Breakdown of De politie vraagt of wij het spoor onderzoeken.
wij
we
vragen
to ask
de politie
the police
of
if / whether
Questions & Answers about De politie vraagt of wij het spoor onderzoeken.
Why is the verb onderzoeken at the very end of the sentence?
This sentence contains an indirect question starting with of (meaning "if" or "whether"). In Dutch, words like of introduce a subordinate clause, which pushes the conjugated verb (onderzoeken) all the way to the end of that clause.
In English we say "the police ask" (plural), but the Dutch sentence uses the singular verb vraagt. Why is that?
Unlike in English, the Dutch word de politie is a singular noun. It refers to the police force as a single unit, so it always takes a singular verb like vraagt rather than the plural vragen.
Could I use the word als instead of of for "if" in this sentence?
No, because here "if" really means "whether" (it introduces an indirect yes/no question). In Dutch, you must use of for "whether". The word als is only used for conditional "if" statements, like "if it rains" or "if I have time".
What kind of "trail" does het spoor refer to here?
The word spoor can mean a physical track (like an animal's footprint or railway tracks) or a trail of clues in a detective investigation, which fits perfectly with police work.