Grammar
Demonstratives & Possessives
Demonstratives (this/that) and possessives (my/your/his…) agree with the gender of the noun. The key distinction: de-words vs het-words.
deze auto — this car (de auto, near) · die auto — that car (far)
dit huis — this house (het huis, near) · dat huis — that house (far)
mijn auto / mijn huis — my car / my house (mijn never changes)
ons huis — our house (het-word) · onze auto — our car (de-word)
dit huis — this house (het huis, near) · dat huis — that house (far)
mijn auto / mijn huis — my car / my house (mijn never changes)
ons huis — our house (het-word) · onze auto — our car (de-word)
1. Demonstratives — deze / dit / die / dat
Choose the demonstrative based on the noun's article (de or het) and distance (near or far).
deze auto — this car (de auto, near)
die auto — that car (far)
dit huis — this house (het huis, near)
dat huis — that house (far)
deze mensen — these people (plural, near)
die mensen — those people (far)
deze stad — this city (de stad, near)
die stad — that city (far)
Plural nouns always behave like de-words → use deze (near) and die (far). Dit and dat are only for singular het-words.
As pronouns (standing alone)
The same forms are used when the demonstrative replaces the noun entirely:
Welke wil je? — Deze is mooier.
Which do you want? — This one is nicer. (referring to a de-word)
Which do you want? — This one is nicer. (referring to a de-word)
Is dit jouw boek? — Nee, dat is van mij.
Is this your book? — No, that one is mine. (het-word)
Is this your book? — No, that one is mine. (het-word)
Die zijn te duur.
Those are too expensive. (plural)
Those are too expensive. (plural)
2. Possessive pronouns
Most possessives do not change based on the noun's gender — except ons/onze.
3. ons vs onze
This is the only possessive that changes with noun gender.
4. Adjectives after possessives — always -e
After a possessive pronoun, adjectives always take the -e ending, even before het-words.
mijn nieuwe auto — my new car (de auto)
mijn nieuwe huis — my new house (het huis — still -e!)
zijn oude fiets — his old bike
ons grote huis — our big house (het huis — ons + -e)
hun mooie kinderen — their beautiful children
Remember: adjectives only stay without -e in two cases: (1) predicative position (het huis is groot), or (2) een + singular het-word (een groot huis). After a possessive, the adjective always takes -e, even before het-words: mijn grote huis.
5. van + object pronoun — expressing ownership
After a preposition like van, use object pronouns (not possessives).
