Basic pointing and belonging | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Wat is dit?

   What is this?

   Wat

   what

   is

   is

   dit

   this

   More detail

   Wat means “what” and asks for the identity or nature of something. It is an interrogative pronoun. Example: Wat doe je? — “What are you doing?” is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular third-person subject. Here it links the question word to the thing being identified. Example: Dit is nieuw. — “This is new.” dit means “this.” It is a Dutch demonstrative used for a nearby or currently indicated singular neuter noun; the specific referent is not identified by this sentence alone. The contrasting form in the supplied context is dat, meaning “that,” for something farther away or less immediately indicated. Example: Dit is mijn boek. — “This is my book.” Together, Wat is dit? forms the reusable pattern “What is this?”: Wat asks for identification, is expresses “is,” and dit identifies the thing as “this.”

2. Wat is dat?

   What is that?

   Wat

   what

   is

   is

   dat

   that

   More detail

   Wat means “what” when asking about the identity or nature of something. It is the Dutch question word for an unknown thing; wie is used instead when asking about a person. Example: Wat is dit? — “What is this?” is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular subject in the third person. The useful pattern is Wat is ...? (“What is ...?”). Example: Wat is dat? — “What is that?” dat is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. In Dutch, dit and dat are the singular forms used with neuter (het) words: dit generally points to something nearer, while dat generally points to something farther away or already being indicated. The supplied contrast Wat is dit? / Wat is dat? illustrates “this” versus “that.” Together, Wat + is + dat forms a question asking for the identity or nature of the indicated thing: “What is that?”

3. Wie is dat?

   Who is that?

   Wie

   who

   is

   is

   dat

   that

   More detail

   Wie asks about a person’s identity: “who”. It is a question pronoun, not the question word for an unspecified thing. Compare Wat is dat? — “What is that?” is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for a singular third-person subject. The form changes with the subject: ik ben (“I am”), jij bent (“you are”), hij/zij/het is (“he/she/it is”). Example: Wie is zij? — “Who is she?” dat is the demonstrative pronoun “that”. In this fixed question, it points to the person whose identity is being asked about; Dutch commonly uses Wie is dat? for this purpose. As a demonstrative form, dat is the singular form associated with a het-word or with a situation being pointed out; it does not itself identify the person’s gender. For comparison, die is another demonstrative form, used in different noun-agreement or distance contexts. Example: Wat is dat? — “What is that?” Together, Wie + is + dat forms the reusable Dutch question pattern Wie is dat?: “Who is that?” It asks for the identity of the person indicated by dat, without adding any information about who that person is.

4. Welke is van jou?

   Which one is yours?

   Welke

   which one

   is

   is

   van jou

   yours

   More detail

   Welke means “which one” here. It selects one item from a relevant set. Dutch uses wie for “who,” as in Wie is dat?; welke selects among things or choices. Example: Welke wil je? — “Which one do you want?” is is the present-tense form of zijn (“to be”) for the third-person singular. Here it links the selected item with its possessor. Example: Dit is van mij. — “This is mine.” van jou expresses possession here: “yours.” jou is the stressed form of “you” used after van; it identifies the possessor. It is different from the subject form jij. Dutch commonly uses van plus a pronoun for possession: van mij means “mine,” as in Deze is van mij. — “This one is mine.” Together, Welke is van jou? asks which item belongs to the person addressed: “Which one is yours?” The next sentence demonstrates the same possession pattern with van mij; Deze means “this one.”

5. Deze is van mij.

   This one is mine.

   Deze

   this one

   is

   is

   van mij

   mine

   More detail

   Deze is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “this one” here. It points to a singular nearby or salient item, but the fixed sentence does not identify exactly what that item is. Dutch deze is used with singular de-words and with plural nouns; the form itself does not identify the referent. is is the present-tense third-person singular form of zijn, “to be.” The same form is used with a singular subject: Hij is thuis means “He is at home.” van mij expresses possession: literally “of me,” and in this sentence “mine.” mij is the stressed form of the first-person singular pronoun after van; the unstressed form me is also possible in less emphatic contexts. Before a noun, Dutch normally uses the possessive form mijn, as in mijn boek (“my book”), rather than van mij. Together, Deze is van mij. means “This one is mine”: the demonstrative identifies one item, is links it to an identity or ownership relation, and van mij states that it belongs to the speaker. Dutch punctuation and word order make this a simple statement; the ownership phrase can be reused with another subject, for example Die is van jou — “That one is yours.”

6. Die is van jou.

   That one is yours.

   Die

   that one

   is

   is

   van jou

   yours

   More detail

   Die means “that one” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun: it points to a singular referent at some distance or contrast, without naming that referent. The form is also used for plural referents in other contexts, so the form alone does not establish singularity; here, the fixed translation gives the singular reading. Compare the source-context example Deze is van mij. (“This one is mine”): deze contrasts with die as a nearer versus more distant or contrasted demonstrative. is is the present-tense form of zijn, “to be,” for a singular subject such as die. Useful present forms include ik ben (“I am”), jij bent (“you are”), and hij/zij/het is (“he/she/it is”). In this sentence, is links the demonstrative subject with the ownership expression that follows. van jou literally uses van (“of/from”) with jou (“you,” an object or emphasized form). Together, van jou expresses possession: “yours.” This is a reusable Dutch pattern: Dat is van mij. means “That is mine,” while Dat is van jou. means “That is yours.” Jou is distinct from the subject form jij; for example, Jij bent hier. means “You are here,” whereas Ik zie jou. means “I see you.” Together, Die is van jou. has the structure “that one + is + of you,” producing the natural meaning “That one is yours.” It identifies one indicated item as belonging to the person addressed, without naming the item itself.