Breakdown of Kun jij zien wie een gum heeft?
jij
you
een
a/an
hebben
to have
zien
to see
wie
who
kunnen
can
de gum
eraser
Questions & Answers about Kun jij zien wie een gum heeft?
Why is the verb heeft at the very end of the sentence?
The phrase wie een gum heeft (who has an eraser) acts as a subordinate clause (a smaller sentence embedded inside the main one). In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb (heeft) gets pushed all the way to the end.
Why does the sentence use the emphasized pronoun jij instead of je?
Using jij places a slight emphasis on "you". The speaker is specifically asking if you are able to see who has an eraser, likely because the speaker cannot see the room clearly from where they are sitting.
Does gum mean chewing gum here?
No, it's a false friend! In Dutch, een gum is an eraser used for rubbing out pencil marks. If you want to ask for chewing gum, the word you need is kauwgom.
How would I reply "I have mine" using the independent possessive pronouns from this lesson?
You would reply with Ik heb de mijne. Because the noun we are replacing is a de-word (de gum), you must use de mijne rather than het mijne.
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