The Dutch demonstrative pronouns are: _dit_ (this), _deze_ (this, these), _dat_ (that), and _die_ (that, those).
In order to understand how we use the demonstrative pronouns, we need to distinguish two types of pronouns:
Type | Characteristic | Example
dependent | with antecedent | That book is nice.
independent | without antecedent | That is nice.
Dependent demonstrative pronouns
A dependent demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun that precedes a specific person or thing, differentiating it from other similar members of its class. E.g. I want _that_ book, not the other one. We call 'book' the antecedent.
Independent demonstrative pronouns
A demonstrative pronoun can also stand alone, meaning it does not have to precede a noun. For example, " _That_ is nice ". An independent demonstrative does not need an antecedent.
On the following pages, the two types of demonstrative pronouns are explained. On the [summary](#/lesson/Pronouns.De06) page, you can see an overview.