As you read on the previous page, the Dutch have several pronouns with a stressed (or 'marked') and a regular, unstressed form. I will repeat them here:
| English
| Dutch - unstressed
| Dutch - stressed
|
| You
| je
| jij
|
| She
| ze
| zij
|
| It
| het
| demonstrative? dit, dat
|
| We
| we
| wij
|
| they [persons]
| ze
| zij
|
| they [inanimate]
| ze
| demonstrative? deze, die
|
Ik (I), hij (he), and jullie (plural you) do not have separate words for stressed and unstressed pronouns.
If we want to stress inanimate het (it) and ze (they), we use a demonstrative pronoun?.
Examples
Je and jij:
| Unstressed
| Je hoeft je geen zorgen te maken.
| You do not have to worry.
|
| Stressed
| Jij hoeft je geen zorgen te maken (maar ik wel).
| You do not have to worry (but I do).
|
Ze and zij:
| Unstressed
| Ze wilde niet mee.
| She did not want to come along.
|
| Stressed
| Zij wilde niet mee (maar de anderen wel).
| She did not want to come along (but the others did).
|
Het and dit/dat:
| Unstressed
| Het staat nog steeds te koop.
| It is still for sale.
|
| Stressed
| Dat staat nog steeds te koop (maar die andere huizen zijn al verkocht).
| That is still for sale (but the other houses are already sold)
|
We and wij:
| Unstressed
| We waren op tijd.
| We were on time.
|
| Stressed
| Wij waren op tijd (de anderen niet).
| We were on time (the others were not).
|
Ze and zij (persons):
| Unstressed
| Dat zeggen ze altijd.
| They always say that.
|
| Stressed
| Dat zeggen zij altijd (niet iemand anders).
| They always say that (not someone else).
|
Ze and deze/die (inanimate):
| Unstressed
| Ze zijn tijdelijk afgeprijsd.
| They are temporarily discounted.
|
| Stressed
| Deze zijn afgeprijsd (maar die niet).
| They are discounted (but those are not)
|
For someone who is learning Dutch, it is often difficult to determine when a pronoun needs to be stressed. This skill can only be aquired by experience. It may be helpful to know that unstressed pronouns are more commonly used than stressed pronouns.