The pattern
Put van + the owner after the thing: that works with every owner. With names, you can also put the owner first and add the possessive -s (an ending that shows who owns something).
- van fits people, places and things: de fiets van Peter, de tas van mijn collega, het dak van het station.
- Name ending in a consonant that is not an s-sound: add -s: Peters fiets, Daans jas.
- Name ending in an s-sound (such as s, x or z): add only an apostrophe: Thomas' fiets, Max' auto.
- Name ending in a vowel written with one letter (a, i, o, u or y): add 's: Anna's fiets, Otto's hond.
- Name ending in an unstressed e (the "uh" sound), in a vowel written with two letters, or in é: just add -s: Lottes fiets, Maries tas, Renés boek.
- The -s form is most common with names and family words: oma's verjaardag, papa's auto. You may also see it with other words for people (mijn buurmans hond), but that sounds formal. With ordinary nouns, van is the safe choice.
- In speech: owner + z'n (his) or d'r (her) + thing: Peter z'n fiets, Anna d'r tas.
Examples
| Dit is het boek van Sara. | This is Sara's book. |
| De fiets van mijn buurman staat voor de deur. | My neighbour's bike is outside the front door. |
| Daans fiets is kapot. | Daan's bike is broken. |
| Zaterdag vieren we Priya's verjaardag. | On Saturday we are celebrating Priya's birthday. |
| Joris' moeder werkt bij de gemeente. | Joris's mother works for the municipality. |
| Heb jij Lottes sleutels gezien? | Have you seen Lotte's keys? |
| Ahmed z'n auto staat bij het station. | Ahmed's car is parked at the station. |
| Fatima d'r tas ligt nog in de trein. | Fatima's bag is still on the train. |
| Ik heb de hond van de buren uitgelaten. | I walked the neighbours' dog. |
| Is dit de jas van Mei? | Is this Mei's coat? |
Why it works this way
Think of van as "of" or "from": the book belongs on Sara's side. Older Dutch had case endings, rather like German, and the -s on names is one of the few that survived. Because it is a leftover, it mostly sticks to names and family words, while most other nouns use van.
In Dutch, the apostrophe is not a sign of ownership. It is a spelling helper. In Anna's it keeps the last a long, the same trick as in auto's (see Plurals with -s). Maries needs no help, because ie stays long anyway. In Thomas' the apostrophe stands in for an extra s you would not hear: Thomas' sounds exactly like Thomas. There is more in When Dutch uses an apostrophe.
z'n and d'r are spoken forms of zijn and haar from Possessive pronouns. Peter z'n fiets literally says "Peter his bike". They follow the owner, not the thing: a man gets z'n and a woman gets d'r. If your language uses one word for both, like Spanish "su", check this twice. Use these forms when talking or texting friends, not in an email to the gemeente.
One meaning, three styles: de tas van Yara (always fine), Yara's tas (shorter, fine in writing), Yara d'r tas (spoken).
Remember: van is your safety net. Unsure about the -s or the apostrophe? Say de fiets van Thomas and you cannot go wrong.
Watch out
NotPeter's fiets
SayPeters fiets
after a consonant, Dutch adds no apostrophe
NotThomas's fiets
SayThomas' fiets
after an s-sound, write only the apostrophe
NotYaras tas
SayYara's tas
after a final a, the apostrophe keeps the vowel long
Notde buurman's hond
Sayde hond van de buurman
Dutch has no English-style 's; after de + noun, van is the normal choice
NotFatima z'n jas
SayFatima d'r jas
Fatima is a woman, so it is her coat
Quick check
- Use the -s form of Daan: ... broer woont in Utrecht.
- Choose the right spelling: Dat is (Emmas / Emma's) telefoon.
- Fix the sentence: Bas's fiets staat buiten.
- Spoken Dutch, fill in z'n or d'r: Sanne is een vriendin van mij. Sanne ... moeder werkt in het ziekenhuis.
Show the answers
- Daans (Daan ends in a consonant, so just add -s)
- Emma's (Emma ends in a, so the apostrophe keeps the vowel long)
- Bas' fiets staat buiten. (Bas already ends in an s, so only an apostrophe)
- d'r (een vriendin is a woman, so it is her mother)
Use it today
Pick three things around you at work or at home that belong to someone else, and name each one twice: once with van (de mok van Priya) and once with -s (Priya's mok). If you live with someone, try the spoken version at dinner: Daan z'n telefoon ligt nog in de keuken.