My impression about the Dutch language
May 04th 2011 00:08
Dutch
linguistics
I studied the basic verbs 'zijn' and 'hebben' today.
I found it interesting that their bare forms are used only for plural subjects.
Perhaps they used to have 6 different forms for each subject pronoun, but came to be simplified for some reason, I guess.
It is also very interesting that 'she' and 'they' are the same form in Dutch.
(Both of them are 'zij.')
Hmm... There may be some historical or ideological reasons for it.
I like the history of English, so that of Dutch will also be interesting to me!
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There may be some historical or ideological reasons ["Ideological reasons " sounds good, but I think more likely: rational explanations] for it.
I like the history of English, so that of Dutch will also be interesting to for me! [or a little less formal: so for Dutch it will...]
Thanks for the corrections!!
I like the history of English, so maybe/hopefully that of Dutch will also be interesting to me!For less formal, try:so maybe the Dutch language will be interesting, also!
Thanks for your correction! ;-)
The zij as she/you is the same as the German sie. Using the third person is less direct, therefore more polite. Even Italian has a word (lei) that can mean "she" or "you." I don't know why "she" was used rather than "he" but it has a long history. English, on the other hand, used you-singular (thou, thee) as the familiar and you-plural (ye, you) as the formal.