Breakdown of Welk probleem hebben ze precies?
hebben
to have
het probleem
the problem
welk
which (for het-words)
precies
exactly
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
Questions & Answers about Welk probleem hebben ze precies?
Why do we use welk here instead of welke?
Because probleem is a het-word (het probleem) and it is singular. You use welk with singular het-words, and welke with all de-words and all plurals.
The word ze can mean "she" or "they". How do we know it means "they" here?
You can tell by looking at the verb! Hebben is the plural form of the verb "to have". If the sentence was about "she", it would use the singular form heeft: Welk probleem heeft ze precies?
Why doesn't the verb hebben come at the very beginning of the question?
In open questions, the question word or phrase comes first, and the verb comes second. Here, the entire phrase Welk probleem (Which problem) acts as one block in the first position, so the verb hebben must come right after it.
In English I might say "Which problem exactly do they have?". Can I put precies right after probleem in Dutch?
No, you can't say Welk probleem precies hebben ze? because that would push the verb hebben out of the second position. Adverbs like precies generally go at the end of a simple question like this.
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