Breakdown of De wollen trui die zij draagt, is erg warm.
zijn
to be
zij
she
erg
very / really
warm
warm
de trui
the sweater
dragen
to wear
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
wollen
woolen
Questions & Answers about De wollen trui die zij draagt, is erg warm.
Why does wollen end in -en instead of just -e like a regular adjective?
Wollen (woolen) tells us what the sweater is made of. In Dutch, most adjectives describing materials get a fixed -en ending. Unlike regular adjectives, this -en ending doesn't change based on whether the noun is a de or het word.
Why do we use die for "that" instead of dat?
You use die because it refers back to de trui (the sweater). When a connecting word like "that" or "which" points back to a de word, you must use die. If it referred to a het word (like het shirt), you would use dat instead.
Why is draagt at the very end of the part before the comma?
The phrase die zij draagt (that she is wearing) is a subclause giving extra information about the sweater. In Dutch subclauses, the working verb (draagt) is always pushed to the very end.
Why does the main verb is come immediately after the comma?
Dutch sentences follow a strict "verb second" rule for the main clause. The entire descriptive phrase De wollen trui die zij draagt acts as one long subject, taking up the first position. Therefore, the verb is must immediately follow it in the second position.
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