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?