Learn Hardcore Dutch: Zij slikt haar medicijn langzaam.

Both can mean she (and also they). Zij is the stressed/emphatic form; ze is the unstressed form. You often choose zij when you want to emphasize the subject.

She: Zij slikt… (emphatic) / Ze slikt… (neutral)
They: Zij slikken… / Ze slikken… You can tell singular vs plural by the verb: slikt (singular) vs slikken (plural).

Why does the verb end in -t in slikt?

Dutch present tense adds -t in the 3rd person singular. So:

ik slik
jij/u slikt
hij/zij/het slikt The -t drops only when jij comes after the verb in a question: Slik jij…? (but: Jij slikt…).

How do you conjugate slikken?

Present: ik slik, jij/u slikt, hij/zij/het slikt, wij/jullie/zij slikken
Simple past: ik/hij slikte, wij slikten
Past participle: geslikt
Perfect: zij heeft (het) geslikt It’s regular. Because the stem ends in a voiceless consonant (k), the past uses -te/-ten and the participle ends in -t (the “’t kofschip/x” rule).

Is slikken the usual verb for taking medicine?

slikken = to swallow. Common when focusing on the physical act (especially pills): Ze slikt een pil.
innemen = to take (medicine) is the neutral, idiomatic choice for medication in general: Ze neemt haar medicijnen (langzaam) in.
inslikken = to swallow (often accidentally or “swallow it down” as an act), e.g., een graat inslikken.
doorslikken = to swallow down (often used in instructions: niet doorslikken).
For liquids: drinken (e.g., Ze drinkt hoestsiroop).

Where does langzaam go? Is the word order okay?

Yes. The neutral place for a manner adverb is after the direct object:

Neutral: Zij slikt haar medicijn langzaam. You can move it for emphasis/focus:
Fronted for emphasis: Langzaam slikt zij haar medicijn.
Between verb and object is possible but less neutral: Zij slikt langzaam haar medicijn. You can intensify: Zij slikt haar medicijn heel langzaam.

How would this look in a subordinate clause?

In subclauses the finite verb goes to the end:

… omdat zij haar medicijn langzaam slikt.
… dat zij haar medicijn langzaam slikt.

How do I negate this to say she doesn’t swallow it slowly?

Place niet before the adverb:

Zij slikt haar medicijn niet langzaam (maar snel). If you mean she doesn’t swallow it at all, drop the adverb:
Zij slikt haar medicijn niet.

English “medicine” is often a mass noun. Why is medicijn singular here, and when would I use medicijnen?

Medicijn is countable in Dutch. Singular refers to one specific drug or dose; plural refers to multiple drugs/doses:

One item: haar medicijn / het medicijn
Several: haar medicijnen / de medicijnen For a regimen as a mass noun, Dutch often uses medicatie: Ze neemt haar medicatie.

What’s the gender/article of medicijn?

It’s a neuter het-word: het medicijn. Indefinite: een medicijn. Plural: de medicijnen. Diminutive: het medicijntje. With a possessive you don’t add an article: haar medicijn (not “het haar medicijn”).

Does haar mean “hair” here?

No. Here haar is the possessive adjective meaning her. The noun “hair” is also haar, but context distinguishes them:

Possessive: haar medicijn = her medicine
Noun: Haar haar is lang. = Her hair is long.

Can I say het medicijn van haar instead of haar medicijn?

Yes, but it’s less compact and often adds emphasis or contrast (“that medicine of hers”). The default is the possessive before the noun: haar medicijn.

What changes if zij means “they” instead of “she”?

Use the plural verb and plural possessive:

Zij/Ze slikken hun medicijn langzaam. (one shared/same medicine)
More commonly: Zij/Ze slikken hun medicijnen langzaam. Note the verb: slikken (plural), not slikt.

How do I form the comparative and superlative of langzaam?

Comparative: langzamer — Zij slikt haar medicijn langzamer.
Superlative (adverb): het langzaamst — Zij slikt haar medicijn het langzaamst. Alternatives: trager (a bit more negative about speed), or intensifiers like heel langzaam, erg langzaam.

How do I express an ongoing action like “She is slowly swallowing her medicine”?

Dutch usually uses the simple present: Zij slikt haar medicijn langzaam.
If you need to stress ongoingness, use:

Zij is haar medicijn langzaam aan het slikken. You might also hear: Zij zit haar medicijn langzaam te slikken, but that adds a posture nuance.

Where do short object pronouns go relative to langzaam?

Short object pronouns typically come before the manner adverb:

Zij slikt het langzaam. (it)
Zij slikt ze langzaam. (them, pills) With a full noun phrase, the neutral order is NP first, then adverb:
Zij slikt haar medicijn langzaam.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

Zij ≈ [zɛi] (Dutch ij sounds like English “ay” in “day” but shorter/opener); ij and ei sound the same in most accents.
slikt ≈ [slɪkt] (short i, clear kt).
haar ≈ [haːr] (long aa).
medicijn ≈ [meːdiˈsɛi̯n]; stress on the last syllable; -cijn has the ij sound.
langzaam ≈ [ˈlɑŋzaːm]; the ngz cluster is pronounced [ŋz] (no separate g).