Questions & Answers about Hij is trots op zijn werk.
Why does the Dutch sentence use op when the English translation says "of"?
In Dutch, the word trots (proud) is always followed by the fixed preposition op. You cannot translate "of" directly to van here. Learning these fixed combinations is an important part of A2 Dutch; whenever you learn trots, try to memorize it as trots op.
Wait, doesn't zijn mean "to be"? Why is it translated as "his"?
You are exactly right that zijn is the full verb "to be", but it is also the possessive pronoun for "his". You can easily tell it means "his" here because it comes right before the noun werk (work) to show whose work it is.
If I want to say "He is proud of me", is it still trots op?
Yes! You would say Hij is trots op mij. The fixed combination trots op stays exactly the same no matter who or what the person is proud of.
Is werk a noun or a verb in this sentence?
Here, werk is a noun meaning "work" or "job", which is why it comes right after the possessive word zijn (his). The full verb "to work" is werken, though the "I" form of the verb is also spelled werk (as in Ik werk).
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