hen or hun? Dutch ‘them’, possessive hun (‘their’), and subject zij/ze (‘they’)
Choose hen after a linking word or when an action directly affects people, traditional hun when people receive something, possessive hun for ‘their’, and zij/ze for subject ‘they’.
Ik zie hen. (I see them.) Ik geef hun het boek. (I give them the book.) These are full forms of them. Dat is hun huis. (That is their house.) Here hun shows possession. Zij wonen in Amsterdam. (They live in Amsterdam.) Here zij is the subject. For usage history and edge cases, see hen, hun or ze?.
Use three checks for the traditional full forms
Use hen after a preposition and for a direct object. Use hun for an indirect object when no preposition comes before it. A direct object is the person you see, invite, or thank. An indirect object is the person who receives something. A preposition is a linking word such as voor (for), met (with), aan (to), or naar (to).
- Does a preposition stand immediately before the pronoun? Use hen: Ik doe het voor hen. (I do it for them.)
- Does the verb act directly on the people? Use hen: We hebben hen uitgenodigd. (We invited them.)
- Do the people receive something, with no preposition before the pronoun? The traditional rule uses hun: Ik geef hun het boek. (I give them the book.)
When a person receives something, compare the two forms. Without a preposition, write Ik geef hun het boek. (I give them the book.) With aan, write Ik geef het boek aan hen. (I give the book to them.)
These checks give the traditional school rule. Current usage is less fixed. Many editors also accept hen for an indirect object: Ik geef hen het boek. (I give them the book.) A test of the traditional rule still expects hun.
Use unstressed ze in any object role
Ik zie ze. (I see them.) Unstressed ze can replace hen and hun for people as a direct object, an indirect object, or after a preposition: Ik geef ze het boek. (I give them the book.) Ik wacht op ze. (I am waiting for them.) When you contrast two groups, use a full form: Ik bedoel hen, niet jullie. (I mean them, not you.) Formal writing also uses the full forms more often.
Use possessive hun before a noun
Dat is hun huis. (That is their house.) Here hun means their and comes before the noun huis (house). Use hun for this possessive role; hen does not show possession.
Use zij or ze as the subject
Zij wonen in Amsterdam. (They live in Amsterdam.) Standard Dutch uses stressed zij or unstressed ze as the subject. You may hear Hun wonen in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, but subject hun is not Standard Dutch.
- Use the traditional full form: *Ik heb een cadeau voor ___.* (I have a gift for them.)
- *hun*
- *hen*
- *zij*
- *ze*
*Voor* (for) is a preposition, so the traditional full form is *hen*: *voor hen* (for them). Unstressed *ze* is also standard but is more informal; this question asks for the full form.
- Which sentence follows the traditional rule?
- *Ik geef hen het boek.*
- *Ik geef hun het boek.*
- *Ik geef zij het boek.*
- *Ik geef hun aan het boek.*
The people receive the book, so they are the indirect object. There is no preposition before the pronoun, so the traditional rule uses *hun*: *Ik geef hun het boek.* Current usage also accepts indirect-object *hen*, but this question tests the traditional rule.
- *Wij kennen ___ al jaren.* Which full form fits the direct object?
- *hun*
- *hen*
- *zij*
- *hunne*
The people are the direct object: they are the people we know. The traditional full form is *hen*: *Wij kennen hen al jaren.* (We have known them for years.)
- Spot the nonstandard subject in *Hun wonen in Amsterdam.*
- *Hun* should be *hen*
- *Hun* should be *zij*
- *wonen* should be *woont*
- nothing is wrong
Standard Dutch uses *zij* when the subject is stressed and *ze* when it is unstressed: *Zij wonen in Amsterdam.* Subject *hun* occurs in the Netherlands but is not Standard Dutch.
- In the sentence *Dat is hun huis* (That is their house), what is *hun*?
- a direct object
- an indirect object
- the possessive ‘their’
- a subject
Before the noun *huis* (house), *hun* is the possessive meaning their: *hun huis* (their house). This possessive form does not change to *hen*.
Test yourself
Question 1 of 5
Use the traditional full form: Ik heb een cadeau voor ___. (I have a gift for them.)