Body Parts and Possessives
When describing actions happening to someone's body, Dutch often avoids using a possessive pronoun (like zijn or mijn) directly before the body part.
Instead, use an object pronoun (hem, haar, me, je) for the person receiving the action, and a definite article (de or het) with the body part.
| The stuntman kicks him in the chest. | De stuntman schopt hem op de borst. |
| She grabs him by the wrist. | Zij grijpt hem bij de pols. |
English sometimes does this too ("in the chest", "by the wrist"), but Dutch applies it more consistently. The preposition depends on the action verb: you grab someone bij (by), pinch someone in (in), and kick someone op (on/in) or tegen (against).
| He pinches me in the cheek. | Hij knijpt me in de wang. |
| You kick me on the ankle. | Je schopt me tegen de enkel. |
This structure remains exactly the same even with auxiliary verbs or multiple actions.
| The stuntman will probably kick you in the chest. | De stuntman zal je wel op de borst schoppen. |
| She kisses him on the cheek and pinches him on the chin. | Zij kust hem op de wang en knijpt hem in de kin. |
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