Breakdown of De buurvrouw roept jou, maar jij hoort haar niet.
jij
you
niet
not
maar
but
haar
her
horen
to hear
jou
you (singular object)
de buurvrouw
the neighbor (female)
roepen
to call (shout)
Questions & Answers about De buurvrouw roept jou, maar jij hoort haar niet.
Why does this sentence use jou first, and then jij?
Jou is an object pronoun (the person receiving the action of being called), while jij is a subject pronoun (the person doing the action of hearing). In English, both are just 'you', but Dutch uses different words depending on their role in the sentence.
Could I use je instead of jou and jij?
Yes, grammatically you could use the unstressed je for both. However, using the stressed forms jou and jij creates a strong contrast for emphasis: the neighbor is calling you, but you are not hearing her.
How do we know to use haar (her) at the end of the sentence?
The word buurvrouw specifically means a female neighbor. If the neighbor were male, it would be de buurman, and you would use the masculine object pronoun hem (him) instead.
Why is niet placed at the very end of the sentence?
When you negate a complete action (like not hearing someone), niet usually goes at the end of the clause. In Dutch, niet must come after specific objects, like the pronoun haar.
Why is it jij hoort with a -t at the end? Doesn't the -t disappear for jij?
The -t only disappears when jij or je comes directly after the verb, which usually happens in questions (like Hoor jij?). Because jij is in front of the verb here, the standard -t ending stays.
Learn De buurvrouw roept jou, maar jij hoort haar niet and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free