Hij is toch onze vriend.

In Hij is toch onze vriend, toch is a very common Dutch particle with no single perfect English equivalent.

Here it often means something like:

• after all
• you know
• actually
• come on, remember

So the sentence can feel like:

• He is our friend, after all.
• He is our friend, you know.
• But he is our friend, isn’t he? (depending on tone and context)

The exact nuance depends a lot on intonation and situation. Dutch uses toch very often to appeal to shared knowledge, soften a statement, or remind someone of something they should already know.

This is normal Dutch main-clause word order:

• Hij = subject
• is = finite verb
• toch = adverb/particle
• onze vriend = predicate noun phrase

Dutch main clauses usually put the finite verb in second position. That is exactly what happens here:

• Hij
  • is
    • rest

So the structure is very standard and natural.

Because vriend is a de-word:

• de vriend = the friend

With de-words, the possessive our is usually onze:

• onze vriend = our friend
• onze auto
• onze docent

You usually use ons before het-words in the singular:

• het huis → ons huis
• het kind → ons kind

So:

• de vriend → onze vriend
• not ons vriend

Because possessives like mijn, je, zijn, haar, ons/onze, jullie, hun normally replace the article.

So you say:

• onze vriend = our friend

not:

• de onze vriend

This works just like English:

• our friend
• not the our friend

Because the sentence talks about one friend:

• Hij is ... vriend = He is ... friend

Since hij means he, the predicate noun is singular too:

• vriend = friend
• vrienden = friends

So:

• Hij is onze vriend = He is our friend
• Zij zijn onze vrienden = They are our friends

No. Toch is one of those Dutch words whose meaning changes with context and tone. It can express ideas like:

• after all
• still / nevertheless
• right? / isn’t it?
• come on
• actually

For example:

• Hij komt toch. = He is coming after all.
• Dat is toch raar. = That really is strange / That’s strange, isn’t it?
• Kom toch mee! = Do come along! / Come on, come with us!

So in your sentence, you should not try to assign one fixed dictionary translation to toch every time. It is better to learn its function in context.

Grammatically, it is a statement because the word order is statement word order:

• Hij is ...
  not
• Is hij ...?

But with the right intonation, it can have a questioning or persuasive feeling, especially because of toch.

So depending on tone, it may sound like:

• a reminder: He is our friend, after all.
• a protest: But he’s our friend!
• a mild appeal for agreement: He is our friend, isn’t he?

So the grammar is declarative, but the tone can do a lot.

Yes, but it is not exactly the same.

• Hij is toch onze vriend.
• Hij is onze vriend, toch?

In the first sentence, toch sits inside the statement and gives it a nuance like after all / you know.

In the second sentence, toch? at the end works more like a tag-like check:

• He is our friend, right?

So both are possible, but they do different things.

Is is the third-person singular present tense of zijn (to be).

The subject is hij = he, so the correct form is:

• ik ben
• jij bent
• hij is
• wij zijn

That is why the sentence has Hij is ...

Sometimes vriend can mean boyfriend, and vriendin can mean girlfriend, depending on context.

But in Hij is toch onze vriend, the meaning is almost certainly just friend, because of our:

• our friend

If Dutch meant a romantic partner here, the context would normally make that clear. Without such context, learners should understand vriend here as friend.

No. You can also simply say:

• Hij is onze vriend.

That is the neutral statement: He is our friend.

Adding toch changes the attitude or emotional coloring. It suggests something like:

• reminding someone
• objecting to something
• appealing to shared knowledge
• softening or strengthening the statement, depending on tone

So toch is optional for the basic grammar, but important for the nuance.

Yes. Dutch often moves another element to the first position, but then the finite verb still stays in second position.

For example:

• Toch is hij onze vriend.
• Onze vriend is hij toch. (more marked, special emphasis)

The most neutral version is still:

• Hij is toch onze vriend.

This is a useful thing to notice in Dutch: the finite verb usually stays in second position in main clauses, even when another element comes first.

That depends on what the speaker wants to emphasize.

Common possibilities are:

• Hij is toch onze vriend.
  Emphasis on toch: reminding someone, after all
• Hij is toch onze vriend.
  Emphasis on onze: our friend, not someone else’s
• Hij is toch onze vriend.
  Emphasis on vriend: he is a friend, not an enemy or stranger

In speech, toch often carries an important part of the sentence’s emotional meaning, so intonation matters a lot.