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UNIT SEVENTEEN
Relative clauses
Introduction
In Unit 24 of Basic Dutch we introduced the basic principles of relative
pronouns and relative clauses. A relative clause begins with a relative pronoun
and ends with the verb (it is a subordinated clause). The relative
pronoun refers to a noun or other word earlier in the sentence (the
antecedent). The relative clause gives information about the antecedent.
This unit will continue with more complex forms of the relative clause,
and it will focus on more complicated questions of word order. First, an
overview:
Relative pronoun Antecedent
die de-words in singular
dat het-words in singular
die all nouns in plural
waar + preposition objects preceded by a preposition
wie a persons preceded by a preposition; b no explicit
antecedent
wat a no explicit antecedent; b complete sentence;
c indefinite pronouns; d others
Die and dat
The relative pronoun die refers to de-words in the singular and all
plurals. If it refers to a person, the relative pronoun needs to be the
subject or direct object of the sentence. The relative pronoun dat refers
to het-words in the singular. Examples:
Dit is de bank die ik deze week heb gekocht.
This is the sofa that I bought this week.
Waar zijn de foto’s die ik vandaag in wil plakken?
Where are the photos that I want to put in the album today? 113