Archaic Dutch declension

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Archaic Dutch declension was the declensional system of the Dutch language as it was prescribed the Dutch by Dutch grammarians in the 19th century. It was never spoken by Dutch people, but was required as a formality in most forms of writing. It was generally unpopular, not only for being an arbitrary, enforced system of grammar but moreover, especially during the Nazi Era, for deriving its grammatical case system from High German. The whole system was disavowed and annulled by the Taalunie (Dutch Language Union) in the early 1950s as a bad and regrettable mistake in prescriptive linguistics. During this period, Dutch writing marked nouns, pronouns, articles, and adjectives to distinguish case, number, and gender.

Dutch writing, distinguished between four cases—nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative (sometimes also the locative existed); and three grammatical genders—feminine, masculine, and neuter. Nouns could also be either singular or plural. By this time in spoken language however, only common and neuter gender and singular and plural nouns were actually used and these were no longer subject to further inflexion.

Contents

[edit] Usage of the Dutch case system

Since the late 17th century, in nouns, only the uninflected form (morphologically equal to the nominative) was still used, with a limited adjectival or possessive form of the genitive also still being productive. In Standard Dutch, unless they are proper names, clauses in which complements are brought to the head are considered archaic. Thus "Jans auto" (John's car), where the complement as head is a proper name is productive and in common usage. But a clause such as "des dages eind" (the day's end), where the complement is not a proper name and hence requires gender, case and number agreement is considered ungrammatical unless one is invoking an extreme archaism. Technically speaking the dative case is still required after the preposition "te" (to). However this preposition itself has become unproductive, and only results in dative constructions where it is being used with fixed expressions, such as "ten slotte" (finally), "te allen tijde" [1]. Nowadays, the preposition "te" is only used productively in relation to proper place names. For example, "Het Rijksmuseum te Amsterdam" (The national museum in Amsterdam). The accusative case was left for objects of transitive verbs and objects of all prepositions, bar "te". However, as distinctions between the grammatical cases were only weakly felt among speakers of Dutch, and as the feminine and neuter declensions were identical in the nominative and accusative, while the masculine declension was identical for the accusative and dative, endless confusion reigned.

[edit] Nominative

The nominative (eerste naamval) is the most frequent case in Dutch, normally following sentence elements are always in the nominative:

  • The subject: Ik ga naar school (I go to school)
  • The attribute: Peter is piloot (Peter is a pilot)
  • The direct object (only pronouns demand the accusative case): Anja schildert de muur (Anja paints the wall)
  • The indirect object (only pronouns demand the dative case): Joop geeft het meisje een ijsje (Joop gives an ice-cream to the girl)
  • All other objects are always in the nominative case: Deze maandag is hij niet naar school gegaan (This Monday he didn't go to school)
  • The nominative is required after all prepositions, except for the preposition te, fixed expressions and some prepositions with a figurative meaning (only pronouns demand the accusative case): aan de boom (on the tree), door het huis (through the house)

[edit] Genitive

The genitive (tweede naamval) is used in following cases:

  • As a possessive: 's mans hoed (the man's hat), Peters vriend ( a friend of Peter's)
  • As a generalising attribute: Zoon des mensen (Son of man)
  • As an adverbial complement: het rijk der natuur (the riches of nature)
  • As an adverbial genitive: 's Maandags studeert ze aardrijkskunde (she studies geography Mondays)

A possessive genitive can be replaced by the preposition van + nominative case (unless the genitive is regarding a person's name) (i.e. a prepositional phrase):

  • de hoed van de man

The (possessive) genitives of the personal pronouns are normally replaced by the possessive pronouns

  • "een vriend mijner"-->wrong
  • mijn vriend (my friend)
  • Één hunner kon ontsnappen-->archaic
  • Een van hen kon ontsnappen (One of them was able to escape)
  • Onfermt u mijner (Have mercy on me, fixed expression)

[edit] Dative

The dative (derde naamval) is used in the following cases:

  • After the preposition te (personal pronouns demand the locative case): ter plekke (at the place), ten einde (at the end) (These are always fixed expressions, and never felt or productibe uses of the dative case)
  • As the indirect object of pronouns: Hij gaf hun het boek (He gave them the book)
  • After prepositions with a figurative meaning: in den beginne (in the beginning)

[edit] Accusative

The accusative (vierde naamval) is used in the following cases:

  • As the direct object of pronouns: Gij sloegt mij (You hit me)
  • As a pronoun follows a preposition other than te: door mij (by me), bij hen (at their place)

[edit] Vocative

One should not use the vocative case (vijfde naamval) in Dutch; it is so rarely used that it is always more usual to use the nominative:

  • Lieve kind, ween niet. (vocative)
  • Better: Lief kind, ween niet. (Sweet child, don't cry) (nominative)

(The vocative of adjectives always ends on -e, for all nouns and pronouns it is the same as the nominative, so it is rather a simplification of the nominative)

[edit] Locative

There exists a special locative (zevende naamval) form of the personal and the possessive pronoun, which should be used after the preposition te (instead of the dative case) and between the construction van ... wege or om ... wil (which are seldom used), this is perceived as being extremely archaic, this construction is, in spoken Dutch, always replaced by bij + accusative case

  • te mijnent (at my place)
  • "te mij" (dative case) --> wrong
  • bij mij (accusative case) (at my place)
  • van mijnent wege (from me)

[edit] Articles[1]

[edit] Definite Articles

Singular
  Masculin Feminine Neuter
Nominative de de het
Genitive des der des
Dative den der den
Accusative den de het
Plural
  Masculin Feminine Neuter
Nominative de de de
Genitive der der der
Dative den den den
Accusative de de de

The articles des and het are often shortened to 's and 't:

  • des morgens --> 's morgens (in the morning)
  • het paard --> 't paard (the horse)

Only the nominative case and the genitive case are still used, although the use of the genitive has become archaic, except where the complement is a proper name. The dative can (and must) only be used after the preposition te (at), the article contracts with this proposition: te + den --> ten, te + der --> ter. Furthermore the dative as taking case is only ever used in fixed expressions and after prepositions with a figurative meaning.[2]

  • te der plaatse --> ter plaatse (at the place)
  • te den tijde --> ten tijde (at the time)
  • in den beginne (in the beginning)

The accusative is only used in fixed expressions and after prepositions with a figurative meaning.[3]

  • op den duur (eventually)
  • in de toekomst (towards the future)

[edit] Indefinite articles

Singular
  Masculin Feminine Neuter
Nominative een/ene een een
Genitive eens ener (eener) eens
Dative enen ener (eener) enen (eenen)
Accusative enen (eenen) een een

Because Dutch had many spelling reforms, some forms have different spellings, the modern forms are written with double e when the syllable is closed and with single e when the syllable is open, in older spelling versions (the ones between parentheses), double e was always used.

The indefinite article has no plural as such, but "vele" (many) maybe taken as its plural, in which case it is declined as follows:

Plural
  Masculin Feminine Neuter
Nominative vele vele vele
Genitive veler veler veler
Dative velen velen velen
Accusative vele vele vele

The articles een, ene, eens and enen can be shortened to 'n, 'ne, 'ns and 'nen: (in modern Dutch, only the first one, 'n, is in use, and is generally considered a colloquial form)

  • een paard --> 'n paard (a horse) (NEU)
  • een koning --> 'ne koning (a king) (MAS)
  • eens konings --> 'ns konings (a king's) (MAS)
  • enen koning --> 'nen koning (a king) (MAS)

The normal form of the nominative masculine singular is een. In certain varieties of non-Standard Dutch such as in Belgium however, normally the form ene is used. (Note that in Standard Dutch writing the numeral pronoun ene can be used in conjunction with an article when one wishes to stress that it is only concerning one thing/person: die ene man, dat ene kind (i.e. not another one); in that case, one often writes éne to stress this fact.)

Only the nominative case and the genitive case are still used, although the use of the genitive seems to be a little archaic. Furthermore the dative and the accusative are only used in fixed expressions and after prepositions with a figurative meaning.

[edit] Indefinite Article (as Adjectival Noun)

Singular
  Masculin Feminine Neuter
Nominative de ene de ene het ene
Genitive des eens der ene des eens
Dative den enen der ene den enen
Accusative den enen de ene het ene
Plural
  Masculin Feminine Neuter
Nominative degenen degenen degenen
Genitive dergenen dergenen dergenen
Dative dengenen dengenen dengenen
Accusative degenen degenen degenen

If the indefinite article is used as an adjectival noun, it must be preceded by the definite article, its nominal form is "de ene" and it declines and inflects as according to the usual rules. It always needs to be put in a contrast: de ene(n) versus de andere(n) (the one versus the other). When the indefinite article as adjectival noun is pluralized (the ones) (these ones), its nominal form is "degene" [or "diegene" (those ones) when contrasting demonstrative] and declines and inflects otherwise according to the usual rules.

[edit] Nouns[4]

In Dutch nouns are inflected in some cases. Most Dutch masculine and neuter nouns have four forms, e.g. huis, huize, huizes, huizen. These nouns are called strong nouns (sterke zelfstandige naamwoorden). Feminine and plural nouns have three forms over four cases: vrouw, vrouwe, vrouwen. These are feminine nouns (vrouwelijke zelfstandige naamwoorden) (with the exception of female names, these are strong). Certain masculine nouns have three forms, e.g. de mens, den mens, den mense, des mensen (plural de mensen, den mensen, der mensen). These nouns are called weak nouns (zwakke substantieven). A single neuter noun is properly classed as weak. This is the noun "hart" (heart). It is declined as follows: het hart (SING NOM ACC) den harte (SING DAT) des harten (SING GEN); de harten (PLU NOM ACC) den harten (PLU DAT) der harten (PLU GEN).

It must be kept in mind though, that due to the latency of the Dutch case system, its disappearance in modern times and its arbitrary enforcement in recent times, may nouns in Dutch are of uncertain gender. To this extent one will come across fixed expressions such as "te zijner tijd" (declined for the singular, dative, feminine) alongside "destijds" (declined for the singular, genitive, masculine/neuter). As "tijd" in modern Dutch is a common gender noun, and case is not anyway felt, this poses no problem. A Dutch speaker simply knows these expressions by heart without doing any overt or latent grammatical analysis upon them.

[edit] Strong nouns

[edit] het huis (the house)

Singular
Nominative het huis
Genitive des huizes
Dative den huize
Accusative het huis
Plural
Nominative de huizen
Genitive der huizen
Dative den huizen
Accusative de huizen

The form huis is used in the nominative and accusative singular, the form huizes in the genitive singular, the form huize in the dative singular and the form huizen in the plural.

Nowadays only the nominative and the genitive are frequently used. The dative is only used after the preposition te and in some fixed expressions. The accusative is only used in fixed expressions.

[edit] Formation of the Four Standard Forms

  • nom.-acc. sing.: root of the noun, caution: at the end of a Dutch word -z changes into -s and -v changes into -f (there are only a few exceptions):


man --> man- --> de man (the man)
huis --> huiz- --> het huis (the house)

  • gen. sing.: masculine and neuter nouns get root+(e)s. Caution: female names are also strong nouns! If the noun ends on a clear vowel that is written as one letter, than an apostrophe is included. If the noun ends on an s-sound (-s,-x,-z,-sh or -sch), then the ending is just an apostrophe:


man --> man- --> des mans/des mannes (the man's)
huis --> huiz- --> des huizes (the house's)
Helga --> Helga- --> Helga's (Helga's)
Ann --> Ann- --> Anns (Ann's)
baby --> baby- --> des baby's (the baby's)
bureau --> bureau- --> des bureaus (the desk's)
Cortez --> Cortez- --> Cortez' (Cortez')

  • dat. sing. (this rule is also true for feminine nouns): short nouns normally have root+e, long nouns root.


huis --> huiz- --> den huize (the house)
tijd --> tijd- --> den tijde (the time)
overstaan --> overstaan- --> den overstaan (on the other end)
voorbereiding --> voorbereiding --> der voorbereiding (the preparation)

  • plural (these rule is also true for feminine nouns): there are 9 possible endings: -en, -s, -'s, -eren, -n, -ën, -¨n (-ën is used as the last syllabe (of the singular) is stressed), -¨n if the last syllabe is not stressed), -lieden, -lui (if the singular ends on -man). If needed the last consonant is doubled. Some nouns have more than one plural.


man --> man- --> de mannen (the man)
hotel --> hotel- --> de hotels (the hotels)
baby --> baby- --> de baby's (the babies)
volk --> volk- --> de volkeren/de volken (the peoples)
weide --> weide- --> de weiden (the prairies)
kopie --> kopie- --> de kopieën (the copies)
provincie --> provincie- --> de provinciën/ de provincies (the provinces)
brandweerman --> brandweerman- --> de brandweerlieden/ de brandweerlui (the firemen)

  • Nouns that come from other languages still have their particular endings

het museum --> de musea (the musea)
de garage --> de garages (the garages)
de graffito --> de graffiti (the graffiti)
de collega --> de collegae (the colleges)

[edit] Feminine nouns

[edit] de vrouw (the woman)

Singular
Nominative de vrouw
Genitive der vrouw
Dative der vrouwe
Accusative de vrouw
Plural
Nominative de vrouwen
Genitive der vrouwen
Dative den/der vrouwen
Accusative de vrouwen

Caution: female names are strong nouns!

[edit] Formation of the Three Standard Forms

  • nom.-acc. sing.: see strong declension
  • gen. sing.: the gen.sing. is identical to the nom.-acc. sing. (the form des vrouws, is only used as attribute).


vrouw --> vrouw- --> der vrouw (the woman)
Agressie is niet des vrouws. (Aggression is not a property of women, genitive used as an attribute)

  • dat. sing.: see strong declension
  • plural: see strong declension

Some nouns change their gender in the dative singular:

  • het oor (nom. neuter sing.) --> der ore (dat. feminine sing.) (the ear)
  • het hart (nom. neuter sing.) --> der harte (dat. feminine sing.) (the heart)
  • de gunst (nom. masculine sing.) --> der gunste (dat. feminine sing.) (the favour)

[edit] Weak nouns

[edit] de mens (the human)

Singular
Nominative de mens
Genitive des mensen
Dative den mensen
Accusative den mensen
Plural
Nominative de mensen
Genitive der mensen
Dative den mensen
Accusative de mensen

List of weak nouns: de mens (des mensen) (the human), de graaf (des graven) (the count), de prins (des prinsen) (the prince), de hertog (des hertogen) (the count), de heer (des heren) (the lord),...

[edit] Formation of the Two Standard Forms

  • nom.sing.: root, if the root ends on -z or -v, then it changes into -s or -f:


mens --> mens- --> de mens (the man)
graaf --> graav- --> de graaf (the count)

  • all other forms: root + en


mens --> mens- --> des mensen (the man's)
graaf --> graav- --> des graven (the count's)

[edit] Irregular nouns

Some nouns do not use one conjugation type, but multiple. The most frequent of these are het hart (the heart), het oor (the ear), het uur (the hour),de gunst (the favour), de tijd (the time) en de wereld (the world)

Singular
Nominative het hart (n.) het oor (n.) het uur (n.) de gunst (m.) de tijd (m./f.) de wereld (m.)
Genitive des harten (m.) des oors (n.) der ure (f.) der gunste (f.) des tijds (m.)/der tijd (f.) des werelds (m.)/der wereld (f.)
Dative der harte (f.) der ore (f.) der ure (f.) der gunste (f.) den tijde (m.)/der tijd (f.) den werelde (m.)
Accusative het hart (n.) het oor (n.) het uur (n.) de gunst (m.) de tijd (m./f.) de wereld (m.)
Plural
Nominative de harten (n.) de oren (n.) de uren (n.) de gunsten (m.) de tijden (m./f.) de werelden (m.)
Genitive der harten (n.) der oren (n.) der uren (n.) der gunsten (m.) der tijden (m./f.) der werelden (m.)
Dative den harten (n.) den oren (n.) den uren (n.) den gunsten (m.) den tijden (m./f.) den werelden (m.)
Accusative de harten (n.) de oren (n.) de uren (n.) de gunsten (m.) de tijden (m./f.) de werelden (m.)

[edit] Diminutives[5][6]

The diminutive is formed by adding -je to the root of a noun. This suffix can changes into -pje, -tje, -etje or -kje because of phonetic reasons. All dimutives are neuter.

Regular forms of the diminutive:

  • mamaatje (ma-ma-tje) (mom)
  • hondje (hond-je) (dog)
  • koetje (koe-tje) (cow)
  • slofje (slof-je) (shoe)
  • stokje (stok-je) (stick)
  • schooltje (school-tje) (school)
  • boompje (boom-pje) (tree)
  • kommetje (kom-me-tje) (plate)
  • boontje (boon-tje) (bean)
  • bonnetje (bon-ne-tje) (ticket)
  • mapje (map-je) (book)
  • muurtje (muur-tje) (wall)
  • voetje (voet-je) (foot)
  • koninkje (koning-kje) (king)

In Belgium usually the ending -ke is used. Because of phonetic reasons it can change into -eke or -ske:

  • mamake (ma-ma-ke) (mom)
  • hondeke (honde-ke) (dog)
  • koeke (koe-ke) (cow)
  • slofke (slof-ke) (shoe)
  • stokske (stok-ske) (stick)
  • schoolke (school-ke) (school)
  • boomke (boom-ke) (tree)
  • kommeke (kom-me-ke) (plate)
  • boneke (boone-ke) (bean)
  • bonneke (bon-ne-ke) (ticket)
  • mappeke (mappe-ke) (book)
  • muurke (muur-ke) (wall)
  • voeteke (voete-ke) (foot)
  • koningske (koning-ske) (king)

[edit] Adjectives[7]

In Dutch, adjectives are sometimes inflected. There are five different possibilities:

[edit] The adjective is attributive

In this case the adjective is not inflected:

  • De kast is mooi. (The closet is beautiful)
  • De man wordt groot. (The man is becoming big)

[edit] The adjective precedes a noun and is itself preceded by a definite article

Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative de grote man de grote vrouw het grote/groot kind
Genitive des groten mans der grote vrouw des groten kinds
Dative den groten manne der grote vrouwe den groten kinde
Accusative den groten man de grote vrouw het grote/groot kind
Plural
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative de grote mannen de grote vrouwen de grote kinderen
Genitive der grote mannen der grote vrouwen der grote kinderen
Dative den groten mannen den/der grote vrouwen den groten kinderen
Accusative de grote mannen de grote vrouwen de grote kinderen
  • The declension after certain pronouns that are declined as the definite article, is the same as the declension after the definite article.
  • Adjectives with a root on -en (e.g. houten, koperen) always end on -en: e.g. de houten pop (the wooden doll), de koperen klink (the copper doorknob).
  • This is true for all fabric names: they never have an ending: e.g. de platina plaat (the platina plate), de linoleum vloerbedekking (the linoleum floor).
  • There exists a distinction between the forms een grote man (which is the common form) and een groot man and likewise between een rijke man (common) and een rijk man. The last forms are used in respectively a more figurative and a more generalising way of speech:
    • Hij is een grote man (He is a big (i.e. tall) man) as compared to Hij is een groot man (He is a great man, i.e. 'great' in a special, non-literal sense).
    • Hij is een rijke man in comparison to Hij is een rijk man (both meaning: he is a rich man). In this case, the second form has a more generalising scope; the man is not just "rich", he is "a rich man" (i.e. belongs to the category "rich man"). This last form is also perceived to be less colloquial and more poetic.
  • It should be noted, however, that this difference, especially in the last example, is a very subtle one.

[edit] The adjective precedes a noun and is itself preceded by an indefinite article

Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative een grote man een grote vrouw een groot kind
Genitive eens groten mans ener grote vrouw eens groten kinds
Dative enen groten manne ener grote vrouwe enen groten kinde
Accusative enen groten man een grote vrouw een groot kind
  • The indefinite article does not have a plural
  • The declension after certain pronouns that are declined as the indefinite article, is the same as the declension after the indefinite article
  • Adjectives with a root on -en (e.g. houten, koperen) always end on -en: e.g. een houten pop (a wooden doll), een koperen klink (a copper doorknob).
  • This is true for all fabric names: they never have an ending: e.g. een platina plaat (a platina plate), een linoleum vloerbedekking (a linoleum floor).

[edit] The adjective precedes a noun, but is not preceded by any article

Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative grote man grote vrouw groot kind
Genitive groten mans groter vrouw groten kinds
Dative groten manne groter vrouwe groten kinde
Accusative groten man grote vrouw groot kind
Vocative grote man grote vrouw groot kind (grote kind)
Plural
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative grote mannen grote vrouwen grote kinderen
Genitive groter mannen groter vrouwen groter kinderen
Dative groten mannen groten/groter vrouwen groten kinderen
Accusative grote mannen grote vrouwen grote kinderen
Vocative grote mannen grote vrouwen grote kinderen
  • The adjective is now (with a few exceptions) inflected as a definite article
  • There exists a special vocative form for the nom./acc. neuter sg.: Lieve kind (Lovely child). However this form is not widely accepted. One should use the nominative form instead.
  • Adjectives with a root on -en (e.g. houten, koperen) always end on -en: e.g. houten pop (wooden doll), koperen klink (copper doorknob).
  • This is true for all fabric names: they never have an ending: e.g. platina plaat (platina plate), linoleum vloerbedekking (linoleum floor).

[edit] The adjective is used as a noun

Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative de grote de grote het grote
Genitive des groots der grote des groots
Dative den grote der grote den grote
Accusative den grote de grote het grote
Plural
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative de groten de groten de grote
Genitive der groten der groten der grote
Dative den groten den/der groten den grote
Accusative de groten de groten de grote
  • The adjective is now inflected as a noun
  • Fabric names with a root on -en (e.g. houten, koperen) always end on -en: e.g. de houten (the wood), de koperen (the copper). Other adjectives are declined: e.g. volwassen (mature) --> een volwassene, de volwassenen
  • This is true for all fabric names: they never have an ending: e.g. het platina (the platina), het linoleum (the linoleum).

Caution: sometimes adjectives are not perceived as adjectives, but simply as nouns: e.g. nicknames, surnames, etc.

  • Kleines pet werd door de klas gesmeten. (Kleine's (=Little's) hat was thrown through the classroom) (Kleine = nickname)
  • De De Grotes waren weer eens te laat. (The De Grotes (The Greats) were late again) (De Grote = surname)


Singular
Nominative Kleine
Genitive Kleines
Dative Kleine
Accusative Kleine


Singular
Nominative de De Grote
Genitive des De Grotes
Dative den De Grote
Accusative den De Grote
Plural
Nominative de De Grotes/De Groten
Genitive der De Grotes/De Groten
Dative den De Grotes/De Groten
Accusative de de De Grotes/De Groten


Caution: sometimes an adjective, that is used as a noun, is not perceived as a noun itself, it behaves as if it were followed by a (silent) noun:

  • De kleine leerlingen moeten vooraan komen zitten, de grote (leerlingen) mogen achteraan plaatsnemen. (The small students should be in front, the large (students) can be in the back of the class)

[edit] Degrees of Comparison[8]

The degrees of comparison are forms of an adjective or an adverb. In Dutch there are three forms:

  • the stellende trap (the positive) (groot (great)), the normal form of the adjective or adverb
  • the vergrotende trap (the comparative) (groter (greater)) and
  • the overtreffende trap (the superlative) (grootst (greatest))

Normally the degrees of comparison are formed by adding -er (comparative) and -st (superlative) to the adjective's or adverb's root. If the adjective's or adverb's root ends on an r the comparative will end on -der,e.g. raar - raarder (strange - more strange), ver - verder (far - further).

Examples

  • groot - groter - grootst (great - greater - greatest)
  • belangrijk - belangrijker - belangrijkst (important - more important - most important)
  • oud - ouder - oudst (old - elder - eldest)

However there are some exceptions to this rule (so-called irregular forms):

  • goed - beter - best (good/well - better - best, adjective and adverb)
  • veel - meer - meest (much/many - more - most, adjective and adverb)
  • weinig - minder - minst (few - less -least, adjective and adverb)
  • graag - liever - liefst (good/well - better - best, adverb)

If an adjective's or adverb's root ends on an s, z, x, sh or sch, no s is added for the superlative:

  • precies - preciezer - preciest (precize - more precize - most precize)

Sometimes words are split into two parts:

  • dichtbevolkt - dichter bevolkt - dichtstbevolkt (populated - more populated - most populated)

Normally the conjunction dan is used after the comparative, some people use als (however, this is colloquial usage; als is considered to be incorrect and is not used in written language).

  • Ik ben rijker dan hij. (I am richer than he)
  • Ik ben rijker als hij. (I am richer than he) (incorrect usage)

Note: the constituent after dan or als is in the same case as the referent: ik (nom.) --> hij (nom.); mij(acc.) --> jou (acc.)

  • Hij sloeg mij harder dan jou. (He beat me harder than (he beat) you)
  • Hij sloeg mij harder dan jij. (He beat me harder than you (beat me))

Using meer (more) en meest (most): some adjectives do not have normal degrees of comparison, in these cases meer (comparative) en meest (superlative) are used. There are also mixed forms:

  • bereid - meer bereid - meest bereid (prepared - more prepared - most prepared)
  • archaïsch - archaïscher - meest archaïsch (archaic - more archaic - most archaic)[9]

It is considered incorrect to use meer en meest if the degrees of comparison exist:

  • meer mooi (incorrect) (correction: mooier = more beautiful)

[edit] Pronouns[10]

Dutch has 9 different pronouns:

[edit] Demonstrative pronoun

The accusative and dative are archaic, they are only used in fixed axpressions as ‘van dien aard’ (of that kind), ‘met alle gevolgen van dien’ (with those consequences), et cetera. The genitive is only used sporadically, mostly in fixed expressions as ‘wat dies meer zij’ (whatever it be) and ‘in dier voege’ (in that way). There are 8 different demonstrative pronouns in Dutch: deze, die, gene, gindse, zo'n, zo een, zulke en zulk een.

If something is close: deze

Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative deze deze dit
Genitive dezes dezer dezes
Dative dezen dezer dit
Accusative dezen deze dit
Plural
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative deze deze deze
Genitive dezer dezer dezer
Dative dezen dezen/dezer dezen
Accusative deze deze deze

If something is further: die, gene (archaic) of gindse (archaic)

Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative die die dat
Genitive dies/diens dier dies/diens
Dative dien dier dien
Accusative dien die dit
Plural
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative die die die
Genitive dier dier dier
Dative dien dien/dier dien
Accusative die die die

Gene, gindse and zulke are inflected as an adjective that precedes a noun, but is not preceded by any article.

Zo'n, zo een and zulk are inflected as the indefinite article.

[edit] Relative pronoun

Dutch has two different relative pronouns: die and wie. The die-form is the regular vorm, the wie-form is only used when the antecedent is missing. The words waar, waarmee, etc. are no pronouns but adverbs.

The declension of die

Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative die die dat
Genitive wiens wier wiens
Dative dien dier dien
Accusative dien die dit
Plural
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative die die die
Genitive wier wier wier
Dative dien dien/dier dien
Accusative die die die

The declension of wie:

Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative wie wie wat
Genitive wiens wier wiens
Dative wien wier wien
Accusative wien wie wat
Plural
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative wie wie wie
Genitive wier wier wier
Dative wien wien/wier wien
Accusative wie wie wie

[edit] Possessive pronoun

Dutch has 7 different possessive pronouns, of these some possess stressed and unstressed forms: mijn (m'n) (1 sing.), jouw (je) (2 sing.), uw (2 sing. en plural polite), zijn (z'n) (3 sing. m. and n.), haar (d'r) (3 sing. f.), ons (1 plural), jullie (2 plural), hun (3 plural). Nowadays the possessive pronoun is not inflected if it is used as an adjective. In the past it was inflected as the indefinite article. If it is used as a noun, it is inflected as an adjective which is used as a noun. The possessive pronoun still has, if used as a noun, a distinct form of the locative case: mijnent, jouwent, uwent, zijnent, harent, onzent, jullieënt, hunnent. In the locative, the possessive pronoun is alwys preceded by the preposition te.

Because the indefinite article does not have a plural, while the possessive pronoun does, there will be given a declesion of mijn. The roots of the possessive pronouns are: mijn- (m'n-), jouw- (je-), uw- (Uw-), zijn- (z'n-), haar- (d'r-), onz-, jullie- and hun. The regular spelling rules need to be used, e.g. onz becomes ons, julliee becomes jullieë, haaren becomes haren, huner becomes hunner, etc.

[edit] Declension of the possessive pronoun used as an adjective


Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative mijn/mijne mijn mijn
Genitive mijns mijner mijns
Dative mijnen mijner mijnen
Accusative mijnen mijn mijn
Plural
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative mijn(e) mijn(e) mijn(e)
Genitive mijner mijner mijner
Dative mijnen mijnen mijnen
Accusative mijn(e) mijn(e) mijn(e)


[edit] Declension of the possessive pronoun used as a noun


Singular
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative de mijne de mijne het mijne
Genitive des mijns der mijne des mijns
Dative den mijne der mijne den mijne
Accusative den mijne de mijne het mijne
Locative den mijnent der mijnent den mijnent
Plural
  Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative de mijnen de mijnen de mijne
Genitive der mijner der mijner der mijner
Dative den mijnen den mijnen/der mijner den mijnen
Accusative de mijnen de mijnen de mijne
Locative den mijnent den mijnent den mijnent

[edit] Indefinite pronoun

Dutch has 4 indefinite pronouns: iemand, iets, niemand en niets

Singular
  iemand niemand iets niets
Nominative iemand niemand iets niets
Genitive iemands niemands iets' niets'
Dative iemand niemand iets niets
Accusative iemand niemand iets niets

[edit] Personal Pronoun

The personal pronoun is one of the few pronouns that have a complete declension and all forms are still used in modern Dutch.

Singular
  1 2 3
Nominative ik ('k) jij (je), gij (ge), u (U) hij, zij, het
Genitive mijner jouwer, uwer (Uwer) zijner, harer, zijner
Dative mij (me) jou (je), u (U) hem, haar, het
Accusative mij (me) jou (je), u (U) hem, haar, het
Locative mijnent jouwent, uwent (uwent) zijnent, harent, zijnent
Plural
  1 2 3
Nominative wij (we) jullie, gij (ge), u (U) zij (ze)
Genitive onzer julliër, uwer (Uwer) hunner
Dative ons jullie, u (U) hun
Accusative ons jullie, u (U) hen
Locative onzent jullieënt, uwent (Uwent) hunnent

The genitive of the personal pronoun is usually replaced by the possessive pronoun.

[edit] Exclamative pronoun

Dutch has exclamative pronouns: wie, wat een, welk (een), zo'n and zulk(e).

For the declension of wie, see the relative pronoun, for the declension of wat een, welk een, zo'n and zulk een, see declension of the indefinite article, for the declension of welk(e) and zulk(e), see declension of the adjective preceding a noun, that is not preceded by an article

[edit] Interrogative pronoun

Dutch has 2 interrogative pronouns: wie/wat and welk(e) (the adjective form). For the declension of wie, see the relative pronoun article; for the declension of welk(e), see declension of the adjective preceding a noun that is not preceded by an article.

[edit] Reflexive pronoun

The reflexive pronoun is always accusative or dative:

Singular
  1 2 3
Dative mij(zelf)/me(zelf) je(zelf), zich(zelf), u(zelf) zich(zelf)
Accusative mij(zelf)/me(zelf) je(zelf), zich(zelf), u(zelf) zich(zelf)
Plural
  1 2 3
Dative ons(zelf) je(zelf), zich(zelf), u(zelf) zich(zelf)
Accusative ons(zelf) je(zelf), zich(zelf), u(zelf) zich(zelf)

[edit] Reciprocal pronoun

Dutch has three reciprocal pronouns: elkaar, elkander and mekaar. The reciprocal pronoun does not have a nominative and a singular.

Plural
  elkaar elkander mekaar
Genitive elkaars elkanders mekaars
Dative elkaar elkander mekaar
Accusative elkaar elkander mekaar

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbuiging_van_het_lidwoord
  2. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datief
  3. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accusatief
  4. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbuiging_van_het_zelfstandig_naamwoord
  5. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vormen_van_verkleinwoord_in_het_Nederlands
  6. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkleinwoord
  7. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbuiging_van_het_bijvoeglijk_naamwoord
  8. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trappen_van_vergelijking
  9. ^ VRTtaal.net - archaïsch
  10. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbuiging_van_het_voornaamwoord
  11. ^ http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aanwijzend_voornaamwoord