Topic Fronting

Level 5

Left Dislocation (Linksdislocatie) is a common way in spoken Dutch to highlight a specific topic. You name the topic first, pause slightly, and then start a full sentence using a 'resumptive' pronoun like die or dat to refer back to it.

How It Works

Left dislocation is the primary informal strategy to emphasize an object or subject in natural conversation. It follows a specific structure:

1. The Topic: A noun or phrase placed at the very start (e.g., Die man).
2. The Resumptive Pronoun: A demonstrative pronoun that usually matches the topic's gender and number (die for de-words and plurals; dat for het-words).
3. The Verb: The finite verb must come immediately after the pronoun, following the V2 rule.

Important Note on People:
In spoken Dutch, natural gender often overrides grammatical gender. For people who are grammatically neuter (like het kind or het meisje), speakers almost always use die instead of dat as the resumptive pronoun.

Why use it?
It helps the listener process information by clearly separating 'what we are talking about' from 'what is happening.' While common in speech, it is usually avoided in formal writing in favor of standard word order or simple topicalization.

Examples (4)

  1. Die man, die heb ik nog nooit gezien.

    That man, I have never seen him before.

    Word by Word: That man, that (one) have I yet never seen.

    Here, 'Die man' is the dislocated topic. The pronoun 'die' refers back to him and occupies the first position of the main clause.

  2. Lekkere appels, die verkopen ze hier niet.

    Tasty apples, they don't sell those here.

    Word by Word: Tasty apples, those sell they here not.

    Plural nouns always use 'die' as the resumptive pronoun.

  3. Dat meisje dat daar loopt, die ken ik van school.

    That girl walking there, I know her from school.

    Word by Word: That girl that there walks, that (one) know I from school.

    Even though 'meisje' is a het-word, speakers almost always use 'die' for people to match their natural gender.

  4. Mijn broer, die komt morgen op bezoek.

    My brother, he is coming to visit tomorrow.

    Word by Word: My brother, that (one) comes tomorrow on visit.

    In this case, the dislocated element is the subject. The pronoun 'die' still triggers the verb to come second.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the resumptive pronoun.

    Die film, ik heb gezien.
    Die film, die heb ik gezien.

    In English, you can say 'That film, I saw.' In Dutch, if you set a topic apart like this, you must use a pronoun (die/dat) to fill the grammatical slot in the sentence.

  • Using 'het' instead of 'dat' for neuter nouns.

    Het boek, het is uit.
    Het boek, dat is uit.

    With a neuter noun, the usual resumptive pronoun in left dislocation is the demonstrative 'dat'. 'Het' is possible in some contexts but 'dat' is the normal choice.

  • Incorrect word order after the pronoun.

    Different MeaningMijn broer, die morgen komt.
    Mijn broer, die komt morgen.

    The resumptive pronoun counts as the first position in the clause, so the verb must follow immediately. The incorrect example sounds like a relative clause ('My brother who is coming tomorrow') rather than a statement.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Topic FrontingLevel 5

Learn This First

To learn left dislocation (topic fronting), you first need to be comfortable with Dutch demonstrative pronouns (die/dat), as these act as the 'bridge' between the fronted topic and the rest of the sentence. You also need a solid grasp of the V2 word order rule, as the resumptive pronoun occupies the first position in the main clause, pushing the verb to the second position.