Questions & Answers about Wij zijn trots op onze kinderen.
Why does this sentence use op instead of a word that means "of"?
In Dutch, the adjective trots (proud) is always followed by the fixed preposition op. You can't translate the English "proud of" word-for-word. Just like with verbs, many Dutch adjectives have fixed prepositions they always pair with, so it's best to memorize them as a set: trots op.
Why is it onze kinderen and not ons kinderen?
Kinderen is a plural noun. In Dutch, you always use onze (our) for plural words and for singular de-words. You only use ons for singular het-words (like ons huis or ons kind). Since this sentence is about multiple children, it has to be onze.
Wait, isn't the singular word het kind? Why is the plural kinderen instead of "kinden"?
Kind is one of a small group of irregular Dutch nouns that get the ending -eren in the plural instead of the standard -en or -s. Another common example you might remember is het ei (the egg), which becomes eieren (eggs).
Could I start this sentence with We instead of Wij?
Yes, absolutely! Wij and we both mean "we". Wij is just the stressed form, placing more emphasis on the people speaking (e.g., We are proud of them, even if someone else isn't). If you just want to state the fact without any special emphasis, we is perfectly fine and very common.
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