The traditional form isi butje is found as early as in the first recorded texts in Bourguignon. However nowadays, it is rare to find it, most speakers sayingi as it is a typical feature of Bourguignon.
Je mag hier niet zwemmen. ―Swimming is not allowed here.
In dat restaurant kunje heerlijk eten. ―There is great food to be had in that restaurant.
1995 May 23, Marleen Barth, “'Politiek moet leren luisteren naar scholen' ['Politicians must learn to listen to schools']”, inTrouw[1], page 4:
„Alsje als directeur ondernemend van aard bent enje kunt goed leidinggeven, dan benje natuurlijk wel gelukkig met meer vrijheid. Maar dat geldt voor veel directeuren niet.(...)"
"If a headteacher is entrepreneurial by nature and ifhe or she is a good manager,they'll obviously be happy with more freedom. But this does not apply to many headteachers.(...)"
(personal pronoun,colloquial)I,one;used to talk about oneself indirectly, especially about feelings or personal experiences
Je gaat wel even een moeilijk periode door, maarje zoekt toch naar een oplossing. ―I did go through a difficult period, butI looked for a solution nonetheless.
1994 December 31, Wang An Oe, “'Voor een paar tientjes was ik ineens directeur' ['For a couple of tenners, I suddenly became a CEO']”, inLeeuwarder Courant[2], page17:
Het echtpaar Duijm uit Spijkenisse toog zo'n vier maanden geleden naar de Kamer van Koophandel omdat meneer en mevrouw wel wat zagen in een strijkservice. (...) „Voor ƒ 58 inschrijfgeld waren we plotseling directeur en directrice. Na afloop voelje weer de frisse lucht buiten en dan denkje wel even: waar zijn we aan begonnen?"
About four months ago, Mr and Mrs Duijm from Spijkenisse went to the Chamber of Commerce because the couple saw business potential for an ironing service. (...) "For a ƒ58 registration fee, we were suddenly CEOs. Afterwards,I felt the fresh outside air again and at that momentI did think to myself: what did we get ourselves into?"
Whenje is the unstressed subjective form ofjullie, it is construed with a singular verb. Compare:
Het is gevaarlijk, maar jullie moeten weten wat je doet.
It’s dangerous, but you must decide what you’re doing.
In informal language,je often replacesjij,jou, andjouw, with those forms used for emphasis or contrast.
Hebje aanje maat gevraagd of ’ie z’n boor voorje kan meenemen? — Ja, hij zei dat ik ’m daarna aan jou mag geven zodat jij ’m voor jouw klusje kunt gebruiken.
Didyou askyour mate to bring his drill foryou? — Yes, he said I can give it toyou afterwards soyou can use it foryour project.
1) Not as common in written language. 2) Inflected as anadjective. 3) Inprescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). 4) Inprescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). 5) Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. 6) To differentiate from the singulargij,gelle (object formelle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms aregijlieden andgijlui ("you people").
7)Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronounu, e.g.Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronounu is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g.U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Onlyu can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g.Meld u aan! 'Log in!', whereu is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, bothu andzich are equally possible, e.g.U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' 8) Not officially recognized in standard Dutch. It has gained popularity, especially in mainstream media and queer circles, as a respectful term fornon-binary individuals.
1) Not as common in written language. 2) Inflected as anadjective. 3) Inprescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). 4) Inprescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). 5) Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. 6) To differentiate from the singulargij,gelle (object formelle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms aregijlieden andgijlui ("you people").
7)Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronounu, e.g.Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronounu is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g.U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Onlyu can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g.Meld u aan! 'Log in!', whereu is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, bothu andzich are equally possible, e.g.U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' 8) Not officially recognized in standard Dutch. It has gained popularity, especially in mainstream media and queer circles, as a respectful term fornon-binary individuals.
1) Not as common in written language. 2) Inflected as anadjective. 3) Inprescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). 4) Inprescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). 5) Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. 6) To differentiate from the singulargij,gelle (object formelle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms aregijlieden andgijlui ("you people").
7)Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronounu, e.g.Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronounu is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g.U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Onlyu can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g.Meld u aan! 'Log in!', whereu is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, bothu andzich are equally possible, e.g.U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' 8) Not officially recognized in standard Dutch. It has gained popularity, especially in mainstream media and queer circles, as a respectful term fornon-binary individuals.
The prepositionje can replace any other preposition and remain grammatically correct, albeit more ambiguous. It is usually clear what meaning is intended based on context.
It is most useful for prepositional phrases not involving a literal physical connection, and instead, the correct preposition in the source language is mandated by convention only:
"He bets on the horses." (He doesn't place his money on the physical body of the horse.)
"I typed it on the computer." (It was actually typedusing the computer.)
"She'll be here in a minute." (She'll be here within orafter a minute.)
Without context,Donu ĝinje mi could mean any of the following:
Donu ĝinje [al] mi. — “Give it to me.”
Donu ĝinje [el] mi. — “Give it from me.”
Donu ĝinje [kun] mi. — “Give it with me.”
Without context,La kato saltis je la tablon could mean any of the following:
La kato saltisje [sur] la tablon. — “The cat jumped onto the table.”
La kato saltisje [sub] la tablon. — “The cat jumped under the table.”
La kato saltisje [malantaŭ] la tablon. — “The cat jumped behind the table.”
When several pronouns are included in the same sentence, it is consideredimpolite to say the pronounje first; it must be the last one, andtu must be said after third persons (this applies also fortoi andmoi):
1 The disjunctive (tonic) forms are also used after an explicit preposition (de/d’,à,pour,chez,dans,vers,sur,sous, ...), instead the accusative, dative, genitive, locative, or reflexive forms, where a preposition is implied. 2Il is also used as an impersonal nominative-only pronoun. 3On can also function as a first person plural (although agreeing with third person singular verb forms). 4 The nominal indeterminate formce (demonstrative) can also be used with the auxiliary verbêtre as a plural, instead of the proximal or distal gendered forms. 5 The reflexive third person singular forms (se ors’) for accusative or dative are also used as third person plural reflexive. 6Vous is also used as the polite singular form, in which case the plural disjunctive tonicvous-mêmes becomes singularvous-même. 7Ils,eux andeux-mêmes are also used when a group has a mixture of masculine and feminine members.
Courtz, Hendrik (2008),A Carib grammar and dictionary[5], Toronto: Magoria Books,→ISBN, page285
Ahlbrinck, Willem (1931), “ye”, inEncyclopaedie der Karaïben, Amsterdam: Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen, page548; republished as Willem Ahlbrinck, Doude van Herwijnen, transl.,L'Encyclopédie des Caraïbes[6], Paris,1956, page537
