jijform

Jijform refers to the Dutch grammatical form used with the second-person singular pronoun "jij," the informal you. It contrasts with the formal "u" form and with the neutral or generic "je." The jij-form signals familiarity and is common in everyday speech among friends, family, and colleagues you know well. In written Dutch, it is also used for emphasis, for example when highlighting that someone specifically will do something.

In present tense, most verbs in the jij-form take the ending -t and share the same form as the third-person singular. For example: jij werkt, jij maakt, jij loopt. In questions, the verb often comes first: Werk jij vandaag? In negatives: Jij werkt niet. The jij-form can carry emphasis, for instance in a contrastive sentence like Jij doet het, niet hij.

Some verbs are irregular in the jij-form. For the verbs zijn and hebben, the forms differ from the regular pattern: jij bent (you are) and jij hebt (you have). With the formal u-form, the corresponding forms are u bent and u heeft. The general rule is that the jij-form is used in informal contexts, while the u-form is preferred in formal or polite situations. In casual written language, many speakers also use je instead of jij, particularly when the emphasis is not on the addressee.

In sum, the jij-form is a key element of Dutch pronoun use, marking informality and marking a close social relationship, while remaining distinct from the formal u-form.