Breakdown of Zij draagt de armband om haar eigen pols.
zij
she
haar
her
dragen
to wear
om
around
eigen
own
de pols
the wrist
de armband
the bracelet
Questions & Answers about Zij draagt de armband om haar eigen pols.
How would we use the dative structure from this lesson to say 'The bracelet is too tight for her'?
You would use the dative pronoun haar with an evaluative adjective like te strak (too tight): De armband is haar te strak. When evaluating how something affects someone (like being too tight, heavy, or difficult), Dutch often places a dative object directly before the adjective without using a preposition.
Why is the preposition om used here instead of aan or op for 'on'?
In Dutch, om is used when an item goes around a body part. Because a bracelet encircles the wrist, you wear it om je pols (around your wrist). You use the same preposition for a ring (om je vinger) or a necklace (om je nek).
Why doesn't eigen get an -e ending here, since pols is a de-word?
The word eigen (own) is an exception to the normal adjective rules. When it is used after a possessive pronoun (like haar, mijn, or zijn), it almost never takes an -e ending, regardless of whether the noun is a de-word or a het-word. Therefore, it is haar eigen pols, never haar eigene pols.
Besides dragen, is there a more casual way to say she is wearing the bracelet?
Yes! For accessories that go around the body, Dutch frequently uses the separable verb omhebben (to have on). You could simply drop the prepositional phrase and say: Zij heeft de armband om.
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