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
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“Can it be, that the Greek grammarians invented their dual number for the particular benefit of twins?”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)