A relative clause is just a way to add extra information about a noun: the man who lives there, the house that's for sale. In Dutch you build these with two little words — die and dat — and one firm rule: the verb goes to the end of the added clause. This page is a step-by-step recipe. We start with the simplest possible relative clauses and build up, so by the end you can attach a "who…" or "that…" clause to almost any noun.
The recipe in three steps
To turn "the man" + "he lives there" into "the man who lives there":
- Take your noun: de man.
- Add die or dat. Use die for a de-word, dat for a het-word.
- Add the rest of the clause with the verb at the END.
de man die daar woont
the man who lives there (de man → die; verb 'woont' at the end)
het huis dat te koop staat
the house that's for sale (het huis → dat; verb 'staat' at the end)
That's the whole machine. The only two choices you ever make are die vs dat (step 2) and remembering to push the verb to the end (step 3).
Step 2 in detail: die or dat?
The choice depends on the gender of the noun — the same gender that decides de or het.
| If the noun takes… | use… | Example |
|---|---|---|
| de (de-word) | die | de vrouw die… / de auto die… |
| het (het-word) | dat | het kind dat… / het boek dat… |
| plural (always de) | die | de boeken die… / de kinderen die… |
There's a handy shortcut hidden here: all plurals take die, because every plural noun uses de. So even het kind (the child, a het-word) becomes de kinderen die… in the plural.
de vrouw die naast ons woont
the woman who lives next to us (de-word → die)
het meisje dat altijd zingt
the girl who's always singing (het-word → dat)
de kinderen die buiten spelen
the children who are playing outside (plural → die)
Step 3 in detail: the verb goes to the end
This is the step English speakers forget. In English the verb stays put: "the man who lives there". In Dutch, the relative clause is a subordinate clause, and in every subordinate clause the conjugated verb slides all the way to the end.
de man die in Amsterdam werkt
the man who works in Amsterdam (NOT 'die werkt in Amsterdam' — verb goes last)
het pakketje dat vandaag is bezorgd
the parcel that was delivered today (verb cluster 'is bezorgd' at the end)
Compare the wrong English-style order with the correct Dutch order:
| English-style (wrong in Dutch) | Correct Dutch |
|---|---|
| de man die woont daar | de man die daar woont |
| het huis dat staat te koop | het huis dat te koop staat |
Building up: from subject to object
In our examples so far, die/dat was the subject of the little clause — the one doing the action (die daar woont = who lives there). But you can also describe a noun where die/dat is the object — the thing the action is done to. The recipe doesn't change: pick die/dat by gender, verb still at the end. You just add the real subject in front of the verb.
de vrouw die ik ken
the woman (whom) I know (die = object; subject 'ik' before the verb 'ken' at the end)
het boek dat ik gisteren heb gelezen
the book (that) I read yesterday (dat = object; 'ik … heb gelezen' at the end)
de film die we gisteren hebben gezien
the film we saw yesterday (die = object; verb cluster at the end)
A bonus for English speakers: where English often drops the relative word ("the woman I know", "the book I read"), Dutch never drops it. You must keep die or dat every time.
de mensen die ik op het feest heb ontmoet
the people I met at the party (Dutch keeps 'die'; English drops it)
Putting it in a full sentence
A relative clause is usually buried inside a bigger sentence. The clause keeps its verb-final order; the main sentence around it behaves normally.
De man die daar woont, is mijn buurman.
The man who lives there is my neighbour.
Ik zoek het boek dat op de tafel lag.
I'm looking for the book that was on the table.
Notice the comma options: when the relative clause sits in the middle, Dutch often brackets it with commas, just like English does with non-essential clauses.
Common Mistakes
❌ de man die woont daar
Incorrect — the verb must go to the END of the relative clause.
✅ de man die daar woont
the man who lives there
❌ het huis die te koop staat
Incorrect — 'huis' is a het-word, so it takes 'dat', not 'die'.
✅ het huis dat te koop staat
the house that's for sale
❌ de vrouw ik ken
Incorrect — Dutch never drops the relative word; you must keep 'die'.
✅ de vrouw die ik ken
the woman I know
❌ de kinderen dat buiten spelen
Incorrect — plurals are always de-words, so they take 'die', never 'dat'.
✅ de kinderen die buiten spelen
the children who are playing outside
❌ het boek dat ik heb gelezen gisteren
Incorrect — the whole verb cluster goes to the end; 'gisteren' can't come after it.
✅ het boek dat ik gisteren heb gelezen
the book I read yesterday
Key Takeaways
- The recipe: noun + die/dat + clause with the verb at the END.
- die for de-words and all plurals; dat for het-words. They match the article exactly.
- The verb (or whole verb cluster) always goes to the end of the relative clause — the most common A2 slip.
- die/dat can be the subject (die daar woont) or the object (die ik ken); the recipe is the same.
- Dutch never drops the relative word, even where English does ("the woman I know" → de vrouw *die ik ken*).
Now practice Dutch
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Dutch Relative Clauses: OverviewB1 — How Dutch attaches a who/which/that clause to a noun — the pronoun agrees with the noun's gender and number, and the verb is banished to the end of the clause.
- Die vs Dat: Choosing the Relative PronounB1 — The core relative-pronoun choice in Dutch — die for de-words and all plurals, dat for singular het-words — and why it tracks the noun's gender, not the clause.
- Verb-Final Order in Subordinate ClausesA2 — After a subordinating conjunction, relative pronoun, or question word, the entire verb cluster — including the finite verb — moves to the end of the clause.
- Subordinating Conjunctions and Verb-Final OrderA2 — The single rule behind every Dutch subordinate clause: the conjunction sends the finite verb to the end — plus the inversion that follows when the clause comes first.
- Using Omdat and Dat: Because and ThatA2 — How the subordinating conjunctions omdat (because) and dat (that) send the verb to the end of their clause — and why want behaves completely differently.