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Grammar · Topic 6 · A1 · 8 questions · about 10 minutes

Possessive pronouns: mijn, jouw, ons…

Bezittelijke voornaamwoorden

Learn the words that show who something belongs to, like 'my, your, his': mijn, jouw, zijn, haar, ons/onze, hun. You will also see the difference between ons and onze and how to show possession with van.

Explanation

Whose is it?

In Dutch you put a separate word before the noun to show who something belongs to: mijn huis (my house), jouw huis (your house), ons huis (our house). These words are called bezittelijke voornaamwoorden.

You need these words all the time when you talk about your family, your home and your work: Mijn man werkt in Breda. Onze kinderen gaan naar school. When you use a possessive pronoun, you don't also use de or het.

Possessive pronouns

Most possessive pronouns never change. The only exception is 'our': you use ons before het-words and onze before de-words and plurals.

subjectpossessiveexample
Iikmijnmijn tas
youjijjouw (je)jouw jas
you (polite)uuwuw adres
hehijzijnzijn auto
shezijhaarhaar telefoon
wewijons / onzeons huis, onze buren
you (plural)julliejulliejullie kinderen
theyzijhunhun school
ons or onze?Locked

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Possession with van and 'die van mij'Locked

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Family and homeLocked

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zijn and haar: look at the ownerLocked

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Common mistakesLocked

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Words you need

Example questions

1 / 8
Question image
Question 1

Kies het goede woord: Wij hebben een nieuwe auto. ___ auto is rood.

Choose the correct word: We have a new car. Our car is red.

auto is a de-word (de auto); that is why you say onze auto.

Test yourself

1 / 8
0 of 8 answered · 0 correctYour answers are kept on this device.
Question image
Question 1

Kies het goede woord: Wij hebben een nieuwe auto. ___ auto is rood.

Choose an option

My answers

  • 2Kies het goede woord: Wij wonen in een klein huis. ___ huis heeft een tuin.Locked
  • 3Kies het goede woord: Sara woont met ___ man in Arnhem.Locked
  • 4Kies het goede woord: Meneer Bakker, wat is ___ adres?Locked

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