Person and Number
In Dutch there are two grammatical numbers (getallen) (as in English): singular (enkelvoud) and plural (meervoud) and three grammatical persons (personen) (as in English). They are determined as followed:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | ik ('k) | wij (we) |
| Second Person | jij (je); gij (ge); u (U) | jullie; gij (ge); u (U) |
| Third Person | hij (ie); zij (ze); het ('t) | zij (ze) |
Ik, wij, jij, gij, u, U, jullie, hij, zij, and het are the stressed forms, 'k, we, je, ge, ie, ze and 't are the non-stressed forms, U is the polite form (see Dutch declension). Because the conjugation pattern is different or equal for some persons, the conjugation is given by pronoun and not by grammatical person.
There are five forms of each verb in each tense:
- a form for ik ('k) (the pronoun jij (je) follows the same pattern as ik in the present simple if it follows the verb, see t-rules).
- a form for jij (je) (the pronouns u and U can also follow this form)
- a form for gij (ge) (the pronouns u, U and jullie can also follow this form)
- a form for hij (ie), zij (ze), het ('t) and u (U) (= a form for the third person)
- a plural form
Read more about this topic: Dutch Conjugation
Famous quotes containing the words person and, person and/or number:
“If you have this enormous talent, it’s got you by the balls, it’s a demon. You can’t be a family man and a husband and a caring person and be that animal. Dickens wasn’t that nice a guy.”
—Dustin Hoffman (b. 1937)
“Thus did I keep my person fresh and new,
My presence, like a robe pontifical,
Ne’er seen but wondered at, and so my state,
Seldom but sumptuous, showed like a feast.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“A considerable percentage of the people we meet on the street are people who are empty inside, that is, they are actually already dead. It is fortunate for us that we do not see and do not know it. If we knew what a number of people are actually dead and what a number of these dead people govern our lives, we should go mad with horror.”
—George Gurdjieff (c. 1877–1949)