Reflexive Verbs and Pronouns

01

The Pronouns

The reflexive pronoun matches the subject. In the first and second person it is the same word as the ordinary object pronoun; only the third person has a form of its own, zich, which covers he, she, it and they alike.

• ik - me
• jij - je
• hij, zij, het - zich
• wij - ons
• jullie - je
• zij (plural) - zich

The polite u takes zich as well.

02

Feeling: The One You Will Need First

voelen is reflexive in Dutch where the English "to feel" is not, and it comes up in every conversation about how somebody is doing.

• Ik voel me niet goed.

  I do not feel well.

• Ik voel me geweldig!

  I feel great!

• Hoe voel je je?

  How do you feel?

That last question carries je twice, and the two are doing different jobs: the first is the subject, you, and the second is the reflexive pronoun belonging to the verb.

03

Where the Pronoun Sits

In a main clause the pronoun comes straight after the finite verb. In a subordinate clause the verb moves to the end, and the pronoun stays behind with the subject rather than travelling with it.

• Ik voel me ziek en moet vandaag thuisblijven.

  I feel ill and have to stay home today.

• Ik hoop dat je je snel wat beter voelt.

  I hope you feel a bit better soon.

04

Verbs That Are Always Reflexive

Some verbs never appear without the pronoun at all. A dictionary lists them with zich in front, and that word is part of the entry rather than an example of use.

• zich bevinden - to be located
• zich herinneren - to remember
• zich haasten - to hurry
• zich vergissen - to be mistaken

• Het restaurant bevindt zich boven het treinstation.

  The restaurant is above the train station.

• Ik wil dat je een plan maakt en je daaraan houdt.

  I want you to make a plan and stick to it.

05

zich or zichzelf

The longer zichzelf is used when the point is that the person acted on themselves rather than on somebody else. Where a verb is always reflexive there is no such contrast to draw, so the short form is the only one that appears.

• Hij wast zich.

  He is washing.

• Hij wast zichzelf, niet de auto.

  He is washing himself, not the car.

06

zelf Is a Different Word

zelf looks like a reflexive pronoun and is not one. It is an intensifier, saying that nobody else did the thing, and it sits happily in a sentence with no reflexive verb anywhere in it.

• Ik heb het zelf gebakken.

  I baked it myself.