Questions & Answers about Van wie is deze fiets?
Why does the Dutch sentence use "Van wie" instead of a single word for "whose"?
In everyday Dutch, there is no single word for "whose". Instead, you use van wie, which literally translates to "of whom" or "from whom".
Why is the word order different from the English "Whose bike is this?"
In English, we put the object right after "whose" (Whose bike...). In Dutch, you cannot say "Van wie fiets". You literally have to ask "Of whom is this bike?", which gives you the order Van wie (question phrase) + is (verb) + deze fiets (subject).
Why is it "deze" instead of "dit"?
The word for bike is de fiets. Because it is a de-word, you must use deze to say "this". If you were asking about a het-word, like het huis (the house), you would use dit (dit huis).
How would I answer this question to say "It is mine"?
You use van in your answer to match the question. You can say Deze fiets is van mij (This bike is of me) or simply Hij is van mij (It is mine).