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- Topic: Dutch >
- "De vis is zijn avondeten."
38 Comments
Thanks! Now I get it. I just thought since "zij" is "she/they", "zijn" would be "her/their".
Indeed zij can mean either she or they, depending on the sentence, but this are two different meanings, similar so the singular you and plural you in English, the verb conjugation will tell you which of the two is meant.
- Hij eet = He eats/He is eating
- Zij eet = She eats/She is eating
- Zij eten = They eat/They are eating
- Zijn vis = His fish
- Haar vis = Her fish
- Hun vis = Their fish
It depends on the word type, the verb zijn = to be, the possessive zijn = his:
- wij zijn hier = we are here
- jullie zijn hier = you are here
- zij zijn hier = they are here
- het is leuk hier te zijn = it is nice to be here
- ik zie zijn fiets = I see his bike
BTW it's better to learn the verb conjugations (ik ben, jij bent, hij is, wij zijn, jullie zijn, zij zijn) than to try to translate word for word, for instance: jij bent = you are, so here zijn = are doesn't work.
Isn't zijn also used for its? How do I know whether it's referring to a person or something else? I first thought this sentence was talking about a cat..
You're right. You can only know by context what the sentence is referring to. It could be a person, an animal or some magical fish eating table.
Shouldn't 'the fish is his evening meal' be accepted? Where i live in england we call lunch dinner
I'm English, and I say dinner for the evening meal. I hardly ever call lunch dinner unless it is a cooked meal. But it's usually a sandwich or something light. So it's all about context.
Here in Canada we're not consistent either. Dinner can be either lunch or supper depending on who you're talking to and context, but it has the feel of being a more substantial meal. I would be loathe to call just a sandwich "dinner", but a large meal at lunchtime might fit it. As for me, I stick mostly to lunch and supper.
Do you not have a word for it in UK English or do you just call it "evening meal"
225
Not most people; maybe in Manchester or Leeds, but in belfast or london dinner is more common. Its really regiinal. Most people dont call trousers 'pants' in Stafford ...but they do in Bolton.
I think dinner might be more correct to the Queen's English... But I totally agree that in Wigan they'd call it tea.
Zijn could be plural here too, no? "The fish is their dinner." Should be an allowable answer I think.
Nope, the possessive zijn means his or its. The fish is their dinner = De vis is hun avondeten.
- 572
A lot of people are asking this question. It's probably because 'zijn' has two meanings. It's either possessive as in 'zijn avondeten' or a plural verb of to be as in 'wij zijn'. Because of it's plural meaning in the verb, I guess people assume a plural possessive meaning as well, so make sure you get this:
Zijn avondeten = His dinner Wij zijn = We are Hun avondeten = Their dinner
Zijn indeed is used for the plural conjugations of the verb zijn (to be):
- wij zijn = we are
- jullie zijn = you are
- zij zijn = they are
However zijn can also be a possessive (his or its):
- ik zie zijn fiets - I see his bike
Zijn zij zijn I believe would work, but perhaps in parlance this wouldn't be used? Perhaps Zijn ze van hem? Or something else entirely!
- 572
DancingGeek is right. Dutch people would use 'Zijn ze van hem'. Zijn zij zijn sounds very weird to me, but I see where you're coming from. With this approach you could say 'Zijn ze de zijne?' but I suggest you forget that immediately since it's VERY formal and possibly never used.
Note that 'ze' as in 'zijn ze van hem?' is the same thing as 'zij'. So you could also say 'zij zij van hem?, but when those two are interchangeable, always go for 'ze' since that's more overly accepted in Dutch.
I wrote "The fish is to be dinner". I realise this may be a purely English construction that doesn't translate, but I'm curious to know if it is a possible interpretation of the Dutch. Perhaps it's more like a contraction of "The fish is to become dinner"?
- 572
The fish is to be dinner would probably translate to 'De vis gaat avondeten zijn' or 'De vis gaat avondeten worden'.
No, the pronunciation is the same as English. It must be a different dialect.
I said The fish is his dinner, why is it saying another translation, The fish is his dinner.
"Zijn" in Dutch can mean a number of things. In this case, "zijn" means "his," but it can also mean "to be" (when in the infinitive form or when in plural).
- 18
Why can't I change the order while translating in english, like 'His dinner is fish' or 'His dinner is the fish'?
The second option sounds odd, but i am sure the first one is used normally in english.
I would guess it's mostly about emphasis. In "the fish is his dinner" the fish is in focus. You might ask, "may I eat the fish?" And receive "No, the fish is his dinner." In "his dinner is the fish", the dinner is what is in focus. It might answer a question like "what is he having for dinner?" Technically, they describe the same thing, but the focus is on different elements.
Wouldn't work as 'vis' is singular. It's like saying "Beef are his dinner"
