Breakdown of Ze zullen het boek brengen, dat beloven ze.
het boek
the book
dat
that (het-words)
zullen
shall / will
brengen
to bring (to a destination)
Questions & Answers about Ze zullen het boek brengen, dat beloven ze.
Why is brengen at the end of the first part of the sentence?
When you use the future tense with the helping verb zullen (will), the helping verb takes the normal second position in the sentence. The main verb, in this case brengen (to bring), is pushed all the way to the end of the clause in its full dictionary form.
Why is the verb zullen used here instead of zal?
Zullen is the plural form. Because the subject is the plural ze (they), we use zullen. If the subject were singular, like hij (he) or a singular ze (she), it would be zal, as in Hij zal het boek brengen.
Why does the second part say beloven ze instead of ze beloven?
This is due to the verb-second rule. The second clause starts with the word dat (that), which acts as the object of the promise. Because dat takes up the first position, the verb beloven must come second, forcing the subject ze to move after the verb.
What exactly does dat mean in this context?
Dat translates to 'that' and refers back to the entire action mentioned in the first half of the sentence, which is bringing the book. It is a very common way in Dutch to point back to a whole idea or statement you just made.