Watch and read: personal pronouns

In the next steps, you will learn the basics of Dutch grammar. In our view, grammar is a practical tool for structuring the ideas and thoughts you want to express. Grammar is not a goal in itself, but it can be a great help.

You can watch a video with a teacher explaining and reading the examples, and / or you can read the text on this grammatical subject. Choose what feels best for you. In this course, you will only learn about the basic principles and rules. If you want to know more, you can find links to some other Dutch grammar websites in the ‘See also’ section under the text.

Personal pronouns

Here you can see an overview of the personal pronouns.

pronomen	pronoun
ik	I
jij/je-u	you
hij-zij/ze-het	he-she-it
wij/we	we
jullie	you
zij/ze	they

Depending on the person you are talking to, we have two forms of the singular ‘you’: je – jij, and u.
U is used as a polite form to casual acquaintances, strangers, superiors and in general to persons a generation older.

Emphasis
Some pronouns have an emphatic or stressed form, as well as a non-stressed form.
For example: jij versus je.
Jij is the stressed form, the je non-stressed.

For example

Hoe oud ben je?	How old are you?
Ik ben twintig. En jij?	I am twenty. And you?

There are more pronouns with a stressed and a non-stressed form.

zij / ze (singular)

Ze woont in Toronto.	She lives in Toronto. (the emphasis is on Toronto)
Zij woont in Toronto.	She lives in Toronto. (the emphasis is on she)

wij / we

We wonen nu hier.	We live here now.
Wij wonen nu hier.	We live here now.

zij / ze (plural)

Waar wonen ze?	Where do they live?
Waar wonen zij?	Where do they live?

Practise with Quizlet

Would you like to practise Dutch grammar? Please visit our grammar section on personal pronouns on Quizlet (if you prefer Quizlet to open in a separate window, click the CTRL key while clicking the link).

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