Breakdown of De ex over wie ze klaagt, heeft een slecht karakter.
een
a/an
hebben
to have
wie
who
slecht
bad
Questions & Answers about De ex over wie ze klaagt, heeft een slecht karakter.
Why do we say over wie instead of just die?
This is the focus of the current lesson! The clause describes a person (de ex), and the verb used is klagen (to complain). In Dutch, you complain about someone using the fixed combination klagen over. When a relative clause for a person requires a preposition, we put that preposition right before wie.
Why are there two verbs right next to each other (klaagt, heeft)?
The phrase over wie ze klaagt is a subclause, and subclauses push their verb (klaagt) to the end. The entire block of words De ex over wie ze klaagt acts as one big subject for the main sentence. Because Dutch main clauses always put the verb in the second position, the main verb heeft must come immediately after that long subject.
Why doesn't the adjective have an -e ending (slecht karakter instead of slechte karakter)?
This is a good review of adjective rules. The word karakter is a het word (het karakter). When you use a het word with the indefinite article een (a), the adjective before it does not get the extra -e at the end.
Could I use a different word for "about" here, like om?