Breakdown of De getuige weet wie het slachtoffer van de moord is.
zijn
to be
wie
who
weten
to know (a fact)
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
de moord
the murder
het slachtoffer
the victim
de getuige
the witness
Questions & Answers about De getuige weet wie het slachtoffer van de moord is.
Why is the verb is at the very end of the sentence?
Because the second half of the sentence (wie het slachtoffer van de moord is) is an indirect question. When you embed a question inside a statement like this, it follows "sub-clause" word order. That means the conjugated verb (is) must be pushed to the very end of the clause.
How would the word order change if I just asked "Who is the victim of the murder?" directly?
In a regular, direct question, the verb comes right after the question word: Wie is het slachtoffer van de moord? It is only because the question is attached to De getuige weet... that the verb moves to the end.
Why do we use weet here instead of kent for "knows"?
We use weten (to know a fact or piece of information) instead of kennen (to be acquainted with a person, place, or thing) because the witness knows a fact—the answer to the question. If the sentence meant "The witness personally knows the victim", you would use kennen: De getuige kent het slachtoffer.
Why is it het slachtoffer? Aren't words for people usually de words?
Yes, nouns referring to people (like de man, de vrouw, or de getuige) almost always take de. However, het slachtoffer (the victim) is a famous exception that you just have to memorize. It is always a neuter (het) word, regardless of whether the victim is male or female.
Learn De getuige weet wie het slachtoffer van de moord is and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free