Dutch Lesson 7 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Personal Pronouns - To Be (Present) - High and Low Numbers - Chatham

Multatuli 2 (Latin: 'I have carried much') was the pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker 2 who resigned from his position in the colonial bureaucracy of the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia) in protest over the exploitation of the indigenous population, in particular the free hand given local rulers in dealing with their subjects. Multatuli's 1860 novel Max Havelaar is a slightly fictionalized account of his experiences. It is still considered one of the best, if not the best book in Dutch literature. His sentences are a bit long, but his language is very lively. The book's first paragraph introduces the dour narrator of the first chapters Batavus Droogstoppel . Douwes Dekker's spelling is a bit idiosyncratic. For instance, he writes koffi for koffie, and Y for IJ, like in myn for mijn.

Multatuli: Max Havelaar
I am a dealer in coffee, and live at 37 Lauriergracht.	Ik ben makelaar in koffi, en woon op de Lauriergracht no 37.
I am not in the habit of writing novels, or things like that, and it has taken me some time, before I took the step of ordering a few extra reams of paper, and started the work that you, dear reader, have just picked up, and that you should read if you are a coffee dealer, and also if you're something else.	Het is myn gewoonte niet, romans te schryven, of zulke dingen, en het heeft dan ook lang geduurd, voor ik er toe overging een paar riem papier extra te bestellen, en het werk aan te vangen, dat gy, lieve lezer, zo-even in de hand hebt genomen, en dat ge lezen moet als ge makelaar in koffi zyt, of als ge wat anders zyt.
Not only that I've never written something like a novel, but I don't even like to read things like that, because I am a businessman.	Niet alleen dat ik nooit iets schreef dat naar een roman geleek, maar ik houd er zelfs niet van, iets dergelyks te lezen, omdat ik een man van zaken ben.
For years already I've wondered what the good of those things is, and I'm amazed at the impudence of poets and novelists spinning their tales of things that never happened, and usually cannot really happen.	Sedert jaren vraag ik my af, waartoe zulke dingen dienen, en ik sta verbaasd over de onbeschaamdheid waarmede een dichter of romanverteller u iets op de mouw durft spelden, dat nooit gebeurd is, en meestal niet gebeuren kan.
If I in my business -- I am a dealer in coffee, and live at 37 Lauriergracht -- would make a statement to a 'principal' -- a 'principal' is a seller of coffee -- that contained just a few of the fictions that constitute the main part of poems and novels, he would switch to Busselinck & Waterman right away.	Als ik in myn vak -- ik ben makelaar in koffi, en woon op de Lauriergracht no 37 -- aan een principaal -- een principaal is iemand die koffi verkoopt -- een opgave deed waarin maar een klein gedeelte der onwaarheden voorkwam, die in gedichten en romans de hoofdzaak uitmaken, zou hy terstond Busselinck & Waterman nemen.
They are dealers in coffee like me, but there's no need for you to know their address.	Dat zyn ook makelaars in koffi, doch hun adres behoeft ge niet te weten.
Therefore, I will not write novels or make other false statements.	Ik pas er dus wel op, dat ik geen romans schryf, of andere valse opgaven doe.
I have often noted that people who are engaged in such things usually end up badly.	Ik heb dan ook altyd opgemerkt dat mensen die zich met zo-iets inlaten, gewoonlyk slecht wegkomen.
I am 43 years old, and I have been going to the Exchange for twenty years, so I can step forward, if an experienced person is called for.	Ik ben drie en veertig jaren oud, bezoek sedert twintig jaren de beurs, en kan dus voor den dag treden, als men iemand roept die ondervinding heeft.
I have already seen many companies fail! (literally: 'houses fall')	Ik heb al wat huizen zien vallen!
And usually, when I looked into the causes, I thought the reason was the wrong direction given to most people in their early years. (continued)	En gewoonlyk, wanneer ik de oorzaken naging, kwam het me voor, dat die moesten gezocht worden in de verkeerde richting die aan de meesten gegeven was in hun jeugd.

Personal Pronouns					ik In the common self-depreciating mode, Dutchmen often say: "Ik, zei de gek" 2 ('I [me] said the crazy man') False Friend or Easy Dutch?
English Nominative	Subject (Nominative)	Possessive (Genitive)	Object (Accusative)	Reflexive
	"I am"	"my dog"	"remember me" "he hit me"	"be yourself" "defend yourself"
I	ik	mijn m'n	mij me	mezelf me
you (singular, informal)	jij je	jouw je	jou je	jezelf je
he	hij (-ie )	zijn z'n	hem 'm	zichzelf zich
she	zij ze	haar (d'r )	haar	zichzelf zich
it	het 't
we	wij we	ons (for 'het' words) onze (for 'de' words)	ons	onszelf ons
you (plural, informal)	jullie	jullie	jullie	jezelf je
they	zij ze	hun	(hen ) hun (ze )	zichzelf zich
you (polite)	U	Uw	U	zichzelf zich

Dutch words for 'you'
Please note that the Dutch word for you in the singular (jij, je) is different from you in the plural (jullie.) Dutch also frequently uses the polite form of you: 'U,' to older people or other people deserving respect; it should also be used when addressing people in a subservient position, like sales clerks, bus or cab drivers, or hotel and restaurant staff. This 'U' is rarely used in the plural. Because of the polite 'U' Dutch uses words like 'please' much less than English. But it's not wrong to say: alstublieft ('please.') It took me a long time to automatically insert 'please' in my English questions.

Je hoeft geen 'U' te zeggen 2 3 4 You don't have to say 'U' (the polite address) Je mag wel 'je' zeggen 2 It's OK to say 'je' now (the informal address) tutoyeren (from French) 2 3 / jijen en jouwen 2 3 'address each other with the informal 'jij,' 'je' and 'jou,' - 'being on a first-name basis'

IJ and E forms
As the table shows, Dutch has an -IJ and an -E ('voiceless E' - sometimes represented by an apostrophe) form for many of the personal pronouns. The -IJ form refers more pointedly, but the difference is small. For students it's perfectly alright to just use the -E form. Especially with second person singular informal that will save you some trouble. In almost every situation you can use je instead of jij, jouw or jou.

We zijn de dupe 2 3 We are the victims, we pay the price, we've been had Wij zijn de dupe 2 3 We are the ones paying the price, it's us who are the victims Weet je waar de sleutel is? Do you know where the key is? - Do you happen to know? Weet jij waar de sleutel is? 2 Do you know where the key is? - Are you the one who knows? Weet jij hoe je 't moet uitspreken? 2 3 Do you know how to pronounce it? (can you tell me?) Weet je hoe je 't moet uitspreken? 2 Do you know how to pronounce it? (if not, I can tell you) The -IJ form is only used as the nominative, the subject.

There is a similar specificity with jou 2 - 'you' singular 3rd and 4th person
Als ik jou was ... 2 If I were you ...
Als ik jou was zou ik niet gaan If I were you I wouldn't go
It's wrong to say 'Als ik je was ...' - more examples

Vraag niet wat Nederland voor jou kan doen, maar vraag je af wat jij voor Nederland kunt doen 2 3 Do not ask what Holland can do for you, but ask yourself what you can do for Holland   (naar president Kennedy 2 after president Kennedy)
Vraag niet wat Nederland voor je kan doen, maar vraag je af wat je voor Nederland kunt doen 2 3
The 'various forms' line is better Dutch, but the 'all-je'  line is not wrong

'Hun' and 'hen'
The dative form (third case, indirect object, 'receiving') of the third person plural 'ze'  ('they') is 'hun' ("Give them books") - which is also the possessive; the accusative (fourth case, direct object) is 'hen' 2 ('He kicked them')  - for all other personal pronouns the third and fourth case are the same. But the fourth case of the third person plural hen is falling into disuse and many people in Holland now use hun instead.
Genitive, possessive form:
Ze doen hun best 2 3 They're doing their best, they're doing the best they can Dative, indirect object form:
Ik zal 't hun geven I'll give it to them Hij vertelde hun wat er gebeurd was 2 He told them what had happened Accusative, direct object form (it feels unnecessary formal):
De trein bracht hen naar Den Haag The train brought them to The Hague Ze hielp hen met de vertaling She helped them with the translation Heb je hen gezien? 2 Have you seen them? - 'hun'  may not be formally correct, but it feels more natural:
Heb je hun gezien? 2 Have you seen them? Hij sprak hun tegen 2 ['He spoke against them'] - He contradicted them, he said their version was untrue or not correct

Pronouncing 'jou' and 'jouw,' 'U' and 'Uw'
Jou and jouw are pronounced almost exactly the same (I seem to hear a very slight difference) - both end in a Dutch W sound; but U and Uw should not sound the same, there is NO Dutch W sound in 'U:'
Heeft Uw hond U gebeten? - Bent U gebeten door Uw hond? ('Did your dog bite you?' - 'Were you bitten by your dog?')

-ie
In spoken language, 'hij' ('he') after a verb or words like 'dat,' 'wat,' 'waar'  etc. can be replaced by -ie 2
Heeft-ie kinderen? 2 Does he have children? - more examples

It, Its and It's
Het is not used as often as its English equivalent 'it'; only for the abstract ('the nonreferential, existential it') like
"Het is tien uur," (It's ten o'clock.) - more
Het is often shortened to 't - note the vowel change from 'short E' to 'voiceless E.' (As we've seen in Lesson 4, 'het' is also the article for 'neutral' words.)
"'t Is mooi weer." (It's nice weather.)
Dutch doesn't use 'het'  as often as English employs 'it' - we say 'hij' / -ie  (he) - or occasionally 'zij'  (she) - for 'de-words,' and 'het'  only as 'it' for most 'het-words' - but 'het'-words for people, animals and other living entities are hij  or zij 
de dag - hij was lang the day - it was long de auto - hij is stuk the car - it is broken, doesn't go de hond - hij blaft 2 3 the dog - it/he is barking de wolf - hij huilt 2 3 the wolf - it is howling het meisje - ze lacht 2 3 4 the girl - she is laughing het meisje - ze lachte 2 3 the girl - she laughed April doet wat-ie wil 2 April does [what] as it likes 't schip - het is gezonken the ship - it has sunk t eten - 't was koud the food - it was cold 't eten - 't was lekker the food - it was enjoyable
'It is said that ...' is best translated into Dutch as "Men zegt dat ..." Dutch 'men' is an occasional 'they' or 'people.' more examples

Dutch has no separate possessive form for the neutral third person singular ('its.') Use zijn ('his') or occasionally haar ('her')
De hond en z'n vlooien 2 3 The dog and its fleas
(Some English-speaking pet owners use male or female personal pronouns for their animals) De komeet en z'n staart 2 The comet and its tail Maart roert z'n staart 2 'March wags its tail' - bad weather at the end of March 't Vogeltje zit op z'n nestje 2 The little bird is sitting on its nest Het vogeltje en haar jongen The little bird and its young Het schip en haar bemanning The ship and its (her?) crew Het meisje en haar hondje 2 The girl and her (small) dog Het jongetje en zijn hondje 2 The little boy and his (small) dog

Also note that in Dutch the possessive pronoun is determined by the sex or gender and singular/plural of the person or the thing possessing, and not by the gender or sex and singular/plural of the item or person possessed like in the Romance languages (I'm including French translation to show the difference)
De moeder en haar zoon 2 3 The mother and her son
La mère et son fils De moeder en haar kinderen The mother and her children
La mère et ses enfants De vader en z'n dochter 2 3 The father and his daughter
Le père et sa fille Except ons/onze ('our') - 'ons' for 'het' words in the singular and 'onze' for 'de' words and all plurals
ons Indië 'our India' (the Dutch Indies, now Indonesia) ons koude kikkerland our chilly frog's country (it's a wretched place but it's home) onze gevederde vrienden 'our feathered friends' i.e. birds 't Onze Vader 2 [The Our Father] - The Lord's Prayer ‑>> Wij zingen ons volkslied 2 3 We're singing our anthem We verven ons huis 2 3 We're painting our house We wassen onze auto 2 3 We're washing our car We wassen onze ramen 2 3 We're washing our windows

'Ge' and 'Gij'
In the fragment I read at the top of the page, Douwes Dekker uses the Flemish gij and ge for 'you,' second person singular, informal and polite. It's unusual in Netherlands Modern Dutch, though it survives in a few phrases and prayers.
.. Gij zijt de gezegende onder de vrouwen ... 2 ... Thou art the blessed one among the women ... (from the Hail Mary) Bezint eer ge begint 2 3 'Consider, think before you [start] act'

Apostrophe in Dutch Possessives - Very Unusual
Moeders wil is wet 2 A mother's wishes are the law of the house M'n vaders vrienden My father's friends Following the English example, many Dutchmen write moeder's, vader's  with apostrophe ((de) apostrof ) but that is not correct in Dutch.
There is an apostrophe-S in the special case of a word or name ending in a single vowel, to keep that vowel 'long:'
Saskia - Saskia's portret 2 3 Saskia's portrait
Pichegru's leger 2 3 (Pichegru's army)
This is not really a possessive apostrophe. It's like the apostrophe in plurals of words that end in a single vowel, also 'to keep that vowel long.'
(de) paprika / paprika's - bell pepper
(de) foto / foto's - picture, photograph - more
To avoid problems you could use the somewhat elaborate van ('of') construction - more, for example:
De vrienden van m'n vader ("The friends of my father's")
Note that Dutch just writes vader - there is no apostrophe-S figure like in English "father's". (I was a bit puzzled by the English 'S, until I realized it's like in German: Die Freunde meines Vaters.)
See also: the 'Van' page

Advanced Stuff: Names ending in a silent S
Studying the Dutch government publication De Spelling van De Nederlandse Taal (1974) I see something like Frits' kamer - but I don't know how to pronounce that S: a long hiss or something like Fritsus kamer? If I pronounce the S' as a regular S, the next word sounds more like it is Frits' last name than his 'room.' The other examples in the book: Beets' Gedichten ('poems') and Van Heutsz' veldtochten ('miltary campaigns') are acceptable because the noun is expected. It would be best to avoid this S-apostrophe for common names ending in -S.
To avoid those problems you could use the possessive personal pronouns zijn ('his') - more or haar ('her') - more - which are also used for 'its' - more
Klaas z'n paard 2 3 Klaas' horse
But trying out pronunciation I noticed that in names ending in a silent S that S does get pronounced when it's a possessive, and it's not a problem for me. It feels 'natural' and is not awkward.
Louis - Louis' boeken 2 3 Louis' books
(het) taalgevoel 2 3 the intuitive understanding of your native language or a language you're very familiar with

For zich and zichzelf ('yourself') see Reflexive Verbs

See also: Personal Pronouns Sample Sentences

wie? 2 who? iedereen everybody iemand someone niemand nobody

wat? what? alles everything iets something niets nothing (niks nothing)

waar? where? overal 2 everywhere ergens somewhere nergens nowhere

wanneer? when? altijd always meestal 2 most of time, usually soms sometimes nooit never ooit ever

Zijn = to Be (Present Tense)

zijn	to be - present tense
zijn ik ben jij bent hij is wij zijn jullie zijn zij zijn U bent	to be I am you are [informal, singular] he is we are you are [informal, plural] they are you are [polite]		ik ben blij jij bent blij hij is blij wij zijn blij jullie zijn blij zij zijn blij	I am happy you are happy he is happy we are happy you are happy they are happy		ben ik blij? ben jij blij? is hij blij? zijn wij blij? zijn jullie blij? zijn zij blij?	am I happy? are you happy? is he happy? are we happy? are you happy? are they happy?
			U bent blij bent U blij?	you are happy are you happy?

Gij zijt 2

In question mode, Dutch turns subject and verb around, like English sometimes does. Note that in question mode the T-ending for je/jij (you informal singular) is dropped, but not for 'U' (you polite singular.)
ben je wakker? ('are you awake?' [you - singular informal]) - bent U wakker? ('are you awake?' [you - singular polite])

Ik ben ziek ('I'm sick') hij is laat 2 ('he is late') hij is vroeg 2 ('he is early') het is laat ('it is late') Ben je ziek? ('Are you sick?') Ben je boos? 2 ('Are you angry?') Ik ben verkouden ('I have a cold')

Ik ben niet ziek 2 3 ('I am not sick') 't Is niet waar! ('It's not true!' - Usually ironic, like 'You don't say!') Er zijn geen bergen in Nederland ('There are no mountains in Holland') Ik ben moe 2 ('I am tired') Ik ben erg moe 2 ('I am very tired') Ik ben heel erg moe 2 ('I am extremely tired') Ik ben verschrikkelijk moe 2 ('I am terribly tired')

Query Words:		wie wat waar 2	who what where		wanneer hoe waarom 2	when how why		wie who		wat what		waar where		wanneer when		hoe how		waarom why

Wie is de mooiste in het land? Sneeuwwitje is de mooiste in het land.	('Who is the prettiest in the land?') ('Snow White is the prettiest in the land.')
Wat is dat? Het is een bidsprinkhaan.	('What's that?') ('It's a praying [grasshopper] mantis.')
Waar is de uitgang? Hier is de ingang. Daar is de uitgang. De uitgang is daar.	('Where is the exit?') ('The entry is here.') ('There is the exit') ('The exit is [over] there.')
Wanneer ben je jarig? Wanneer is hij jarig?	('When is your birthday?') more Birthday ('When is his birthday? [Where is his birthday suit?]')
Hoe lang ben je? Ik ben 1 meter 80.	('How tall are you?') ('I am 1 meter 80 centimeters tall.' = 5'11")
Hoe is het weer? 2 Het is koud.	('How is the weather?') ('It is cold.')
Waarom ben je boos? "Daarom." 2	('Why are you angry?') ('"Because."')

Wie is er aan de beurt?	('Whose turn is it?' 'Who's Next?')
Ben ik aan de beurt?	('Is it my turn?')	ik ben	('[I am] it's my turn')
Jij bent aan de beurt	('It's your turn')	jij bent 2	('[you are] it's your turn') This is one of the few places where jij is better than je.
chess	cards and dice	zij is	('[she is] it's her turn') Like in the line above, here zij is better than ze.

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Because there are already so many things to learn in this lesson, there will be no vocabulary section.

The High and Low Numbers

10,000 tienduizend (10.000)

100,000 honderdduizend (100.000)

1,000,000 miljoen (1.000.000) 2

1,000,000,000 miljard (1.000.000.000)

below zero onder nul

-1 min één

Chatham

From about 1600 to 1750, Holland was a major power, with the largest merchant fleet of any nation, and the highest Gross National Product per capita in the world. Dutchmen call the 17th Century De Gouden Eeuw ('The Golden Century') - even though in the first half we were still at war with Spain, and in the third quarter there were three wars with Great Britain. Trade was the source of prosperity, and it was in part based on technological advances. Wind-powered sawmills cut wood for shipbuilding, and an efficient Dutch ship design called fluit ('flute') was cheaper to build and could be handled by a smaller crew than other vessels of that time. Also, Dutch fishermen had discovered that in preparing herring for storage (haring kaken - removing the gills and innards, and salting) the taste of the fish was greatly improved by leaving in the pancreas (alvleesklier ) - its enzymes would do something beneficial to the fish meat (traditionally ascribed to Willem Beukelszoon , also: Willem Beukelsz. 2, ca 1400.) In trade and shipping, the Dutch were competing with the English. The 1651 English 'Act of Navigation' said that foreign ships could only transport their own country's products to England and the British colonies. The law was meant to limit Dutch international shipping. An important goal of the Anglo-Dutch wars was damaging the opponent's trade and economy, by blockades, piracy and attacks on fishermen. The first 'Anglo-Dutch Sea War,' De Eerste Engelse Zeeoorlog (1652-54 - only four years after the Dutch war with Spain ended) started with an incident near Dover about Dutch ships refusing to lower the flag and acknowledge English supremacy. In general the war did not go well for the Dutch, despite an English legend that admiral Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp 2 at one point had a broom nailed to the top of his main mast to show he'd 'cleared' the British Navy from the English Channel, to ensure safe passage for Dutch shipping. After Tromp fell in battle, Michiel de Ruyter was appointed head of the Dutch navy, and he remained in command for the next two wars. Some other admirals: Witte de With and Jan Evertsen . De Tweede Engelse Zeeoorlog (1665-67) was won by the Dutch, after in the last year the Dutch fleet entered the river Thames, and a small squadron sailed up the Medway and destroyed or captured much of the British fleet at Chatham. Every Dutch schoolage child (schoolboy) knows about the heavy chain that was blocking the way (it was probably a combination of chains and rafts); some say ship De Vreede ('peace') of Captain Jan van Brakel cleared it, but others say the chain was actually broken by his lieutenant Jan Daniëls van Rijn in the fire ship Pro Patria (Latin: 'For My Country.') The English were down because of the Great Fire of London and a plague outbreak; still a glorious feat of Dutch arms. In the negotiations, Holland traded Dutch New York (already occupied by the English) for the South American colony of Suriname 2 (its capital is Paramaribo 2) which looked more profitable at the time. Chatham Raid paintings at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Chatham Raid websites: English - Dutch

In the first year of De Derde Engelse Zeeoorlog (1672-74), a British-French alliance came close to crushing the Dutch Republic. In Dutch, 1672 is called het rampjaar ('the disastrous year.') The leader of the Dutch government Raadspensionaris Johan de Witt was lynched by a mob, and to stop the invading French army much land had to be flooded. Luckily, the enemy alliance fell apart, and Holland did not lose this war. Peace was made with the French in 1678. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam paintings of sea battles of the Third War: 1 - 2 In 1689 the Dutch stadhouder Willem III and his wife Mary (daughter of English King James II) became King and Queen of England ('William and Mary') and relations between the countries were better for the next 100 years, until De Vierde Engelse Zeeoorlog (1781-1784), over Dutch support for the American Revolution, mainly the providing of gunpowder and loans. There were no great sea battles, but England choked off Dutch commerce. Holland was (and still is) a small country. Most of its warships were refitted merchantmen, not earning money in wartime. In the long run the Dutch were no match for the professional navies of larger nations like England. Imagine for a moment that New York had remained Dutch in 1667. It would have greatly changed the course of the American revolution. Would the Dutch have cooperated with the English to suppress the colonies' bid for independence, thus depriving the Americans of the support we gave them in the real history - or would New Amsterdam have become the revolutionaries' safe haven? But in that scenario England might have attacked Holland in Europe more seriously. A nice anecdote of the 1672-78 war with the French: At the French headquarters on the water's edge a delegation of the Dutch government was expected for negotiations. A small rowboat aproached, with stern men dressed in black like church ministers. They sat down in the grass, eating bread and cheese. I imagine the French officers wore wigs and fancy colorful uniforms, and were thinking this was an advance guard or a bunch of translators, but when the Dutchmen were done with their lunch they said they were the representatives of the government and let's get down to business. If Dutch resistance had been broken in the third war, would the victors have divided the spoils: the Rhine as France's northern border, and the remainder an English toehold on the Continent ('The United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Holland')? In the Battle of Solebay of the Third War, Van Brakel's ship and the Earl of Sandwich's Royal James had their rigging tangled up for two hours, imagine: fighting and trying to disentangle at the same time; Van Rijn later set fire to the English ship. << - essays - >> More Dutch Sailors & Ships - Kentish Knock

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