Breakdown of De rechercheur wil de moord onderzoeken.
willen
to want
de rechercheur
the detective
de moord
the murder
onderzoeken
to investigate
Questions & Answers about De rechercheur wil de moord onderzoeken.
Why is onderzoeken at the very end of the sentence?
Because of the verb wil (wants to). When you use a helper or modal verb in Dutch, it takes the normal second position in the sentence, but it pushes the main action verb (onderzoeken) to the very end in its full dictionary form (the infinitive).
Since De rechercheur is a third-person noun (like he or she), why is the verb wil and not wilt?
The verb willen (to want) is irregular. For the third person singular (hij, zij, or a noun like de rechercheur), the standard form is just wil, without the usual -t at the end. You might occasionally hear native speakers say wilt, but wil is the standard correct form.
Could I just say de detective instead of de rechercheur?
You can use the word detective in Dutch, but it usually refers to a private investigator or a fictional character in a mystery novel. A rechercheur is specifically a professional police detective working for the official investigative department.
This lesson is about indirect questions. How would this sentence change if I said "I ask why the detective wants to investigate the murder"?