Introduction: Showing Ownership

Possessive pronouns are words that indicate ownership or belonging. They answer the question "Whose?". Examples in English are "my," "your," "his," "her," "its," "our," and "their." Dutch has equivalent words, which generally come before the noun they modify.

The Dutch Possessive Pronouns

Here are the possessive pronouns corresponding to the subject pronouns we learned earlier:

• mijn = my (from ik)
• mijn boek (my book)
• mijn fiets (my bicycle)

• jouw / je = your (singular, informal) (from jij/je)
• jouw huis (your house)
• je tas (your bag)
• Usage: jouw is used for emphasis, while je is the more common, unstressed form.

• uw = your (singular or plural, formal) (from u)
• uw naam (your name)
• uw auto (your car)
• Note: There is only one formal possessive pronoun, uw.

• zijn = his / its (from hij / het)
• zijn hond (his dog)
• het huis en zijn deur (the house and its door)
• Note: zijn is used for both male owners (hij) and neuter nouns (het).

• haar = her (from zij/ze - she)
• haar jas (her coat)
• haar kinderen (her children)

• ons / onze = our (from wij/we)
• Usage: This is the only possessive pronoun that changes its form based on the noun that follows!
• Use ons before singular het-nouns.
• ons huis (our house)
• ons boek (our book)
• Use onze before singular de-nouns AND all plural nouns.
• onze auto (our car)
• onze tafel (our table)
• onze huizen (our houses)
• onze boeken (our books)

• jullie = your (plural, informal) (from jullie)
• jullie leraar (your teacher)
• jullie fietsen (your bicycles)
• Note: The form jullie is used both as the subject pronoun and the possessive pronoun for informal plural 'you'.

• hun = their (from zij/ze - they)
• hun kinderen (their children)
• hun huis (their house)
• hun auto (their car)

Examples in Sentences

• Dat is mijn tas. (That is my bag.)
• Is dit jouw fiets? (Is this your bicycle? - informal)
• Wat is uw adres? (What is your address? - formal)
• Zijn hond blaft. (His dog barks.)
• Haar werk is interessant. (Her work is interesting.)
• Ons huis is klein, maar onze tuin is groot. (Our house (het) is small, but our garden (de) is big.)
• Waar zijn jullie boeken? (Where are your books? - plural informal)
• Hun namen zijn Jan en Piet. (Their names are Jan and Piet.)

Possessives and Adjective Endings

Remember from the previous chapter that possessive pronouns affect adjective endings when they come before a het-noun:

• het grote huis (the big house)
• een groot huis (a big house) - Add -e
• mijn grote huis (my big house) - Add -e

Possessive pronouns are essential for talking about ownership. Memorize the forms, paying special attention to the ons/onze distinction and the difference between informal jouw/je and formal uw.