Breakdown of De dokter kijkt naar mijn arm en mijn been.
het been
the leg
de dokter
the doctor (everyday word)
de arm
the arm
Questions & Answers about De dokter kijkt naar mijn arm en mijn been.
Why do we use naar here instead of a literal translation for "at"?
In Dutch, the verb kijken (to look) pairs with the preposition naar when you are looking at something. It is a fixed combination you just need to memorize, similar to how we say "listen to" in English.
Why does mijn stay exactly the same for both arm (a de-word) and been (a het-word)?
The possessive pronoun mijn (my) never changes its spelling based on the gender of the noun it belongs to. Unlike ons and onze (our), which do change depending on whether it is a de-word or het-word, mijn is always just mijn.
Is it necessary to repeat mijn before been?
No, it is not strictly necessary. Just like in English, you could say ...naar mijn arm en been (at my arm and leg). Repeating mijn before each noun just adds a little bit of extra focus to each specific body part the doctor is examining.
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