Grammar Lesson 1:

Personal pronouns in Dutch

1st singular	ik (I)
2nd singular	jij/u/je/jou (you)
3rd singular	hij/zij/het (he/she/it)
1st plural	wij, we (we)
2nd plural	jullie (you)
3rd plural	zij, 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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