Breakdown of Het hotel dat een balkon heeft, is te duur.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
hebben
to have
het hotel
the hotel
duur
expensive
te
too
dat
that/which (relative pronoun)
het balkon
the balcony
Questions & Answers about Het hotel dat een balkon heeft, is te duur.
Why do we use dat here instead of die for "that"?
Because hotel is a het-word (het hotel). When a relative clause describes a singular het-word, we must use dat. If it were a de-word or a plural word, you would use die.
Why does heeft go at the end of the phrase dat een balkon heeft?
Because dat een balkon heeft is a relative clause (it describes a noun). In Dutch, relative clauses use the same word order as subclauses, which means the conjugated verb is pushed to the very end of that specific clause.
Why is the main verb is placed right after the comma?
If you take out the extra information, the core sentence is simply Het hotel is te duur. The relative clause just interrupts it. As soon as the relative clause ends at the comma, the main sentence picks up exactly where it left off.
Is the word dat chosen because of hotel or because of balkon?
It is based on het hotel. The relative pronoun always matches the noun it is referring back to. Even if the hotel had a garden (een tuin, which is a de-word), you would still use dat because you are saying "The hotel that..."
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