Breakdown of Zij herinnert zich het verhaal niet.
zij
she
niet
not
het verhaal
the story
zich herinneren
to remember
Questions & Answers about Zij herinnert zich het verhaal niet.
Why is zich in this sentence?
The Dutch verb for "to remember" is zich herinneren. Unlike in English, it is a reflexive verb, meaning you literally say she reminds herself of the story. Because the subject is Zij (she), the matching reflexive pronoun is zich.
If the subject was Ik (I), would it still be zich?
No, reflexive pronouns change to match the subject. If you wanted to say "I do not remember", you would use the reflexive pronoun me instead: Ik herinner me het verhaal niet.
Why does niet come at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, the negative word niet usually comes after a specific direct object. Here, the direct object is het verhaal (the story), which is a specific, known thing, so niet is placed right after it.
Can I use ze instead of Zij here?
Yes, you can. Zij puts a little more emphasis on the person (She, as opposed to someone else). If you just want to state the fact without emphasizing who is doing the remembering, Ze herinnert zich... is perfectly fine and often sounds more natural in daily speech.
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