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Grammar Lesson 1

Personal pronouns in Dutch

1st singularik (I)
2nd singularjij/u/je/jou (you)
3rd singularhij/zij/het (he/she/it)
1st pluralwij, we (we)
2nd pluraljullie (you)
3rd pluralzij, ze (they)

The difference between "we" and "wij" is that "wij" is stressed, while "we" is not.

Wij drinken bier. = We drink beer. (but other people drink something else)
We drinken bier = We drink beer.

The difference between "ze" and "zij" is that "zij" is stressed, while "ze" is not.

Zij wil vandaag een ijsje gaan eten = She wants to eat an ice cream today (but I don't)
Ze wil vandaag een ijsje gaan eten = She wants to eat an ice cream today.

The difference between "je" and "jij" is that "jij" is stressed, while "je" is not.

Jij moet de afwas doen. = You have to clean the dishes (not me!)
Je moet de afwas doen. = You have to clean the dishes

Here's an easy way to remember this rule. Those pronouns with the stress have an extra J at the end. Associate "jaw" (starts with J) with stressing words (You need to move your "jaw" differently to stress a word).

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