Breakdown of De verpleegkundige die ons in het ziekenhuis helpt, is moe.
zijn
to be
moe
tired
in
in
helpen
to help
ons
us (object)
het ziekenhuis
the hospital
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
de verpleegkundige
the nurse
Questions & Answers about De verpleegkundige die ons in het ziekenhuis helpt, is moe.
Why do we use die for 'who' in this sentence?
In Dutch, the word for 'who', 'which', or 'that' in a relative clause depends on the noun it points back to. Because verpleegkundige is a de-word (de verpleegkundige), we use die. If it were a het-word, we would use dat.
Why is helpt at the end of the phrase before the comma?
The phrase die ons in het ziekenhuis helpt is a relative clause (a phrase that gives more information about the nurse). In Dutch, this counts as a subclause, which means the working verb (helpt) gets pushed to the very end of that clause.
Why are there two verbs right next to each other separated by a comma (helpt, is)?
The entire block of text before the comma (De verpleegkundige die ons in het ziekenhuis helpt) acts as the subject of the sentence. Because Dutch strictly places the main verb in the second position of a main clause, the verb is must come immediately after that long subject block.
Is a verpleegkundige a male or female nurse?
It can be either! Verpleegkundige is the modern, gender-neutral word for a nurse. You might still hear verpleegster for a female nurse and broeder for a male nurse, but verpleegkundige is the most common professional term today.
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