Questions & Answers about Vergeet je pincode niet.
Why is je used here instead of jouw, jij, or jou?
In this sentence je is the unstressed possessive pronoun meaning your.
- jouw is the stressed possessive form (e.g. jouw pincode, if you really want to emphasize “your PIN code”).
- jij is the subject pronoun you (nominative).
- jou is the stressed object pronoun you (accusative/dative).
Since we simply need “your PIN code” without emphasis, we use the unstressed je.
Why isn’t there a subject like jij in the sentence?
Dutch imperatives drop the subject pronoun entirely. The listener is understood to be you, so the verb starts the sentence:
Vergeet je pincode niet.
(No jij needed.)
Why is niet placed at the end rather than before pincode or the verb?
In Dutch the negative particle niet usually follows the direct object or verb phrase it negates. Here it negates the whole command vergeet je pincode, so it comes at the end:
Vergeet je pincode niet.
Could you also say Vergeet niet je pincode? Does that change the meaning?