Vragen ("to ask") is a textbook mixed verb: it changes its vowel in the past like a strong verb (vroeg), but takes the dental -d participle of a weak verb (gevraagd). That split — strong past, weak participle — is exactly what "mixed" means, and vragen is one of the handful of Dutch verbs you simply have to learn this way. On top of the conjugation, vragen carries a preposition problem that English doesn't prepare you for: vragen om (to ask for) versus vragen naar (to ask about / after). This page nails down both.
Principal parts
The principal parts are the four forms from which everything else is built.
| Infinitive | Simple past (sg.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|
| vragen | vroeg | gevraagd | hebben |
Classification: mixed. The past vroeg / vroegen shows a strong vowel change (a → oe), but the participle gevraagd is built the weak way, with ge- + stem + -d. A purely weak past vraagde does exist, but today it is dated / regional; in modern standard Dutch the past is vroeg.
Present tense
The present is fully regular. The stem is vraag (the infinitive vragen minus -en, with the single a spelled as long aa in the closed syllable).
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | vraag | I ask |
| jij / je | vraagt | you ask |
| u | vraagt | you ask (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | vraagt | he / she / it asks |
| wij / we | vragen | we ask |
| jullie | vragen | you (pl.) ask |
| zij / ze | vragen | they ask |
Note the spelling shift: the single a of vragen doubles to aa in the singular (vraag, vraagt) because the syllable is now closed and the vowel must stay long. When jij is inverted, the -t drops: vraag jij?, never vraagt jij. With u the -t stays: vraagt u?.
Ik vraag me af of dit wel een goed idee is.
I wonder whether this is really a good idea. (zich afvragen = to wonder.)
Simple past: vroeg and vroegen
This is the form that surprises learners. Despite the weak participle, the past is strong: singular vroeg, plural vroegen.
| Person | Past form |
|---|---|
| ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het | vroeg |
| wij / jullie / zij (pl.) | vroegen |
Ze vroeg of ik even kon helpen met de afwas.
She asked whether I could help with the dishes for a minute. Singular past 'vroeg'.
The perfect: hebben + gevraagd
Vragen builds its perfect with hebben, like nearly all transitive verbs — you ask something, so the action takes an object and the auxiliary is hebben. The participle is gevraagd.
| Person | Perfect | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | heb gevraagd | I have asked |
| jij / u | hebt gevraagd | you have asked |
| hij / zij / het | heeft gevraagd | he/she/it has asked |
| wij / jullie / zij | hebben gevraagd | we/you/they have asked |
The participle ends in -d, not -t: the stem vraag ends in a voiced g, so by the standard "soft" rule (the stem's final sound is voiced) the suffix is -d. You hear a final -t sound — Dutch devoices word-final consonants — but you write gevraagd.
Imperative
The imperative is the bare stem vraag ("ask!").
| Form | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Vraag! | singular / general | Ask! |
| Vraag het maar. | everyday phrase | Go ahead and ask. |
| Vraagt u gerust. | formal (with u) | Feel free to ask. (formal) |
Vragen om vs. vragen naar
Here is the part English doesn't prepare you for. Vragen takes different prepositions for different meanings, and neither maps cleanly onto English "ask for / about."
- vragen om = to ask for something, to request it. You want to receive the thing.
- vragen naar = to ask about / after something or someone, to inquire. You want information.
Het kind vroeg om nog een koekje.
The child asked for another cookie. 'vragen om' = request something you want to get.
Een man aan de telefoon vroeg naar jou.
A man on the phone asked for / about you. 'vragen naar' = inquire after a person.
When you simply ask a question or ask a person, you often need no preposition at all — the object is direct: Ik vraag het aan mijn moeder ("I'll ask my mother"), where the person takes aan.
Three model sentences
Mag ik je iets vragen?
May I ask you something? Direct object 'iets', no preposition.
Ik heb de buurman om hulp gevraagd.
I asked the neighbour for help. Perfect 'heb ... gevraagd' + 'om' for a request.
De agent vroeg naar mijn rijbewijs.
The officer asked for / to see my driving licence. Past 'vroeg' + 'naar' to inquire.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ze vraagde of ik mee wilde.
Incorrect — the modern standard past is strong: 'vroeg'. 'Vraagde' is dated/regional.
✅ Ze vroeg of ik mee wilde.
She asked whether I wanted to come along.
❌ Ik heb gevraagt.
Incorrect — the participle ends in -d (voiced stem 'vraag'): 'gevraagd', even though it sounds like -t.
✅ Ik heb het al gevraagd.
I've already asked.
❌ Hij vroeg naar een glas water.
Incorrect — requesting something uses 'om', not 'naar': he wants to receive water.
✅ Hij vroeg om een glas water.
He asked for a glass of water.
❌ Iemand vroeg om jou bij de balie.
Incorrect — inquiring after a person uses 'naar', not 'om'.
✅ Iemand vroeg naar jou bij de balie.
Someone asked for you at the desk.
❌ Vraagt jij het even?
Incorrect — inverted 'jij' drops the -t: 'Vraag jij het even?'
✅ Vraag jij het even?
Could you ask, quickly?
Key Takeaways
- Mixed verb: strong past vroeg / vroegen, weak participle gevraagd.
- Present stem vraag (single a doubles to aa in the singular); inverted jij drops the -t (vraag jij?).
- Perfect with hebben: ik heb gevraagd. The participle is spelled with -d, pronounced -t.
- vragen om = ask for / request; vragen naar = ask about / inquire after; a person you ask takes aan.
- The weak past vraagde is dated — say vroeg.
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Zeggen, Vertellen, Vragen, Antwoorden — Communication VerbsA2 — The four core Dutch communication verbs in one place: zeggen (say), vertellen (tell), vragen (ask), antwoorden (answer) — compact conjugations, the say-vs-tell distinction English speakers get wrong, and the dat-clause patterns of indirect speech.
- Verb Reference: How to Use These TablesA2 — A guide to reading the verb-reference pages: what each conjugation table shows (present, simple past, perfect with its auxiliary, participle), how strong/weak/mixed verbs are labelled, why the auxiliary is flagged, and which verbs to master first.
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- Strong Verbs: Vowel Change in the PastB1 — How Dutch strong verbs form the simple past by changing the stem vowel, and how their past participle ends in -en — including the singular/plural vowel split that most resources leave out.