Questions & Answers about We weten niet wie de dader is.
Why does is go at the very end of the sentence?
This sentence contains an indirect question: wie de dader is. In Dutch, an indirect question acts as a subordinate clause (a dependent sentence part). That means the verb (is) must be pushed to the very end of its clause.
The English translation ends in 'is' too. Is the word order exactly the same here?
In this specific, short sentence, yes! But be careful: Dutch pushes all verbs in an indirect question to the end. If the sentence was 'We don't know who the perpetrator has been', English keeps the verbs in the middle, but Dutch puts them both at the end: We weten niet wie de dader is geweest.
Why does niet go right before the wie part?
The word niet (not) is negating the verb weten (to know) in the main clause. When you have a main clause followed by a subordinate clause, niet usually sits at the end of the main clause, right before the linking question word (like wie).
Why does weten only have one 'e' if it is pronounced with a long vowel sound?
This is a great reminder of the Dutch open syllable rule. When you break weten into syllables, you get we-ten. Because the first syllable is 'open' (it ends in a single vowel), it automatically gets a long sound. Writing a double 'e' would be a spelling mistake!