Breakdown of We zitten na te denken over datgene wat de trofee uniek maakt.
maken
to make
zitten
to sit
over
about
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
nadenken
to think (ponder, reflect)
te
to (infinitive marker)
uniek
unique
wat
that / which (relative)
de trofee
the trophy
datgene
that which
Questions & Answers about We zitten na te denken over datgene wat de trofee uniek maakt.
Why do we use datgene wat here instead of degene die?
Datgene wat is used to refer to an abstract thing or concept, translating to 'that which' or 'the thing that'. If we were talking about a specific person ('the one who'), we would use degene die. Because we are talking about the abstract concept of what makes the trophy unique, datgene wat is correct.
What does zitten add to the sentence? Why not just say We denken na?
Using zitten te plus an infinitive (here, na te denken) is the Dutch way of showing that an action is ongoing, similar to the English continuous '-ing' form. It literally means 'sitting to think', emphasizing that we are currently in the middle of pondering this.
Why is te placed in the middle of nadenken to form na te denken?
Nadenken (to think about / to reflect) is a separable verb made of the prefix na and the core verb denken. When a separable verb is used with te (which is required here by the zitten te construction), the word te must be sandwiched right between the prefix and the verb.
Why is maakt at the very end of the sentence?
The phrase wat de trofee uniek maakt is a subordinate clause introduced by the relative pronoun wat. In Dutch subordinate clauses, all verbs are pushed to the very end of the clause.
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