Breakdown of Wij bezoeken het dorp dat historisch maar klein is.
zijn
to be
klein
small
maar
but
wij
we
bezoeken
to visit
het dorp
the village
dat
that/which (relative pronoun)
historisch
historical
Questions & Answers about Wij bezoeken het dorp dat historisch maar klein is.
Why do we use dat instead of die here?
Because it refers back to het dorp. In Dutch, when a relative clause describes a singular het-word, we use the connecting word dat. If we were describing a de-word or a plural word, we would use die instead.
Why is the verb is at the very end of the sentence?
The phrase dat historisch maar klein is is a relative clause, meaning it describes the noun right before it. In Dutch, relative clauses use subordinate word order. This rule pushes the conjugated verb (is) all the way to the end of the clause.
Is dat acting as a pointer here, like saying "that village over there"?
No, in this sentence dat is just a connecting word (a relative pronoun) linking the village to its description. However, because dorp is a het-word, you would indeed also use dat to point at it in a normal sentence, for example: Dat dorp is klein (That village is small).
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