Breakdown of Vrijwel alles wat hem stoort, is vergeten.
zijn
to be
vergeten
to forget
hem
him
alles
everything
vrijwel
almost / virtually (practically)
wat
that / which (relative)
storen
to bother / to disturb
Questions & Answers about Vrijwel alles wat hem stoort, is vergeten.
Why do we use wat here instead of dat or die?
Because it refers back to the indefinite word alles (everything). In Dutch, when a relative pronoun refers to indefinite words like alles, iets (something), or niets (nothing), you always use wat.
What is the difference between vrijwel and bijna?
They both mean almost and can be used interchangeably in most cases. Vrijwel translates closer to virtually and sounds a little bit more formal than bijna.
Why does stoort come after hem in the middle of the sentence?
The phrase wat hem stoort is a relative clause, which acts as a subclause. In Dutch subclauses, the conjugated verb (stoort) is pushed to the end of its clause, coming after the object hem.
Why does this sentence use is vergeten instead of heeft vergeten?
The verb vergeten can take either zijn or hebben as its helping verb. When a memory or fact has slipped your mind, as it does here, you use zijn (is vergeten). You mostly use hebben when you forgot to bring a physical object, like your keys.
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