Breakdown of Toms neef en nicht zijn hier.
hier
here
de neef
the nephew; the male cousin
de nicht
the niece; the female cousin
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Questions & Answers about Toms neef en nicht zijn hier.
Why is it Toms without an apostrophe?
In Dutch, we attach the -s directly to a name to show possession if it does not change how the name's vowel sounds. Because Tom ends in a consonant, adding an -s directly is perfectly fine. We only use an apostrophe if the name ends in a long open vowel (like Anna's or Leo's).
The English translation says cousins, but the Dutch sentence uses two singular words. Why is that?
Dutch does not have a single gender-neutral word for cousin. Neef means male cousin, and nicht means female cousin. Since there is one of each here, we say neef en nicht, which translates smoothly to the plural cousins in English.
Could Toms neef en nicht also mean Tom's nephew and niece?
Yes! In Dutch, neef can mean either cousin (male) or nephew, and nicht can mean either cousin (female) or niece. You usually have to rely on context to know exactly how the family members are related.
Since neef and nicht are singular words, why is the verb zijn plural?
Even though neef and nicht are singular words, they are joined by en (and). This means there are two people in total: Tom's male cousin and his female cousin. Because there is more than one person, you need the plural verb zijn.