Breakdown of De blauwe saffier is hem te groot.
zijn
to be
groot
big
te
too
blauw
blue
hem
him
de saffier
the sapphire
Questions & Answers about De blauwe saffier is hem te groot.
Why is there no word for "for" in this sentence, like in the English translation?
With evaluative adjectives like te groot (too large), Dutch often uses a dative complement. This means we use the bare object pronoun hem directly instead of a prepositional phrase. While you could say is te groot voor hem, using just hem is a very elegant and common way to express this in Dutch.
If I use the bare pronoun hem here, why is it placed before te groot?
When you use a bare dative pronoun like hem to show who is affected by the adjective, it comes immediately before the adjective phrase it belongs to. If you chose to use the prepositional version instead, it would typically go after the adjective: De blauwe saffier is te groot voor hem.
Does this structure only work with adjectives that have te (too) in front of them?
Not at all! While te frequently triggers this kind of personal evaluation, you can use this bare pronoun structure with many adjectives that express an experience or opinion. For example, you can say Dat is me duidelijk (That is clear to me) or Die beslissing was hem moeilijk (That decision was difficult for him).
Could I use a full noun instead of the pronoun hem in this exact same structure?
Yes, you can say something like De blauwe saffier is de man te groot (The blue sapphire is too large for the man). However, when dealing with full nouns instead of short pronouns, Dutch speakers are much more likely to just use the preposition voor in everyday speech (is te groot voor de man).
Learn De blauwe saffier is hem te groot 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