Pronoun - Voornaamwoord
A pronoun stands in the place of or refers to a noun. There are several types of pronoun.
Personal pronouns are normally used to refer back to someone or something that has already been mentioned. They can also refer to someone or something that has not yet been mentioned before.
- Alan studeert in Rotterdam. Hij komt uit Engeland.
- Alan studies in Rotterdam. He is from England.
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- Ik woon met twee andere studenten. Ik vind ze heel aardig.
- I live with two other students. I like them very much.
For more on personal pronouns, see personal pronouns
Possessive pronouns are used to show that one person or thing belongs to another.
Ik ben jouw mentor. Mijn naam is Hanna van Vliet. I am your mentor. My name is Hanna van Vliet.
For more on possessive pronouns, see possessive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns accompany reflexive verbs. These verbs can be seen as a very special kind of transitive verb in that they take an object. However, the object and subject of a reflexive verb refer to the same person.
Ik voel me misselijk.
I am feeling nauseous.
In this example, ik is the subject and me is the object, and both refer to the first person singular.
Luuk zal zich waarschijnlijk vervelen in het museum.
Luuk will probably be bored in the museum.
In this example, Luuk is the subject and zich is the object, and both refer to the same person (Luuk).
- For more on reflexive pronouns, see reflexive pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns are a type of pronoun which usually accompany a noun. They point out a specific person or thing. Their form depends on the gender of the noun they qualify and on whether the person or thing is near or far, relative to the speaker.
Deze trui (de-word, near) is rood, maar die trui (de-word, far) is blauw.
This jumper is red, but that jumper is blue.
- Dit meisje (het-word, near) heet Hanna, maar dat meisje (het-word, far) heet Simone.
This girl is called Hanna, but that girl is called Simone.
For more on demonstrative pronouns, see demonstrative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used in questions when referring to people or things.
| Wie ben jij? |
Who are you? |
| Wat studeer je in Hull? |
What do you study in Hull? |
| Welk zusje studeert medicijnen? |
Which sister studies medicine? |
| Welke jas is van jou? |
Which coat is yours? |
For more on interrogative pronouns and question words, see interrogative sentences and question words
Relative pronouns are used to refer back to people or things. Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses. The form of the relative pronoun is dependent on the gender of the noun it qualifies. If it is a de-word, the relative pronoun is die. If it is a het-word, the relative pronoun is dat. Plurals are, of course, de-words.
- Hanna heeft een broer (de-word) die met zijn vrouw en dochtertjes in België woont.
Hanna has a brother who lives in Belgium with his wife and young daughters.
Luuk is het jongetje (het-word) dat in de dierentuin is kwijtgeraakt.
Luuk is the little boy who got lost in the zoo.
For more on relative pronouns, see relative pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to non-specific people or things. Some examples are:
Iemand moet de afwas doen!
Someone has to do the washing-up!
Ik heb niemand gezien.
I haven't seen anyone.
Sommige studenten drinken geen alcohol.
Some students don't drink alcohol.
‘s Avonds kan men het avondeten nuttigen.
In the evenings one can take the evening meal.
Men is quite common in formal language in Dutch. Note that men is a singular entity and requires a single form of the verb.
For more on indefinite pronouns, see indefinite pronouns.-
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