You notice in the examples that the demonstrative pronoun can appear
with or without the noun to which it refers, as long as it is clear what is
meant. In the sentence Zijn deze aardbeien duurder dan die?, it is obvious
that aardbeien is implied after die.
The demonstrative pronouns die and dat often replace a noun or a group
of nouns (persons or things) that have been mentioned in an earlier
context. In the following examples, the underlined parts are replaced with
demonstrative pronouns.
Replacement with demonstrative
Waar is Erik? Die is in de bibliotheek (library).
Komen Erik en Sanne vanavond? Nee, die komen niet.
Van wie is dit boek
? Dat is van mij.
Waar zijn mijn rode sokken
Die zitten in de wasmachine.
(red socks)?
Sometimes, the demonstrative pronoun dat refers to a complete sentence:
Wist je dat dit huis 200 jaar oud is? Nee, dat wist ik niet.
Did you know that this house is 200 years old? No, I didn’t know that.
Note: Distance to an object isn’t the only factor that determines the
choice between dit or dat, deze or die. Distance in time can also play a
role, or simply the order in which the speaker mentions two or more things.
Examples:
We gaan deze maand ons huis renoveren.
We will renovate our house this month.
In dat jaar lag er geen sneeuw.
That year there wasn’t any snow.
Herinner je je die zomer in Italië?
Do you remember that summer in Italy?
Ik vind deze foto mooier dan die.
I like this picture better than that one.
In this last example, the speaker’s distance to the two pictures is
irrelevant. He or she is probably close to both, but uses deze for the object
mentioned first, and die for the object mentioned second.
Lastly, the demonstrative pronouns dit and dat can be used as preliminary
subjects with verbs that link to the real subject of the sentence, usually a
predicate noun or an adjective as a noun with verbs such as zijn ‘to be’,
worden ‘to become’, lijken ‘to appear’. Note: When the real subject is in
the plural, the linking verb is also in the plural. Examples: 59
Examples
in context