
The perfect: hebben + genomen
Nemen takes hebben. The participle is genomen — note the o, not the e you might expect from the present stem.
| Person | Perfect | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | heb genomen | I have taken |
| jij / u | hebt genomen | you have taken |
| hij / zij / het | heeft genomen | he/she/it has taken |
| wij / jullie / zij | hebben genomen | we/you/they have taken |
Imperative
The imperative is the bare stem neem.
| Form | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Neem! | singular / general | Take! |
| Neem maar een koekje. | everyday phrase | Go ahead, take a biscuit. |
| Neemt u plaats. | formal (with 'u') | Please take a seat. (formal) |
The separable compound: meenemen
Meenemen ("to take along, to bring with you") is nemen with the prefix mee-. As a separable verb, the prefix splits off and goes to the end of the clause in main-clause present and past: ik neem mijn paraplu mee. In the perfect, the prefix attaches to the participle and the ge- slots between them: mee·ge·nomen.
Neem je je laptop mee naar kantoor?
Are you taking your laptop to the office? Separable 'mee ... nemen', inverted 'neem je'.
We hebben per ongeluk de verkeerde sleutels meegenomen.
We accidentally took the wrong keys with us. Perfect: prefix + ge + participle = 'meegenomen'.
Three model sentences
Neem gerust nog wat soep, er is genoeg.
Do help yourself to more soup, there's plenty. Imperative 'neem'.
Hij nam ontslag nadat de fusie werd aangekondigd.
He resigned after the merger was announced. Singular past 'nam' in the fixed phrase 'ontslag nemen'.
Heb je je medicijnen vanochtend al ingenomen?
Have you taken your medication this morning yet? Perfect of the related 'innemen'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ik neemde de bus.
Incorrect — nemen is strong, so the past is 'nam', not a regularised 'neemde'.
✅ Ik nam de bus.
I took the bus.
❌ Wij nam een taxi naar huis.
Incorrect — the plural needs the long-vowel form 'namen', not singular 'nam'.
✅ Wij namen een taxi naar huis.
We took a taxi home.
❌ Ik heb te veel hooi op mijn vork geneemd.
Incorrect — the participle is the strong 'genomen', never 'geneemd'.
✅ Ik heb te veel hooi op mijn vork genomen.
I bit off more than I can chew. (idiom; lit. took too much hay on my fork)
❌ We hebben de hond meenemen.
Incorrect — in the perfect the prefix and ge- fuse into the participle: 'meegenomen'.
✅ We hebben de hond meegenomen.
We brought the dog along.
❌ Neemt je je jas mee?
Incorrect — when 'je' follows the verb, the -t drops: 'Neem je je jas mee?'
✅ Neem je je jas mee?
Are you bringing your coat?
Key Takeaways
- Strong verb: neem → nam / namen → genomen; never neemde or geneemd.
- The vowel split: singular nam (short a), plural namen (long aa) — the same trap as gaf/gaven.
- Participle in -o: genomen, not genemen — the e–a–o class.
- Separable meenemen: prefix splits to the clause end (neem … mee); perfect is meegenomen.
- Perfect with hebben: ik heb genomen — no motion, so no zijn.
Now practice Dutch
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