Word
Het monument dat op het plein staat, is prachtig.
Meaning
The monument that stands on the square is gorgeous.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Het monument dat op het plein staat, is prachtig.
zijn
to be
op
on
staan
to stand
het plein
the square
Questions & Answers about Het monument dat op het plein staat, is prachtig.
Why do we use dat here instead of die for "that"?
Monument is a het-word (het monument). When you use a relative clause to describe a singular het-word, you must use the relative pronoun dat. If it were a de-word or a plural word, you would use die.
Why is the verb staat at the end of the middle part of the sentence?
The part of the sentence that describes the monument, dat op het plein staat, is a relative clause. Relative clauses act like subclauses, which means they use "verb-final" word order. The conjugated verb staat gets pushed to the very end of that clause.
Why does the verb is come right after the comma? Is this an inversion?
No, this is normal word order! The whole first part of the sentence, Het monument dat op het plein staat, acts as one big subject. In a normal main clause, the verb comes right after the subject. The comma just helps visually separate the relative clause from the main verb is.
Why do we say op het plein instead of in het plein?
In Dutch, a square (plein) is viewed as an open, flat surface. Therefore, monuments, buildings, and people stand "on" it (op) rather than "in" it.