Breakdown of De buurman z'n hond heeft een nieuwe halsband.
een
a/an
de hond
the dog
hebben
to have
nieuw
new
de buurman
the neighbor (male)
z'n
his / its / one's (unstressed)
de halsband
the collar
Questions & Answers about De buurman z'n hond heeft een nieuwe halsband.
Why use De buurman z'n hond instead of De hond van de buurman?
De hond van de buurman is the standard, formal way to express possession. However, De buurman z'n hond uses a highly common colloquial possessive structure. You simply take the owner (de buurman), add the unstressed possessive pronoun matching their gender (z'n), and then the object (hond). You will hear this constantly in everyday spoken Dutch.
Could I use the full pronoun and write De buurman zijn hond?
Technically yes, but it sounds unnatural. In this specific colloquial structure, native speakers almost exclusively use the reduced, unstressed pronouns (z'n for males, d'r for females, ze d'r for plurals). Using the full word zijn places heavy emphasis on the pronoun, which defeats the casual nature of the phrase.
Why does nieuwe get an -e ending here if it comes after een?
Adjectives keep the -e ending after een if the noun is a de-word. Since collar is de halsband, the adjective becomes nieuwe. The rule where you drop the -e after een only applies to het-words (for example, een nieuw huis).
What is the literal translation of halsband?
It translates literally to neck-band. De hals means the neck (usually the front or the whole neck), and de band means a strap, tire, or band. Note that while halsband is used for an animal's collar, the collar of a piece of clothing like a shirt is called de kraag.
Learn De buurman z'n hond heeft een nieuwe halsband and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free