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Conjugation
Sample Sentences
Compound Verbs and Common
Combinations with 'Geven'
Related Words

geven   click to hear 2 3 'to give' is a strong verb:

geven
to give
- gaf
gave
- gegeven
given
click to hear

overview
geven to give
ik geef I give
wij geven we give
ik gaf I gave
wij gaven we gave
ik heb gegeven I have given
click to hear 2
Like in almost all strong verbs with an A in the past tense, the A is 'short' in the singular ('ik gaf' click to hear 2) and long in the plural ('wij gaven' click to hear)
Read more about the F/V shift in Plurals

simple present tense
geven to give
ik geef I give
jij geeft you give (singular, informal you)
hij geeft he gives
wij geven we give
jullie geven you give (plural, informal you)
zij geven they give
U geeft you give (polite you)
click to hear

simple past tense
geven to give
ik gaf I gave
jij gaf you gave
hij gaf he gave
wij gaven we gave
jullie gaven y'all gave
zij gaven they gave
U gaf you gave
click to hear

present perfect tense
ik heb gegeven click to hear I have given
auxiliary verb hebben

Sample Sentences

'Geven' is often combined with an object: the thing given - and an indirect object: the person that something is given to. You can also give things aan click to hear ('to') people. ‑>>

Jan geeft Piet een boek click to hear Jan gives Piet a book

Jan geeft een boek aan Piet click to hear Jan gives a book to Piet

Jan heeft Piet een boek gegeven click to hear Jan has given Piet a book

Jan heeft een boek aan Piet gegeven click to hear 2 Jan has given a book to Piet

Jan geeft me een boek click to hear 2 Jan is giving me a book

Ik zal 't hun geven click to hear I'll give it to them

Geef Marietje de bloemen click to hear 2 Give Marietje the flowers ‑>>

Geef haar de bloemen click to hear Give her the flowers

Geef de bloemen aan Marietje click to hear Give the flowers to Marietje

Geef de bloemen aan haar click to hear Give the flowers to her

Geef mij deze dag click to hear Give me this day

Karel geeft Elly een ring click to hear Karel is giving Elly a ring (for on a finger)

Hij geeft haar gele rozen click to hear He's giving her yellow roses

Hij gaf een cadeau aan Jo click to hear He gave a present to Jo

Hij zei dat ik het aan Jan moest geven click to hear He said that I should give it to Jan, he said to give it to Jan

Geld geven is goed click to hear It's good to give, donate money

Ik heb jullie veel woorden gegeven click to hear I've given you guys many words

Ik gaf hem een kwartje click to hear 2 I gave him a quarter (25¢)

Ik gaf een klap click to hear I gave a slap, I slapped, I hit

Ik gaf een schop click to hear I gave a kick, I kicked

Het geeft de mensen hoop click to hear It gives the people hope, it makes people hopeful

Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood click to hear 2 Give us this day our daily bread ‑>>

Hij wil mij morgen in Gouda een boek geven click to hear 2 Tomorrow in Gouda he wants to give me a book

Ik zal Jan morgen in Amsterdam geld geven click to hear Tomorrow in Amsterdam I'll give money to Jan

Volgende week ga ik Elly in Edam bloemen geven click to hear 2 Next week in Edam I'll give Elly flowers

De verpleegster gaf hem gisteren thuis een injectie click to hear Yesterday the nurse gave him a shot at home

The next block of lines show variety in word order. They all mean: Yesterday in Assen I gave Piet a present Ik gaf Piet gisteren in Assen een cadeau. click to hear 2
Ik gaf gisteren in Assen een cadeau aan Piet. click to hear 2
Ik heb gisteren in Assen Piet een cadeau gegeven. click to hear 2
Ik heb Piet gisteren in Assen een cadeau gegeven. click to hear 2
Ik heb gisteren in Assen een cadeau aan Piet gegeven. click to hear 2
Ik heb gisteren in Assen een cadeau gegeven aan Piet. click to hear 2
Gisteren heb ik Piet in Assen een cadeau gegeven. click to hear 2
Gisteren in Assen heb ik Piet een cadeau gegeven. click to hear

Je moet een gegeven paard niet in de bek kijken click to hear 2 3 (saying) You shouldn't look into the mouth of a gift horse' - don't criticize a present

De pijp aan Maarten geven click to hear 2 (saying) ['give] Hand the pipe to Maarten' - to pass away, die

Geen sjoege geven click to hear 2 giving no reaction, showing no emotion' (from Yiddish)

Aanstoot wordt genomen, niet gegeven click to hear 2 3 Offense is taken, not given

Compound Verbs and Common Combinations with 'Geven'

't Geeft niet click to hear 2 3 4 It doesn't matter, it's OK (It doesn't make a difference)

geven click to hear om click to hear
to care about, ~find important, ~like
Hij geeft er niet om click to hear 2 3 He doesn't care about it, it's of no interest to him Ze geven niet om snoep click to hear 2 3 They don't care about candy, they're not interested in candy, they don't have a great liking for candy (hypothetical children)

Hij gaf het boek terug click to hear 2 He gave back, returned the book

Geef 't goede voorbeeld click to hear [Give] Set the right example

Ik geef je geen ongelijk click to hear I'm not saying you're wrong (you're right) ‑>>

les geven click to hear ['to give lessons'] to teach ‑>> college geven click to hear 2 to teach (classes) at a university Ik geef Nederlands click to hear 'I am a teacher of Dutch'

zich geven click to hear 2
'giving yourself' means something like 'dedicating yourself to a noble goal'

Note the difference between Dutch and English:
Ik gaf hem een hand click to hear 2 I shook his hand Ik hielp hem een handje click to hear I gave him a hand

Ze gaf geen antwoord click to hear 2 3 She didn't give an answer, she didn't answer

Ik gaf haar snel een knipoogje click to hear I quickly [gave her a wink] winked at her

Some compound verbs split up in the simple tenses ‑>>

weergeven click to hear 2 ["to give again," - to re-present] - to portray, to depict Je geeft 't slechte weer zo mooi weer click to hear You [represent] depict the bad weather so beautifully Je geeft 't goede weer zo goed weer click to hear 2 You [represent] portray the [good] beautiful weather [so] very well

opgeven click to hear 2 3 to give up, ceasing to make an effort
Ik geef 't op click to hear 2 3 4 5 I give [it] up

Ik heb al m'n gereedschap weggegeven. click to hear I have given away all my tools.

Aangeven click to hear 2 1.'to hand, pass,' put something into someone else's hands (slightly different from regular geven.)
2. 'to indicate, signal'
3. 'to register,' file an official report.
Geef 't aan click to hear 2 3 1. Hand it to me
2. Mark it, indicate it
3. Report it to the police
richting aangeven click to hear 2 3 to indicate, signal (change of) direction (in traffic) ‑>> Je moet 't goed aangeven click to hear 2 3 You'll have to indicate it [well] clearly, mark it well toonaangevend click to hear 2 [setting the tone] - trend-setting, prominent, leading Hij ging de geboorte aangeven click to hear 2 He went to register the birth

overgeven click to hear 2 to throw up, vomit
Ik moest overgeven click to hear I had to throw up (it happened, I couldn't help it) Ik heb overgegeven click to hear 2 I have thrown up Note the very different meaning of the reflexive verb:
zich overgeven click to hear 2 to surrender
ik moest me overgeven click to hear 2 3 I had to surrender (de) overgave click to hear 'surrender'

toegeven click to hear 2 to admit
het moeten toegeven van fouten click to hear (the) having to admit to mistakes het moeten toegeven fouten gemaakt te hebben click to hear 2 3 (the) having to admit to having made mistakes Ik moest toegeven fouten te hebben gemaakt click to hear 2 3 I had to admit to having made mistakes

toegeven click to hear 2 aan click to hear giving in to
toegeven aan verleiding click to hear 2 3 giving in to temptation

Some compound verbs have 'inseparable prefixes:'
'Vergeven' click to hear 2 is 'to forgive'

vergeven
to forgive
- vergaf
forgave
- vergeven
forgiven
click to hear 2
wij vergaven click to hear we forgave
Ik heb haar vergeven click to hear 2 I have forgiven her

from The Lord's Prayer: Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood.
En vergeef ons onze schuld,
zoals ook wij aan anderen hun schuld vergeven click to hear Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.

tevergeefs click to hear 2 3 - in vain (no success, no results)

(de) vormgeving click to hear 'shaping,' design, style

(het) gegeven click to hear 2 'given, fact, information'
plural: (de) gegevens click to hear 2 'data'

(de) gave click to hear 2 'gift' - a special talent, ability;
also: (het) talent click to hear 2 3 'gift' - a special ability. The Bible's Parable of The Talents refers to a classical Greek weight unit.
gave click to hear 2 can also be the 'inflected' form of the adjective gaaf click to hear (gaaf/gave click to hear 2 3 4) meaning 'undamaged, unblemished, perfect, flawless.' Also used as 'cool' by '90s teenagers: "onwijs gaaf" click to hear 2 [`unwise, imprudently, ~irresponsibly perfect'] - 'too cool'
'Damaged' is beschadigd click to hear 2
(de) gave click to hear 2 can occasionally mean what God, Nature or the Earth give us, or 'charitable donation.' Goede gaven click to hear ('kind, welcome donations')
(de) toegift click to hear 2 - encore (additional music performance)

A present given at a festive occasion like a birthday is (het) cadeau (French) click to hear also spelled as 'kado'
Een cadeau voor Els click to hear 2 A present for Alice Het cadeau van Bob click to hear 2 Bob's present Bob geeft het aan Els click to hear 2 Bob is giving it to Alice Ik zit te denken aan een cadeau click to hear I'm thinking of a present 't perfecte cadeau click to hear 2 3 the perfect present Heb je veel kadootjes (cadeautjes) gekregen? click to hear Did you get many presents? We hebben geen kadootje voor je moeder click to hear 2 3 4 We don't have a present for your mother See also: Birthday and Shopping

(het) geschenk click to hear 2 is an old-fashioned word for 'present'
(de) schenking click to hear 'donation'
from schenken click to hear 2 'to donate, give' - but also: 'to pour' (drinks)
(de) schenker click to hear 'cupbearer' - a servant at ancient and medieval courts pouring drinks
'Schenken' a strong verb:

schenken
to donate
to pour
- schonk
donated
poured
- geschonken
donated
poured
click to hear 2

Gieten click to hear 2 is the more common word for 'to pour (liquids)' and it also can mean 'to cast (in a mold).' It's a strong verb:

gieten
to pour
- goot
poured
- gegoten
poured
click to hear 2

(de) gieter click to hear watering can ‑>>
(het) gietijzer click to hear 'cast iron'
(de) loodgieter click to hear 2 ['lead-pourer'] - 'plumber' ‑>>
(de) dakgoot click to hear 2 '(rain) gutter'
(de) gootsteen click to hear 'kitchen sink' ‑>>
't Zit als gegoten click to hear 'It fits like it's cast' - said of well-fitting clothes
[arm in cast]
Ik zit in 't gips click to hear 2
[I'm in plaster] - I have a cast

The present as 'now' is (het) heden click to hear - The Present
and nu click to hear / nou click to hear 2 3 - Now

'Stelen'   click to hear 2 'to steal' is a strong verb:
stelen
to steal
- stal
stole
- gestolen
stolen
click to hear 2
Gij zult niet stelen click to hear 'Thou shalt not steal' Stelen van de rijken click to hear 2 3 Stealing from the rich Stelen van 't Rijk click to hear 2 Stealing from the State [the government] ‑>> Mijn fiets is gestolen geworden click to hear My bike was stolen
(de) dief click to hear 2 male thief ‑>> - 3
dief / dieven click to hear 2 thief / thieves
(de) dievegge click to hear 2 female thief
(de) diefstal click to hear theft
helen click to hear dealing in stolen goods
(de) heler click to hear dealer in stolen goods // healer ‑>>
Eigendom is diefstal click to hear 2 3 Property is theft (Proudhon)

See also: krijgen 'to get, receive, be given'
and nemen 'to take'

See also: Birthday and shopping

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Gij zult niet stelen click to hear 'Thou shalt not steal'