Word
Kijk je naar de opponent? Nee, ik kijk niet naar hem.
Meaning
Are you looking at the opponent? No, I am not looking at him.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Kijk je naar de opponent? Nee, ik kijk niet naar hem.
Why does the answer use naar hem instead of the pronominal adverb ernaar?
In Dutch, you cannot use a pronominal adverb (like ernaar) to refer to a person. Because de opponent is human, you are required to use the preposition followed by a personal pronoun. Therefore, it has to be naar hem.
How would this sentence change if I were looking at an object, like the scoreboard, instead of a person?
If you were referring to an inanimate object, such as het scorebord, you must use the pronominal adverb ernaar. The sentence would then become: Nee, ik kijk er niet naar. You cannot say naar het.
Why is niet placed right before naar hem?
In Dutch word order, the negating word niet generally comes immediately before a prepositional phrase (like naar hem). However, notice the difference if this were an inanimate object: when using the pronominal adverb ernaar, the er moves earlier in the sentence and the preposition goes to the end, placing niet right in the middle (ik kijk er niet naar).
Is opponent the most common word for "opponent" in everyday Dutch?