Breakdown of Is dit de verpleegkundige die de arts altijd helpt?
zijn
to be
de arts
the doctor
altijd
always
helpen
to help
dit
this (neuter)
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
de verpleegkundige
the nurse
Questions & Answers about Is dit de verpleegkundige die de arts altijd helpt?
Why do we use die to mean "who" in this sentence?
Because verpleegkundige is a de-word. In Dutch, we use the relative pronoun die for all de-words and plurals. It connects the two parts of the sentence, acting just like "who" or "that" in English.
Why is the verb helpt at the very end of the sentence?
The word die introduces a relative clause. In Dutch, relative clauses have a special word order where the conjugated verb (here, helpt) is pushed to the very end of the sentence, after the object (de arts).
Since verpleegkundige is a de-word, why does the sentence start with Is dit instead of Is deze?
When you are pointing out or identifying someone for the first time (like "Is this...?" or "This is..."), Dutch always uses the neutral pronouns dit or dat, regardless of whether the noun is a de-word or a het-word.
Why does altijd come before helpt here?
In a standard sentence, the verb usually comes before the adverb (like "hij helpt altijd"). But because this is a relative clause, the verb helpt must go to the very end, which forces it to land after the adverb altijd.
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