Word
In de ochtend scheer jij je.
Meaning
In the morning, you shave.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about In de ochtend scheer jij je.
Why is there a je at the end of the sentence?
In Dutch, the verb zich scheren (to shave) is a reflexive verb. This means you literally say that you shave yourself. Because the subject is jij (you), the matching reflexive pronoun is je (yourself).
Why do we have both jij and je right next to each other?
Jij is the subject (you) and je is the reflexive pronoun (yourself). We use jij here for the subject to put a little emphasis on you, while je is just the required grammar word. You could also say In de ochtend scheer je je, but using jij makes the sentence sound a bit clearer and less repetitive.
Why is the verb scheer instead of scheert?
Normally, verbs with jij get a -t at the end (for example, jij scheert). However, Dutch has a special rule: when the subject jij or je comes directly after the verb, the -t is dropped. Because the word order is flipped here, it becomes scheer jij.
Why does the verb scheer come before the subject jij?
Dutch uses a strict verb-second rule. Because this sentence starts with the time phrase In de ochtend, that phrase takes up the first position. The verb scheer must stay in the second position, so the subject jij has to move to the third position, right after the verb.