Breakdown of De stoel waarop de eigenaar zit, is kapot.
zijn
to be
zitten
to sit
de stoel
the chair
kapot
broken
waarop
on what
de eigenaar
the owner
Questions & Answers about De stoel waarop de eigenaar zit, is kapot.
Why do we use waarop instead of saying op die or op dat?
When referring back to a thing like de stoel with a preposition, Dutch doesn't use normal relative pronouns. Instead, you combine waar (where) with the preposition. So, "on which" or "that... on" becomes waarop. If the chair were a person, you would use a normal preposition and pronoun, like op wie.
How do I know which preposition to attach to waar here?
You look at the action happening in that part of the sentence! The owner is sitting (zitten). In Dutch, you sit on a chair (op een stoel zitten). Because the verb requires op, you use waarop. If the verb required in, it would be waarin.
Why is the verb zit at the end of the phrase waarop de eigenaar zit?
A relative clause (the part adding extra information about the chair) acts as a subclause in Dutch. In any subclause, the verb is pushed all the way to the end. That is why zit comes after the subject de eigenaar.
Why are there two verbs right next to each other separated by a comma (zit, is)?
The relative clause is interrupting the main sentence. The core sentence is simply De stoel is kapot. The extra information (waarop de eigenaar zit) is inserted right after De stoel. Once that extra part finishes with its verb (zit), the main sentence resumes immediately with its own verb (is).
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