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Parts of Speech » Pronouns
Pronouns
A pronoun can replace a noun. In the following example, we replace “The baker” by he and “the customer”
by her.
De bakker legde de klant alles uit. - The baker explained everything to the customer.
Hij legde haar alles uit. - He explained everything to her.
When we replace nouns by personal pronouns, we need two lists.
The word hij (he) is part of the subjective personal pronouns list.
The word haar (her) is part of the objective personal pronouns list.
We will talk about the subjective personal pronouns first, in the next paragraph.
Subjective Personal Pronouns
Subjective personal pronouns are always the subject of the sentence.
Examples:
Hij kookt. - He cooks.
Jij bent belangrijk. - You are important.
Zij zijn ook belangrijk. - They are important too.
The word u is the formal alternative to je and
jij (both singular) and jullie (plural). The word u is used less in the plural than in the singular. The word jullie is preferred in many cases.
| Subjective Personal Pronouns
| | singular
| | ik | I
| je
jij
u | you
you
you
| | hij | he
| ze
zij | she
| hij
het | it
| | het | it
| | plural
| wij
we | we
| jullie
u | you
you
| ze
zij | they
|
Examples:
singular
Ik ben er. - I’m here.
Je bent vroeg. - You’re early.
Ze is er ook. - She’s here too.
Hij praat snel. - He is talking fast. (literally: He talks fast.)
Hij start niet. Het is mijn auto. - He doesn’t start. It’s my car.
Het komt wel goed. - It will be okay.
plural
We zijn kort. - We are short.
Jullie gaan vaak samen tennissen. - You often play tennis together.
Ze zijn er niet. Ze lopen in het park. - They are not here. They are walking in the park.
The next two sentences show that you need a verb to distinguish between she and they in Dutch.
Wie heeft je geholpen? Zij heeft me geholpen. - Who helped you? She helped me.
Wie heeft je geholpen? Zij hebben me geholpen. - Who helped you? They helped me.
Objective Personal Pronouns
Objective personal pronouns are not the subject of the sentence. In the next sentence, hem is the objective personal pronoun.
Ik ken hem. - I know him.
The words mij (me) and ons (us) are objective
pronouns and therefore they are never the subject of a sentence.
Peter zag mij. - Peter saw me.
Hij zag mij. - He saw me.
Het is ons overkomen. - It happened to us.
The word u is the formal alternative to jou (singular),
je (singular), and jullie (plural). Use je instead of jou if you don’t want to stress the word.
| Objective Personal Pronouns
| | singular
| me
mij | me
| jou
je
u | you
you
you
| | hem | him
| | haar | her
| | plural
| | ons | us
| jullie
u | you
you
| hen
hun | them
|
Examples:
singular
De bakker vertelde het aan me. - The baker told me.
De bakker vertelde het aan mij. - The baker told me.
De bakker vertelde het aan jou. - The baker told you.
De bakker vertelde het aan je. - The baker told you.
De bakker vertelde het aan u. - The baker told you.
De bakker vertelde het aan hem. - The baker told him.
De bakker vertelde het aan haar. - The baker told her.
plural
De bakker vertelde het aan ons. - The baker told us.
De bakker vertelde het aan jullie. - The baker told you.
De bakker vertelde het aan u. - The baker told you.
De bakker vertelde het aan hen. - The baker told them.
De bakker vertelde het hun. - The baker told them.
To show how to use hun (them), the last sentence had to loose the word
aan (to), because it is a preposition.
The word hun cannot follow a preposition, when it means them.
Other examples:
singular
Doe het voor mij. - Do it for me.
Ik denk aan jou. - I think about you.
Dat is vriendelijk van u, mevrouw. - That is kind of you, madam.
Zeg het tegen hem. - Say it to him.
Het boek is door haar geschreven. - The book is written by her.
plural
Wie herkent ons in dit dorp? - Who will recognize us in this village?
Wat er in die doos zit is voor jullie allemaal. - What is in that box is for you all.
Meneer en mevrouw Kuiper, die stoelen zijn voor u. - Mr. and Mrs. Kuiper, those chairs are for you.
Ik ben door hen uitgenodigd. - I am invited by them.
De bakker gaf hun de broden. - The baker gave the loaves to them.
Hen and hun
their
If the word hun means their, it can follow a preposition.
Geef het aan hun ouders. - Give it to their parents.
them
The English word them is translated by hun or hen.
hun (them) never follows a preposition
hun (them) is never a direct object
The word aan (to) is a preposition. The next two sentences mean exactly the same.
De bakker vertelde het aan hen. - The baker told them.
De bakker vertelde het hun. - The baker told them.
When there is no preposition, we do not always use hun.
The word hen is used as a direct object.
A direct object is somebody or something that is directly
affected by the actions of the subject of the sentence (the baker for instance). This direct object can be a person the baker sees, a story the baker tells, or a loaf he gives.
In the following examples hen or hun is used.
De bakker vertelde het hun. - The baker told them. (Literally: The baker told it them.)
De bakker vertelde hun waar ik woon. - The baker told them were I live.
De bakker begreep hen. - The baker understood them.
De bakker belde hen op. - The baker called them.
De bakker zag hen. - The baker saw them.
De bakker gaf hun de broden. - The baker gave the loaves to them.
De bakker legde hun het recept uit. - The baker explained the recipe to them.
Ask questions about the sentences above, to find out if hen or hun
must be used. We try a who-question. But if the baker is doing something to a thing or
abstract concept (like a loaf he gives), we try a what-question. The answers are underlined.
Wat vertelde hij? Hij vertelde het. - What did he tell? He told it.
Wat vertelde hij? Hij vertelde waar ik woon. - What did he tell? He told were I live.
Wie begreep hij? Hen. - Who did he understand? Them.
Wie belde hij op? Hen. - Who did he call? Them.
Wie zag hij? Hen. - Who did he see? Them.
Wat gaf hij? De broden. - What did he give? The loaves.
Wat legde hij uit? Het recept. - What did he explain? The recipe.
The sentences we just read have no prepositions. Otherwise we would have chosen hen. Now
the answers to the questions will determine our choices.
If the answer is them, the word them is a
direct object. Translate the word by hen.
If the answer is something else, them is an indirect object.
Translate the word by hun.
But when there is a preposition like aan, use hen.
De bakker gaf de broden aan hen. - The baker gave the loaves to them.
The difference between hun and hen is difficult, even to
native speakers. In spoken language, hen (them) is often pronounced like
hun (them). Both words are often replaced by
ze (them), a word that is never stressed, and normally means she or they.
Hij legt ze op de plank. - He puts them on the shelf.
Using ze (them) can be confusing. In the next
sentence we suppose de bakker is the
subject, because he is in front of the sentence.
De bakker zag ze langslopen. - The baker saw them walking by.
But we do not really know who the subject is. When ze is the subject it means she. This
is the other possible translation.
De bakker zag ze langslopen. - The baker she saw walking by.
In the next example, we know that ze (she) is the subject is because of the context.
Ze zag de slager niet langslopen. De bakker zag ze langslopen. - She did not see the butcher walking by. The baker she saw walking by.
Possessive Pronouns
A possessive pronoun indicates that someone owns something.
You can say that you own a certain suitcase using the word mijn (my):
Dat is mijn koffer. - That is my suitcase.
This does not mean ownership in a literally sense. In the next sentence, you
do not really say you possess the bus.
Mijn bus komt vijf minuten later aan. - My bus will arrive five minutes later.
Other examples:
Dat is uw stoel. - That is your chair.
Hij kamt zijn haar. - He combs his hair.
The word uw is the formal alternative to jouw,
je, and jullie. Use je instead of
jouw if you don’t want to stress the possessive pronoun.
| Possessive Pronouns
| | singular
| | mijn | my
| jouw
je
uw | your
your
your
| zijn
haar | his
her
| | plural
| ons
onze | our
our
| jullie
uw | your
your
| | hun | their
|
The word ons is used for het-nouns
Neem het boek mee. Het is ons boek. - Take the book with you. It’s our book.
The word onze is used for de-nouns
De tafel is bezet. Is dat onze tafel? - The table is occupied. Is that our table?
The word onze is used for plural nouns too.
Neem de boeken mee. Het zijn onze boeken. - Take the books with you. They’re our books.
De tafels zijn allemaal bezet. Waar zijn onze tafels? - All tables are occupied. Where are our tables?
Look for ons and onze in the
examples.
Examples (singular nouns)
Mijn boek ligt op tafel. - My book is at the table.
Jouw boek ligt op tafel. - Your book is at the table.
Uw boek ligt op tafel. - Uw book is at the table.
Zijn boek ligt op tafel. - His book is at the table.
Haar boek ligt op tafel. - Her book is at the table.
Ons boek ligt op tafel. - Our book is at the table.
Jullie boek ligt op tafel. - Your book is at the table.
Uw boek ligt op tafel. - Your book is at the table.
Hun boek ligt op tafel. - Their book is at the table.
mijn tafel - my table
jouw tafel - your table
uw tafel - your table
zijn tafel - his table
haar tafel - her table
onze tafel - our table
jullie tafel - your table
uw tafel - your table
hun tafel - their table
Examples (plural nouns)
Mijn boeken liggen op tafel. - My books are at the table.
Jouw boeken liggen op tafel. - Your books are at the table.
Uw boeken liggen op tafel. - Uw books are at the table.
Zijn boeken liggen op tafel. - His books are at the table.
Haar boeken liggen op tafel. - Her books are at the table.
Onze boeken liggen op tafel. - Our books are at the table.
Jullie boeken liggen op tafel. - Your books are at the table.
Uw boeken liggen op tafel. - Your books are at the table.
Hun boeken liggen op tafel. - Their books are at the table.
mijn tafels - my tables
jouw tafels - your tables
uw tafels - your tables
zijn tafels - his tables
haar tafels - her tables
onze tafels - our tables
jullie tafels - your tables
uw tafels - your tables
hun tafels - their tables
Translating English Possessive Pronouns
The Dutch language does not have words like mine and yours. They tell
about somebody who possesses something in English. When you want to translate them to
Dutch, use the word van (of) plus one of the Dutch pronouns
that is listed in this paragraph.
Example:
Dit huis is van mij. - This house is mine.
We can replace a noun by a possesive pronoun. In this next sentence the noun “Peter” occurs.
We can replace this noun by hem. The word van appears
in both sentences, because it is needed.
Example:
Deze computer is van Peter. - This computer is Peter’s.
Deze computer is van hem. - This computer is his.
The word van is essential in the following table.
| singular
| | van mij | mine
| van jou
van u | yours
yours
| van hem
van haar | his
hers
| | plural
| | van ons | ours
| van jullie
van u | yours
yours
| | van hen | theirs
|
Examples:
singular
Het boek is van mij. - The book is mine.
Het boek is van jou. - The book is yours.
Het boek is van u. - The book is yours.
Het boek is van hem. - The book is his.
Het boek is van haar. - The book is hers.
plural
Het boek is van ons. - The book is ours.
Het boek is van jullie. - The book is yours. (plural)
Het boek is van u. - The book is yours. (plural)
Het boek is van hen. - The book is theirs.
The translation of van mij is only mine when we talk about possessions. The word van (of, from, about) is used in other ways too.
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns (dit and dat) refer to
persons, objects, and abstract things.
Imagine you point at something (or somebody) while you speak.
Examples:
singular
dit is de man - this is the man
dat is de man - that is the man
dit is de vrouw - this is the woman
dat is de vrouw - that is the woman
dit is de straat - this is the street
dat is de straat - that is the street
dit is het huis - this is the house
dat is het huis - that’s the house
plural
dit zijn de vrouwen - these are the women
dat zijn de vrouwen - those are the women
dit zijn de mannen - these are the men
dat zijn de mannen - those are the men
dit zijn de straten - these is the streets
dat zijn de straten - those is the streets
dit zijn de huizen - these is the houses
dat zijn de huizen - those are the houses
You can refer to an abstract concept like feeling.
dat is het gevoel - that is the feeling
There are more demonstrative pronouns:
deze (these), die (those),
zulke (such), dergelijke (such),
zoiets (something like that),
zo’n (such a). And the almost obsolete gindse (yonder).
Example sentences
Dat is de straat waar Simon woont. - That is the street where Simon lives.
Ik wil zo’n vaas bestellen. - I want to order such a vase.
Ik maak ook zulke schilderijen - I also make paintings like that.
Demonstrative pronouns used like articles
Demonstrative adjectives (dit, dat, deze, and die) can
be used instead of the articles de and het. This
is only done when you want to make clear a person or thing is close by, or further away.
When something or somebody is close to you
use dit (this, these) to replace het.
use deze (this, these) to replace de.
When something or somebody is seen from a distance
use dat (that, those) to replace het.
use die (that, those) to replace de.
First we determine the article of a noun, which is de or het.
het meisje - the girl
de jongen - the boy
de weg - the road
het verkeersbord - the traffic sign
de verkeersborden - the traffic signs
Then, we write dit, dat, deze, or die instead.
dit meisje - this girl
dat meisje - that girl
deze jongen - this boy
die jongen - that boy
deze weg - this road
die weg - that road
dit verkeersbord - this traffic sign
dat verkeersbord - that traffic sign
deze verkeersborden - these traffic signs
die verkeersborden - those traffic signs
More examples:
deze man - this man
die man - that man
deze vrouw - this woman
die vrouw - that woman
deze straat - this street
die straat - that street
dit huis - this house
dat huis - that house
dit gevoel - this feeling
dat gevoel - that feeling
Use die and deze in the plural,
but do not use dit and dat here.
deze vrouwen - these women
die vrouwen - those women
deze mannen - these men
die mannen - those men
deze straten - these streets
die straten - those streets
deze huizen - these houses
die huizen - those houses
You can place an adjective in between. The letter e must be added to the
adjective you choose. In this case the suffix e is added to
lang to make lange.
deze lange vrouw - this tall woman
die lange man - that tall man
dat lange meisje - that tall girl
dit lange meisje - that tall girl
You can leave out the noun sometimes. These are the sentences without the nouns. The
pronouns act like the subject here.
Deze is nog op slot. - This one is still locked.
Die is open. - That one is open.
And these are the sentences that include the nouns.
Deze schuur is nog op slot. - This shed is still locked.
Die doos is open. - That box is open.
Note: As you read Dutch texts, you will notice that dat (that) is used more often than
dit (this). When you translate the English word this think about it.
Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is used in a clause. A clause is a subsentence of the sentence.
English relative pronouns like that and who are often left out. In the
English translations in this paragraph, they are included on purpose.
When de is the definite article of a noun, we use die (that).
When het is the definite article of a noun, we use dat (that).
When the subject is hard to define, we use wat (that).
When the subject is a person, we use wie (who) after a preposition.
When the subject is a person, we use wie (who) if the preposition aan could be added.
The following two sentences start the same. The second has a clause, beginning with
die.
Ik ken alle boeken. - I know all books.
Ik ken alle boeken die jij me gegeven hebt. - I know all books that you gave me.
Examples:
De tafel die je ziet, wordt verkocht. - The table that you see, will be sold.
Het boek dat ik lees, gaat over Nederland. - The book that I read, is about the Netherlands.
Bedankt voor alles wat je voor me gedaan hebt. - Thanks for everything that you did for me.
De vrouw voor wie ik boodschappen doe, woont hier. - The woman for whom I do the shopping, lives here.
De koffer die je hebt gekocht, is niet zwaar. - The suitcase that you bought, is not heavy.
Het bedrijf dat jij noemt, ken ik niet. - The company that you mention, I don’t know.
Dat is iemand die je kunt vertrouwen. - That’s someone who you can trust.
Dat is het laatste wat ik vandaag doe. - That’s the last thing that I’ll do today.
Dat is iets wat ik niet kan. - That’s something that I cannot do.
Mijn zus, die ik gebeld heb, is het ermee eens. - My sister, whom I called, agrees.
Dat is haar tante, (aan) wie ze alles heeft verteld. - That is her aunt, (to) whom she told everything.
Interrogative Pronouns
And a question can start with an interrogative pronoun.
The word u is the formal alternative to je and jij.
Examples:
Wie ben ik? - Who am I?
Wie ben je? - Who are you?
Wie ben jij? - Who are you?
Wie bent u? - Who are you?
Wie is dat? - Who’s that?
Wie zijn dat? - Who are they?
Wat is dat? - What is that?
Wat is er kapot? - What is broken?
Welk perron hebt u genoemd? - Which platform did you mention?
Welke trein hebt u genoemd? - Which train did you mention?
Wat voor een apparaat is dat? - What kind of machine is that?
Wie zijn apparaat is dat? - Whose machine is that?
You can read more about this subject in the chapter about Questions.
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns replace the objective personal pronoun (like me, je, hem, haar)
in some cases. It is used when a person is doing something to himself.
Not when he does something to someone else. Reflexive pronouns are:
me, je, u, zich and ons. The word
zich is a totally new word. It is introduced here. It is only used as
a reflexive pronoun. It did not occur in the previous paragraphs.
| Reflexive Pronouns
| | singular
| | me | myself
| je
u (zich) | yourself
yourself
| | zich | himself
| | zich | herself
| | zich | itself
| | plural
| | ons | ourselves
| je
u (zich) | yourselves
yourselves
| | zich | themselves
|
An example is given for every reflexive pronoun.
singular
Ik was me. - I wash myself.
Je wast je. - You wash yourself.
U wast u. - You wash yourself.
U wast zich. - You wash yourself.
Ze wast zich. - She washes herself.
Hij wast zich. - He washes himself.
Het wast zich. - It washed itself.
plural
We wassen ons. - We wash ourselves.
Jullie wassen je. - You wash yourselves.
U wast u. - You wash yourself.
U wast zich. - You wash yourself.
Ze wassen zich. - They wash themselves.
Reflexive pronouns are only used when allowed. They are
allowed when someone does something to himself or herself. The reflexive pronouns are in
bold type. All other words in the next sentences are in normal type.
Ze wast zich. - She washes herself.
Ze wast haar. - She washes her.
Ze wast hem. - She washes him.
Ze wast haar baby. - She washes her baby.
Ze wast hen. - She washes them.
Ze wassen zich. - They wash themselves.
We herinneren ons dat we dat lied hebben gezongen. - We remember that we have sung that song.
When a verb can be used in a non-reflexive way, you can stress the fact that you
use it in a reflexive way by adding a suffix to the reflexive pronoun. This
suffix is zelf (self). Then we get: mezelf, jezelf, zichzelf, etc.
This makes the word recognizable for English speakers.
Ik was mezelf. - I wash myself.
Ze wast zichzelf. - She washes herself.
Sometimes zelf (self) must be included to make a correct sentence.
Ik bedoel mezelf niet, maar ik bedoel hem. - I don’t mean myself, but I mean him.
Hij doet dat niet voor zichzelf, maar hij doet het voor haar. - He doesn’t do that for himself, but he does it for her.
We cannot stress zelf (self) in the following examples, because
these are things you can only do to yourself. The word zelf must be
left out. In English the reflexive pronoun is not there, except in the first sentence.
Hij gedraagt zich. - He behaves himself.
Ik herinner me dat. - I remember it.
Ik vergis me. - I am mistaken.
Ze vergissen zich. - They are mistaken.
Ze ergeren zich. - They are irritated.
Hij vraagt zich af. - He questions.
Hij haast zich. - He is in a hurry.
We bevinden ons nu in de grootste grot. - We are in the largest cave now.
Ze schamen zich. - They are ashamed.
Reciprocal Pronouns
The word elkaar (each other) is a reciprocal pronoun. You
can used it when you do something what is done to you at the same time.
It is not possible to use elkaar when we have a singular subject. We use it
only when you use a plural subject, like we (we), jullie (you),
u (you), ze (they), and zij (they).
“We kennen elkaar” means something like: “I know you, and you know me.”
We kennen elkaar. - We know each other.
Jullie kennen elkaar. - You know each other.
Ze kennen elkaar. - They know each other.
Ze gaan met elkaar tennissen. - They are going to play tennis together.
We geven elkaar een hand. - We shake hands.
The informal word mekaar means the same. It is used less often, and only in spoken language.
We kennen mekaar twintig jaar. - We know each other for twenty years.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns do not mention a specific person, nor a specific group, nor a specific thing. They are the most vague pronouns a language has.
Iemand doet het. - Somebody does it.
Er ging iets mis. - Something went wrong.
Niemand doet het. - Nobody does it.
A pronoun can be replaced by a noun or a noun phrase. A noun is a word. A noun phrase has one or more words. In the following examples, iemand (somebody) is replaced.
Iemand doet het. - Somebody does it.
Mijn moeder doet het. - My mother does it.
De vrouw die daar staat doet het. - The woman who stands over there does it.
The word je is very often used as an indefinite pronoun. Normally, it means you. The word je can be used as an indefinite pronoun in formal conversation as well, because of the specific meaning of such a pronoun.
Hoe doe je dat? - How is this done?
Je maakt het beslag in een kom. - You make (one makes) the batter in a bowl.
The indefinite pronoun men is rarely used.
Men maakt het beslag in een kom. - One makes the batter in a bowl.
The pronouns sommige and andere are used for things.
The pronouns are in bold font. The other words (like adjectives) are not.
Sommige dingen zijn duur. Andere niet. - Some things are expensive. Others are not.
Sommige zijn duur. Andere niet. - Some are expensive. Others are not.
Sommige dingen zijn duur. Andere dingen niet. - Some things are expensive. Other things are not.
The pronouns sommigen and anderen
are used for people. The pronouns are in bold font. The other words are not.
Sommige mensen doen dat graag. Anderen niet. - Some people like to do it. Others don’t.
Sommigen doen dat graag. Anderen niet. - Some like to do it. Others don’t.
Sommige mensen doen dat graag. Andere mensen niet. - Some people like to do it. Other people don’t.
The follow sentences are less formal.
Een of andere voorbijganger heeft hem beschadigd. - Some person passing by has damaged it.
Heeft hij die en die gebeld? - Did he call so-and-so?
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