Breakdown of De burgemeester die in het centrum woont, opent het feest.
in
in
wonen
to live
het feest
the party
openen
to open
het centrum
the center
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
de burgemeester
the mayor
Questions & Answers about De burgemeester die in het centrum woont, opent het feest.
Why do we use die here to mean "who"?
In Dutch, we use the relative pronoun die to refer back to de-words (like de burgemeester) and all plural words. Even though it refers to a person, Dutch uses die instead of a specific word for "who" in this case.
Why is the verb woont at the end of the first part, right before the comma?
The phrase die in het centrum woont is a relative clause, meaning it adds information about the mayor. In Dutch relative clauses, the conjugated verb (woont) always gets pushed to the very end of the clause.
Why does opent come immediately after the comma?
In a normal main sentence, the verb must be in the second position. Here, the entire long phrase De burgemeester die in het centrum woont acts as one big first position (the subject). Therefore, the verb opent takes the second position right after it.
How can I remember the long word burgemeester?
It helps to break it down! It is a compound made of two words: burger (citizen) and meester (master). The "master of the citizens" is the mayor.
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