Breakdown of Hij respecteert niemands privacy.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
respecteren
to respect
niemands
no one's
de privacy
the privacy
Questions & Answers about Hij respecteert niemands privacy.
How is the word niemands formed here?
Niemands means 'nobody's' or 'no one's'. It is simply the indefinite pronoun niemand (nobody) with an -s added to the end to show possession. It works exactly like the English 's'.
Can I use niet iemands ('not anyone's') instead of niemands?
It is much better to use niemands. Just as English prefers 'no one's' over 'not anyone's', Dutch strongly prefers using the negative pronoun niemands rather than trying to negate iemands with the word niet.
Is there a more casual way to say niemands in spoken Dutch?
Yes. In everyday colloquial speech, Dutch speakers often say niemand z'n privacy (literally 'nobody his privacy'). However, niemands is the standard, grammatically correct form you should use in writing.
Why isn't there an article (like de or het) before the noun privacy?
Because niemands already shows whose privacy it is. Just like in English, if you say 'nobody's privacy', you don't need to add 'the' before it. For reference, if you used the noun on its own, it would be de privacy.