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Wie without antecedent
Sometimes, the relative pronoun wie refers to a person (or persons) in
general, and there is no antecedent, similar to the English word ‘whoever’.
Examples:
Wie klaar is met de test, mag hem hier inleveren.
Whoever is finished with the test, can hand it in here.
Wie z’n gat verbrandt, moet op de blaren zitten.
Whoever burns his/her butt, must sit on the blisters (proverb: you have
to feel the consequences of your mistakes).
Wie mooi wil gaan, moet pijn uitstaan.
If you want to look pretty, it might hurt.
Wat without antecedent
Similar to wie without antecedent, the relative pronoun wat can refer
to something that is not explicitly mentioned; the antecedent is implied.
In English we would say ‘whatever’. Examples:
Wat je niet lust, kun je op je bord laten liggen.
Whatever you don’t like, you can leave on your plate.
Wat hij zegt moet je niet geloven.
You shouldn’t believe what he says.
Wat referring to a sentence
The relative pronoun wat can refer to a fact mentioned in the previous
or in the following sentence. It can thus refer to a complete sentence.
Examples:
Hij maakte een lunchpakketje voor me, wat ik hartstikke aardig vond.
He made me a lunch bag, which I thought was really nice.
Wat is niet begrijp, is hoe die auto van de weg kon raken.
What I don’t understand is how that car could get off the road.
Wat after an indefinite pronoun
The relative pronoun wat follows indefinite pronouns such as iets, niets,
alles, veel, weinig, genoeg. Examples:
Wie
without
antecedent
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