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    5.2.2.3.Weak versus strong forms
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    As with the referential personal pronouns, it is normally the weak form of the referential possessive pronouns that is found in speech (but not in written language); the strong forms are generally confined to contrastive contexts. For example, in a neutral context like (433a), the weak form mʼn (or me) is much preferred over the use of the strong form mijn. In a contrastive context like (433b), on the other hand, the strong form must be used, and the same thing holds if the possessive pronoun is coordinated with, e.g., another pronoun. Although the use of the weak form is generally preferred in speech, in what follows we will generally follow the orthographic convention of writing the strong form.

    433
    a. Mʼn/%Mijn koffie is koud.
      my coffee  is cold
    b. Jouw/*Je thee is misschien lekker, maar mijn/*mʼn koffie is koud.
      your tea  is maybe  tasty  but  my coffee  is cold
      'Your tea might be tasty, but my coffee is cold.'
    c. [[Zijn en haar] ouders] zijn gescheiden.
      his and her  parents  are  divorced

    Although all singular possessive pronouns (with the exception of the polite form uw'your') have weak forms, the plural forms normally do not. However, the second person plural possessive pronoun jullie is exceptional in sometimes allowing the weak form je. The behavior of this weak form is, however, rather special. In order to show this, we have to digress a bit on the binding properties of the referential possessive pronouns. This will be done in Section 5.2.2.4.

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      About this article
      Author(s): Hans Broekhuis
      Category: Dutch Syntax
      Publication date: 22 November 2023
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