zijn/haar

Dutch possessive pronouns depend on the gender of the owner:

• zijn: Used when the owner is masculine (a man or a masculine de-word) or neuter (a het-word). This corresponds to both 'his' and 'its'.
• haar: Used when the owner is feminine (a woman or a feminine de-word). This corresponds to both 'her' and 'its'.

No Inflection: Unlike the word ons/onze, the forms zijn and haar never change. They do not add an -e, regardless of whether the noun that follows is singular, plural, de, or het.

Feminine Nouns: Nouns ending in suffixes like -heid, -ing, -ie, or -tie are feminine and take haar. Abstract nouns derived from adjectives ending in -te (like de hoogte - the height) are also feminine. However, be careful: some other nouns ending in -te are neuter (like het gedeelte - the part) and take zijn.

The 'ervan' Alternative: For inanimate objects, native speakers often use ervan (of it) instead of a possessive pronoun. For example: de klink ervan (its handle).

Regional Differences: In the Netherlands, the distinction between masculine and feminine de-words has blurred for inanimate objects in casual speech, leading some to use zijn for many non-living things. However, haar remains the standard for abstract feminine nouns and in formal writing.

Natural Gender: For people, natural gender usually wins. For het meisje (the girl), speakers almost always use haar instead of the grammatically neuter zijn.

Formal Alternatives: In formal Dutch, you may see diens (his/its) used to avoid ambiguity when multiple people are mentioned in the same sentence. While dier (her/its) exists in archaic texts, it is extremely rare today; modern writers simply use haar or rephrase the sentence to ensure clarity.

Note on the Verb: Do not confuse the possessive zijn with the verb zijn (to be). Context will tell you if it means 'his' or 'to be'.

Spoken Forms: In casual speech, zijn is often shortened to z'n, and haar becomes 'r or d'r.