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UNIT FIVE
Possessives
Introduction
In Unit 10 of Basic Dutch we discussed possessive pronouns. This unit starts
with an overview of the possessive pronouns as described there. It then
introduces you to some other more commonly and less commonly used
forms of the possessive.
Possessive pronouns: overview
Singular Plural
mijn, m’n my ons, onze our
jouw, je your jullie, je your
uw your (formal) uw your (formal)
zijn, z’n, haar, d’r his, her hun their
Note: There are unstressed, reduced forms of the possessive pronouns in
the first, second and third person singular as well as in the second person
plural. The forms m’n, z’n and d’r are more common in spoken, colloquial
Dutch. The short form for the second person plural is used to avoid
repetition in the sentence. Examples:
Sanne: Peter en Karin, breng even jullie lakens naar beneden.
Peter and Karin, will you bring your sheets downstairs?
Sanne: Peter en Karin, kunnen jullie je lakens even naar beneden
brengen?
Peter and Karin, can you bring your sheets downstairs?
The possessive -s
Just like in English, an -s can be attached to a word or a name to express
a relationship of possession. Only when this word or name ends in a, o,
u, i, é or y, do we add an apostrophe. Examples:
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