Personal and possessive pronouns

Confusing hij (he) with hem (him), or writing mij auto instead of mijn auto, costs direct points on the Schrijven tasks. On the Lezen and KNM exams, DUO frequently tests if you know who owns what by using zijn (his) and haar (her) in the text.

Three pronoun pitfalls to watch for:

Object pronouns after prepositions When you write an e-mail for the exam, you will often use prepositions like aan (to), voor (for), or met (with). After these words, you cannot use the subject (ik, hij, zij). You must use the object: mij, hem, haar, ons.

WRONG: Ik stuur de bijlage aan hij. RIGHT: Ik stuur de bijlage aan hem.

Missing the 'n' or 'w' on possessions When you own something, ik becomes mijn (my) and jij becomes jouw (your). Writing mij auto is a mistake that DUO assessors look for. Always add the 'n'.

Zijn vs. haar On the KNM exam, you will read setups about specific people. For example: Wouter heeft een leeg blikje. Because Wouter is a man, the text will refer to zijn blikje (his can). If the setup says Maartje krijgt toeslag, it will refer to haar toeslag (her allowance). Track whether the person is male or female to pick the right option.