--- title: "Showing possession: van, -s and zijn/haar" level: A2 chapter: "Nouns and de or het" canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/possession updated: 2026-10-08 author: Dutch Fluency license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) --- # Showing possession: van, -s and zijn/haar The safest way to show whose something is in Dutch is to put _van_ after the thing: _het boek van Sara_ (Sara's book). With names you can also put the owner first and add _-s_, as in _Peters fiets_. In conversation you will hear _Peter z'n fiets_ or _Anna d'r tas_. The big trap for English speakers is the apostrophe, because Dutch uses it far less than English does. ## 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](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/plural-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](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/apostrophe). _z'n_ and _d'r_ are spoken forms of _zijn_ and _haar_ from [Possessive pronouns](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/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 - Not: _Peter's fiets_ Say: _Peters fiets_ (after a consonant, Dutch adds no apostrophe) - Not: _Thomas's fiets_ Say: _Thomas' fiets_ (after an s-sound, write only the apostrophe) - Not: _Yaras tas_ Say: _Yara's tas_ (after a final a, the apostrophe keeps the vowel long) - Not: _de buurman's hond_ Say: _de hond van de buurman_ (Dutch has no English-style 's; after _de_ + noun, _van_ is the normal choice) - Not: _Fatima z'n jas_ Say: _Fatima d'r jas_ (Fatima is a woman, so it is her coat) ## Quick check 1. Use the -s form of Daan: _... broer woont in Utrecht._ 2. Choose the right spelling: _Dat is (Emmas / Emma's) telefoon._ 3. Fix the sentence: _Bas's fiets staat buiten._ 4. Spoken Dutch, fill in _z'n_ or _d'r_: _Sanne is een vriendin van mij. Sanne ... moeder werkt in het ziekenhuis._ ## Answers 1. _Daans_ (Daan ends in a consonant, so just add -s) 2. _Emma's_ (Emma ends in a, so the apostrophe keeps the vowel long) 3. _Bas' fiets staat buiten._ (Bas already ends in an s, so only an apostrophe) 4. _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._ ## Questions learners ask **How do you show possession in Dutch?** The safest way is to put van after the thing: het boek van Sara means Sara's book. With names you can also add -s before the thing, as in Peters fiets, and in speech people often say Peter z'n fiets. **Does Dutch use an apostrophe for possession like English?** Usually not. After most names you just add -s (Peters fiets, Lottes fiets, Maries tas). You write 's after a final a, i, o, u or y (Anna's fiets), and only an apostrophe after an s-sound (Thomas' fiets). **What do z'n and d'r mean in Dutch?** They are spoken short forms of zijn (his) and haar (her). Peter z'n fiets means Peter's bike and Anna d'r tas means Anna's bag; both are normal in conversation but too casual for formal writing. From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.