As with referential personal pronouns, it is usually the weak form of referential possessive pronouns that is found in speech (but not in writing); the strong forms are generally restricted to contrastive contexts. For example, in a neutral context like (475a), the weak form m’n (or me) is much preferred to the use of the strong form mijn. In a contrastive context like (475b), on the other hand, the strong form must be used, and the same is true when 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.

Although all singular possessive pronouns (except the honorific uwyour) have weak forms, the plural forms usually do not. However, the second-person plural possessive pronoun jullie is exceptional in that it allows the weak form je when it has an antecedent in its minimal clause, as in (476): in (476a), the pronoun and its antecedent are in different clauses, and the possessive pronoun must have its full form jullie; in the (b)-examples, they are in the same clause, and the weak form of the possessive pronoun is possible and even required when the personal and possessive pronouns are adjacent. See Section 23.2, sub III, for a more detailed discussion.