Breakdown of De directeur kiest de overeenkomst die redelijk lijkt.
kiezen
to choose
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
lijken
to seem
de directeur
the director (of a company or school)
de overeenkomst
the contract / the agreement (general)
redelijk
reasonable
Questions & Answers about De directeur kiest de overeenkomst die redelijk lijkt.
Why do we use die instead of dat for "that" in this sentence?
Die refers back to de overeenkomst (the agreement). Because overeenkomst is a de-word, we use the relative pronoun die. If we were referring to a het-word, such as het contract, we would use dat instead.
Why is the verb lijkt at the very end of the sentence?
The relative pronoun die starts a relative clause (die redelijk lijkt), which follows the exact same word order rules as a subordinate clause. This means the conjugated verb (lijkt) gets pushed to the end of that clause.
Doesn't the verb lijken usually mean "to look like"?
When paired with the preposition op (lijken op), it means "to look like" or "to resemble" (for example, Hij lijkt op zijn broer). But when used on its own, as it is here, lijken simply means "to seem" or "to appear".
Is there an easy way to break down and remember the word overeenkomst?
Yes! It comes from the separable verb overeenkomen (to agree). You can break the noun down into over + een (one) + komst (coming). Literally, it is a "coming to one" or "coming together," which makes perfect sense for an agreement.
How could we use the current lesson's target word mits (provided that) to say: "The director chooses the agreement, provided that it seems reasonable"?
You would change it to: De directeur kiest de overeenkomst, mits die redelijk lijkt. Here, the subordinating conjunction mits links the clauses and keeps the verb lijkt at the end. The word die changes its role slightly: it now acts as a regular pronoun meaning "it" (referring back to the de-word overeenkomst) rather than a relative pronoun.
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