{"id":7453,"date":"2021-08-16T16:32:19","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T16:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=7453"},"modified":"2021-08-16T16:32:19","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T16:32:19","slug":"we-or-wij-how-to-use-dutch-personal-pronouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/we-or-wij-how-to-use-dutch-personal-pronouns\/","title":{"rendered":"We or Wij? How To Use Dutch Personal Pronouns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Persoonlijke voornaamwoorden <\/em>(personal pronouns) in Dutch are pretty straightforward.<\/a> There’s\u00a0ik, jij, hij\/zij\/het, wij, jullie\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0zij<\/em>. But then there are also\u00a0je, ze, we <\/em>and ze<\/em> (plural). What are those?<\/p>\n

Basic personal pronouns in Dutch<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Jij<\/a>

Jij! (Photo by Dan Burton<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Before we get to that difference, let’s start with the basics.<\/p>\n

Ik\u00a0<\/em>– I<\/p>\n

Jij\u00a0<\/em>– You<\/p>\n

Hij\/zij\/het <\/em>– He\/she\/it<\/p>\n

Wij\u00a0<\/em>– We<\/p>\n

Jullie\u00a0<\/em>– You (plural)<\/p>\n

Zij\u00a0<\/em>– They<\/p>\n

Verbuigen\u00a0<\/em>(to conjugate) for these pronouns is pretty easy, too. Let’s use the verb\u00a0fietsen\u00a0<\/em>(to bike) as an example:<\/p>\n

Ik fiets<\/em><\/p>\n

Jij fietst<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Hij\/zij\/het fietst<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Wij fietsen<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Jullie fietsen<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Zij\u00a0fietsen<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

So, as you can see, this is pretty easy!\u00a0From the\u00a0stam\u00a0<\/em>(root) of the\u00a0werkwoord\u00a0<\/em>(verb) you just add some stuff. Most often, the stam\u00a0<\/em>is simply the\u00a0hele werkwoord\u00a0<\/em>(full verb) without the -en. So: the stam\u00a0<\/em>of\u00a0fietsen\u00a0<\/em>is\u00a0fiets<\/em>. For I, it’s just the\u00a0stam<\/em>. For You and He\/She\/It, it’s the stam <\/em>+t. Then, for the plural pronouns, you just add -en, which in many cases looks the same as the\u00a0hele werkwoord<\/em>. Pretty good, no?<\/p>\n

Little curious thing for the jij fietst<\/em>: In some cases, the order is reversed, and the\u00a0werkwoord\u00a0<\/em>comes before the pronoun:\u00a0fiets jij?\u00a0<\/em>(do you bike?) That’s for another post, but be aware that this exists!<\/p>\n

So, what’s up with those other forms?<\/p>\n

What are the pronouns\u00a0je, ze\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0we<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h1>\n