Personal pronouns (ik, jij/je, hij/zij/het, wij/we, zij)

• When to use wij/we, jij/je, zij/ze?
• Links

When to use wij/we, jij/je, zij/ze?

Basic rule: you use je, we and ze more often than the other forms. So if you are in doubt: choose the form with the 'e' at then end.

The difference between English and Dutch, is that we have 2 forms for each personal pronoun, a stressed one and an unstressed one. The forms with the 'e' at the end are the unstressed ones.

The difference between stressed (marked) and unstressed (unmarked) becomes clear by a few examples.

We waren op tijd (we were in time) versus wij waren op tijd.
In the second (stressed) form, the word wij is stressed to indicate that *we* were in time (and they weren't).
In the first sentence the emphasis is on tijd.

Je hoeft je geen zorgen te maken (you don't have to worry) versus
Jij hoeft je geen zorgen te maken.
In the first sentence the emphasis is on zorgen, in the second on jij (implying that *I* do have to worry).

How can you know whether a personal pronoun is stressed or not? It's a matter of intuition and experience. But as I said at the beginning: the 'e'-forms are used more often.

This page explains it very clearly in English (and you may also have a look at the 2 pages introducing this one, the first one and the second one).

Links