Independent possessives: de mijne (mine), het jouwe (yours), van mij (mine)
How to use standalone forms such as de mijne, van mij and die van mij, including de/het agreement and the missing jullie form.
Is dit jouw boek of het mijne? (Is this your book or mine?) An independent, or standalone, possessive replaces a noun that is already clear. Dutch uses three related patterns. De/het mijne (mine) replaces the noun. Van mij (mine; literally, of me) says who something belongs to. Die/dat van mij (the one or ones belonging to me) replaces a known noun with a van phrase. An ordinary possessive, by contrast, stays before a noun: mijn boek (my book).
Free possessives take de or het
In standard Dutch, a free possessive has a definite article: de mijne or het mijne, not bare mijne. Choose the article from the noun that has been left out. A de-word and every plural take de; a singular het-word takes het. Learn each row below as a complete form; do not try to build it by adding an ending.
| Possessor | Free form for a de-word or plural | Free form for a singular het-word |
|---|---|---|
| ik (I) | de mijne | het mijne |
| jij (you, singular informal) | de jouwe | het jouwe |
| u (you, polite) | de uwe | het uwe |
| hij / het (he / it) | de zijne | het zijne |
| zij (she) | de hare | het hare |
| wij (we) | de onze | het onze |
| jullie (you, plural) | no free form; use die van jullie | no free form; use dat van jullie |
| zij (they) | de hunne | het hunne |
| Noun left out | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| de jas (the coat) | Is dit jouw jas? Nee, de mijne is zwart. (Is this your coat? No, mine is black.) | A de-word takes de. |
| het boek (the book) | Jouw boek ligt hier; het mijne ligt thuis. (Your book is here; mine is at home.) | A singular het-word takes het. |
| de sleutels (the keys) | Jouw sleutels liggen hier; de mijne liggen thuis. (Your keys are here; mine are at home.) | Every plural takes de. |
The possessor chooses the row in the table; the omitted noun chooses de or het. If you are unsure about a noun's article, see de or het. You will also hear de/het mijne and de/het jouwe in conversation. The other free forms appear more often in writing, so the whole set is not simply 'formal'.
The possessor does not have to be a person: it can also be an animal, a thing or an institution. Dutch has no separate free form reserved only for English 'its'. The same zijne form serves both hij (he) and het (it): Het ministerie publiceerde zijn plan; het bedrijf publiceerde het zijne. (The ministry published its plan; the company published its own.) Here plan is a het-word, so the company, het bedrijf, uses het zijne.
Van mij states who something belongs to
Die tas is van mij. (That bag is mine.) Here the noun is still present, and van plus an object pronoun states who it belongs to. This standard pattern is common in both speech and writing: van mij, van jou, van u, van hem, van haar, van ons, van jullie, van hen. In particular, van jullie (yours, plural) supplies the meaning for which there is no free jullie form.
Die tas is de mijne. (That bag is mine.) This free-possessive version is also grammatical, but the two structures do not work in exactly the same way. Van mij follows a form of zijn without an article. De/het mijne replaces the missing noun and always includes de or het. The wider use of van to name an owner is covered under showing possession with van.
Die/dat van replaces a known noun
| Noun class | Replacement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| singular de-word | die van + pronoun | Jouw fiets staat binnen; die van mij staat buiten. (Your bicycle is inside; mine is outside.) |
| singular het-word | dat van + pronoun | Jouw idee is goed, maar dat van mij is beter. (Your idea is good, but mine is better.) |
| plural | die van + pronoun | Onze sleutels liggen hier; die van jullie liggen daar. (Our keys are here; yours are there.) |
This die/dat van pattern is especially common in speech. It is also required when the possessor is jullie: use die van jullie for a de-word or plural and dat van jullie for a singular het-word. Do not invent forms such as de jullie or het jullie. See the broader rule for die and dat as noun replacements.
Each pattern does a different job
| Job | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Replace a known noun with a free possessive | de/het + fixed form | Is dat jouw glas of het mijne? (Is that your glass or mine?) |
| State who something belongs to | noun + a form of zijn + van + object pronoun | Dat glas is van mij. (That glass is mine.) |
| Replace a known noun with a van-phrase | die/dat + van + object pronoun | Jouw glas is leeg; dat van mij is vol. (Your glass is empty; mine is full.) |
In conversation and ordinary writing, van mij and die/dat van mij are safe choices. You can also use de/het mijne and de/het jouwe in speech; expect the other free forms more often in writing.
A bare mijn cannot stand alone
In standard Dutch, mijn needs a following noun, so Dit is mijn is not a standard way to say 'This is mine.' If the noun remains in the sentence, say Dit boek is van mij. (This book is mine.) If a known het-word is omitted, you can say Dit is het mijne. (This is mine.) You can also use a replacement such as Dat van mij ligt hier. (Mine is here.) The same rule applies to jouw, zijn and haar: say Die pen is van jou, not Die pen is jouw.
- Vul in: *Is dit jouw jas? Nee, ___ is blauw.* (Complete the sentence; the noun is *de jas*.)
- *de mijne*
- *het mijne*
- *mijn*
- *de mijn*
*Jas* is a *de*-word, so the free possessive takes *de*: *de mijne*. The omitted noun, not the possessor, decides the article.
- Which free possessive can replace *zijn boek* when *boek* is already clear?
- *de zijne*
- *het zijne*
- *zijn*
- *het zijn*
*Boek* is a singular *het*-word, so the free possessive is *het zijne*. Depending on the possessor, *het zijne* (his own / its own) can refer to *hij* (he) or *het* (it).
- Which sentence uses *van* plus a pronoun to state who the bag belongs to?
- *Die tas is de mijne.*
- *Die tas is van mij.*
- *Die tas is mijn.*
- *Die tas mij.*
*Die tas is van mij* uses *van* + an object pronoun after *is* to say who owns the bag. *Die tas is de mijne* is also grammatical, but it uses a free possessive instead.
- Which correction makes *Dit is jouw pen en dit is mijn* standard Dutch?
- *Dit is jouw pen en dit is van mij.*
- *Dit is jouw pen en dit is mijn.*
- *Dit is jou pen en dit is mij.*
- *Dit is jouw pen en dit is de mijn.*
Bare *mijn* needs a following noun in standard Dutch. *Van mij* can state possession on its own: *Dit is van mij.*
- Vul in: *Ons idee is goed, maar ___ is beter.* (The noun is *het idee*.)
- *die van jullie*
- *dat van jullie*
- *het jullie*
- *de jullie*
*Idee* is a singular *het*-word, so its replacement is *dat*. Because Dutch has no free *jullie* form, use *dat van jullie*.
Test yourself
Question 1 of 5
Vul in: Is dit jouw jas? Nee, ___ is blauw. (Complete the sentence; the noun is de jas.)