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Pronoun Types 15
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Personal pronounsLecture1.1
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Personal pronoun exercisesLecture1.2
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Possessive pronounsLecture1.3
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Possessive pronoun exercisesLecture1.4
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Gender and pronounsLecture1.5
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Stressed and unstressed pronounsLecture1.6
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Reflexive pronounsLecture1.7
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Demonstrative pronounsLecture1.8
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Demonstrative pronoun exercisesLecture1.9
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Interrogative pronounsLecture1.10
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Interrogative pronoun exercisesLecture1.11
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Relative pronounsLecture1.12
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Relatvie pronoun exercisesLecture1.13
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Indefinite pronounsLecture1.14
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Pronouns exercises (advanced)Lecture1.15
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Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns are usually accompany a noun, but they can als be used independently. Demostrative pronouns are also used to identify people or objects ((This/That is …).
They point out a specific person or thing. Their form depends on the gender of the noun they qualify and on whether the person or thing is near or far, relative to the speaker.
Deze trui (de-word, near) is rood, maar die trui (de-word, far) is blauw.
This jumper is red, but that jumper is blue.
Dit meisje (het-word, near) heet Hanna, maar dat meisje (het-word, far) heet Simone.
This girl is called Hanna, but that girl is called Simone.
More schematically:
| near | far | |
| common (de words) | deze | die |
| neuter (het words) | dit | dat |
Remember that all plurals are de words:
Dit kind (het word, near) is Vlaams, maar die kinderen (plural het word, far) zijn Nederlands.
This child is Flemish, but those childeren are Dutch.
Dat meisje (het word, far) eet een pannenkoek, maar deze meisjes (plural het word, near) eten poffertjes.
That girl is eating a pancake, but these girls are eating poffertjes.
Independent use of demonstratives
Demonstrative pronouns have great cohesive value, because they can also occur independently (without the noun), to refer back to a noun which has been used earlier:
Heb je geen strippenkaart (de word)? Je mag deze wel lenen.
Don’t you have a travel card? You can borrow this one.
Heb je een fiets (de word)? Ja, die heb ik.
Have you got a bicycle? Yes, I have one.
Je ziet dan een plein (het word). Dat steek je over.
Then you see a square. You cross that.
Ik houd meestal niet van pannenkoeken (plural de word), maar deze vind ik wel lekker.
I don’t usually like pancakes, but I do like these.
Identity construction
When used independently with the verb zijn (to be) to identify one or more persons, the demonstrative pronoun behaves unexpectedly. Only dit and dat are used, even when referring to plurals.
Dit is Hanna, en dat zijn haar buren.
This is Hanna and these are her neighbours.
Dit zijn Simone en Karin, en dat is hun broertje.
This is Simone and this is Karin, and that is their little brother.
Dat was gezellig, hè?
That was pleasant, wasn’t it?
Nederlanders houden van poffertjes. Dat zijn kleine, zoete pannenkoekjes.
Dutch people love poffertjes, They are small, sweet pancakes.