Let's talk about Dutch pronouns

• In this article:
  

• personal pronouns

• objective pronouns

• possessive pronouns

• reflexive pronouns

• demonstrative pronouns

• relative pronouns

• indefinite pronouns

ik - I
jij / je - you
u - you (formal, singular and plural)
hij - he
zij / ze - she
wij / we - we
jullie - you
zij / ze - they

Personal pronouns are probably the first pronouns you'll use when learning a new language. They are used to indicate who is doing the action in a sentence. Although this seems pretty straightforward, there are a few things we need to talk about to avoid some confusion.

• "jij" vs. "je": Both mean "you" in the singular. They are used interchangeably in everyday speech, but there is a slight difference between the two forms. "Jij" is the stressed form, while "je" is the unstressed form. So if you want to say that you really need to do something, as opposed to someone else, "jij" would be the preferred pronoun. In all other cases you can say "je". For example: "Ik moet het niet doen, jij moet het doen!" ("I don't have to do it, you have to do it!").

• The same applies to "zij/ze" (singular and plural) and "wij/we". Again, there is no difference in meaning between the two options, except that "zij" and "wij" are the stressed form and "ze" and "we" are the unstressed form.

• "u": This is the formal form of "you", both singular and plural. It is used in situations where a certain form of respect or tradition is required, such as when speaking to an elderly person or in hierarchical situations at work. It's a pronoun that no longer exists in English, so it can be difficult to know when to use the formal "u" instead of the informal "je". What doesn't help is that the Dutch and Flemish tend to be quite egalitarian in their communication. Especially among the younger generations, there is a tendency to call everyone "jij" or "je". If you are unsure, my advice is to use "u". People will be happy to tell you that you can call them "jij" or "je" if they feel the situation is appropriate.

• Note that unlike some other languages such as Spanish or Italian, Dutch always requires the use of personal pronouns to form a correct sentence.

Personal pronouns

objective pronouns

mij / me - me
jou / je - you
u - you (formal, singular and plural)
hem - him
haar - her
ons - us
jullie - you
hen / hun / ze - them

Objective pronouns can act as direct or indirect objects in a sentence, hence their name. The direct object directly receives the action of the verb, e.g. "ik zie hem" ("I see him") or "zij kent ons" ("she knows us").

The indirect object is also usually the recipient of the action in a sentence and is usually accompanied by a direct object, e.g. "ik geef haar een boek" ("I give her a book") or "hij vertelt ons een verhaal" ("he tells us a story").

Very often objective pronouns are used in combination with a preposition, e.g. "ik wacht op jou" ("I'm waiting for you") or "ze praat over hem" ("she talks about him").

possessive pronouns

mijn - my
jouw - your
uw - your (formal, singular and plural)
zijn - his
haar - her
ons / onze - our
jullie - your
hun - their

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership. They precede the noun and indicate who has or belongs to the noun, e.g. "dit is mijn zus" ("that is my sister") or "dat is jouw probleem" ("that is your problem").

"Ons" is used for nouns that belong to the article "het", while "onze" is used for all nouns that belong to the article "de".

• het huis → ons huis

• de auto → onze auto

As in English, Dutch possessive pronouns can stand alone in a sentence when the noun is understood from the context and doesn't need to be repeated. These so-called stand-alone possessive pronouns are less common in spoken Dutch and are more likely to be used in formal or written contexts. They match the gender and number of the noun they replace. For example, "dat is niet jouw boek, dat is het mijne" ("this is not your book, it is mine"). Here's an overview of the possessive pronouns in Dutch.

de/het mijne - mine
de/het jouwe - yours
de/het uwe - yours (formal, singular and plural)
de/het zijne - his
de/het hare - hers
de/het onze - ours
*de/het jullie - yours (*no longer used in daily language)
de/het hunne - theirs

reflexive pronouns

me / mij - myself
je / jou - yourself
zich - yourself (formal, singular and plural)
zich - himself
zich - herself
ons - ourselves
je - yourselves
zich - themselves

Although reflexive pronouns exist in English, they are much more common in Dutch because the frequency of reflexive verbs, i.e. verbs that require the use of a reflexive pronoun, is higher in Dutch than in English. Simply put, reflexive verbs are verbs in which the subject of the sentence is doing something to itself. In addition, reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and object of the sentence are the same. In English, this is usually expressed with pronouns like "myself", "yourself", etc. Here's an overview of reflexive pronouns in Dutch.

As we've seen with the previous pronouns, the difference between "me" and "mij" or "je" and "jou" is the stressed form versus the unstressed form.

If you're looking for a list of commonly used reflexive verbs in Dutch, click here.

demonstrative pronouns

deze - this, these
die - that, those
dit - this, these
dat - that, those

Demonstrative pronouns are used to refer to specific people, objects, and ideas. Which pronoun to use depends on a number of factors.

• Gender and number: We use "deze" and "die" for nouns that take the article "de", including all plural nouns. For example, "deze man" ("this man") or "die vrouwen" ("those women"). In contrast, we use "dit" and "dat" for words that have "het" as an article. For example, "dit kind" ("this child"), "dat boek" ("that book").

• Near or far: The choice of demonstrative pronoun also depends on the distance of the person or object from the speaker. For things that are close we use "deze" and "dit", for things that are far away we use "die" and "dat".

relative pronouns

die - who, which, that
dat - which, that
wie - who
wat - what, which, that

If you've made it this far, congratulations! Relative pronouns are used to connect a dependent clause to a main clause, which means you already have some pretty impressive Dutch skills.

A main clause is the part of a sentence that can be used independently. It can stand alone as a sentence because it makes sense on its own. It usually has a subject, a verb and an object. A dependent or subordinate clause cannot be used by itself because it is incomplete. It needs the main clause to make sense. A dependent clause gives us extra information about the main clause and usually starts with a relative pronoun or words like "want", "omdat", "as" or "wanneer".

• die / dat: These are the most commonly used relative pronouns in Dutch. They can be translated into English as "who", "which" or "that". These pronouns are used to refer to a noun mentioned in the main clause. "Die" is used for words that go with the article "de", including all plural nouns. For example, "de man die daar staat, is mijn vader" ("the man who is standing there is my father") or "de boeken die ik lees, zijn interessant" ("the books that I read are interesting"). "Dat" is used for words that go with the article "het". For example, "het boek dat op de tafel ligt, is van mij" ("the book that is on the table is mine").

• wie: This relative pronoun is used for people in the main clause. It is often used in combination with a preposition. For example: "de vrouw met wie is sprak, is mijn zus" ("the woman with whom I spoke is my sister").

• wat: We use "wat" when we are referring to an entire main clause or when we are referring to an indefinite pronoun such as "everything", "iets" or "niets" (see below). For example, "alles wat hij zegt is waar" ("everything that he says is true"), or "dat is het beste wat ik ooit heb gezien" ("that is the best thing that I have ever seen").

While relative pronouns can be omitted in English, they are always required in Dutch to form a grammatically correct sentence. A sentence like "this is the book I'm reading" must be translated as "dat is het boek dat ik lees". The sentence "dit is het boek ik lees" would not be considered correct.

indefinite pronouns

iemand - someone, somebody
niemand - no one, nobody,
iets - something
niets - nothing
iedereen - everyone, everybody
alles - verything
elk / ieder - each, every
sommige(n) - some, a few
vele(n) - many, a lot

Indefinite pronouns are used for general statements or when the identity of the noun is either unknown or irrelevant. They can act as the subject of a sentence, e.g. "iemand belt aan" ("someone's ringing at the door"), or as the object of a sentence, e.g. "ze vertelde niemand haar geheim" ("she didn't tell anyone her secret").

Some indefinite pronouns that end in a vowel, such as "sommige" and "vele," can be written with or without a "-n" at the end. When you refer to a person, the indefinite pronoun always gets a "-n". When you refer to animals or objects, you write it without the "-n". E.g. "sommigen hadden de film al gezien" ("some (people) had already seen the film"), vs. "sommige huizen zijn helemaal nieuw" ("some of the houses are brand new"). As you can see in the first example, adding the suffix "-n" to the indefinite pronoun automatically implies that you are talking about people. It is not necessary to add the word "mensen" ("people") to the sentence.