"Ik geef hun een appel."

Translation: I give them an apple.

[MilaDarko]

When do you use hen, and when hun?

[SeanMeaneyPL]

Hun = to them (indirect object)
Hen = them (direct object)
In our sentence them is indirect. I give them an apple = I give an apple to them, therefore hun is required.

[Tkaa3]

So I can say:

Ik geef hun een appel
&
Ik geef een appel aan hen

Right?

[Margareth008]

Yes, that's correct.

[TarjaVermeer]

No that is not correct. In Dutch "hun" is possesive. "Hen" you can use in combination with "aan". So it is: I give them the book is translated as Ik geef (aan) hen het boek. But it is it is their book!: Het is hun boek! The given sentence is grammatically incorrect Dutch (I am a native speaker and even a lot of Dutch do not use this correctly, so I understand the confusion).

[hyacinth3704]

In the notes, they describe hen/hun as for people, and not used for inanimate objects. Would you still use hen/hun for animals? E.g. if you are giving the apple in this sentence to a pair of horses?

[xMerrie]

Good question! It's does not work for animals (apart from the possessive form of 'hun').

[hyacinth3704]

Thanks! :)

[heyihrda]

Am I the only one who hasn't learnt 'geef' yet?

[voicelover]

You shouldve learnt it in the verds :o!!

[emZsgr]

Can hun and hen be a singular neutral pronoun like they them in english or is it only plural

[Amaunator89]

They are indeed restricted to plural uses.

[mohamadrez13]

Sometimes for "them" in some sentences I see "ze". What is the difference and when we should use it instead of "hen" and "hem"?

[sadlivvy]

could you use hun/hen as a gender neutral pronoun? if not is there anything else you could use for a neutral singular pronoun?

[Thomas384046]

Why is "I gave them an apple" not acceptable?

[Sharon608152]

I am confused by ze hun and hen .. is there an easy explanation when to use one or another? I like Sean's comment below ..

[Dianthalep]

Spelling mistakes - really?

[iateyourpizza]

Just want to say that "appel" is pronounced really weird here. In the slow pronunciation it's pronounced better. The first syllable should be stressed, just as in English, not the last one.

[viktorr23]

What is the difference between ze and hen? We hebben ze and we zien hen, for example ?

[unelauredans]

Hen/Hun is for refering to humans and ze to objects (like apples)

[RobertLugt1]

Can someone explain the difference between a future and pasta tense of geef? I answered i gave an apple which was wrong

[TarjaVermeer]

"Ik geef" is present tense and is translated as I give . "Ik gaf" is past tense and is translated as I gave.

[ben_de_leerling]

Hun, hen, ze, zijn, zij

I don't understand when to use which word. It seems almost random. Is there a list of the rules anywhere?