Breakdown of Datgene wat tijdens de ceremonie gebeurt, is een geheim.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
gebeuren
to happen
het geheim
the secret
tijdens
during
wat
that / which (relative)
de ceremonie
the ceremony
datgene
that which
Questions & Answers about Datgene wat tijdens de ceremonie gebeurt, is een geheim.
What exactly does datgene wat mean, and why not just use wat?
Datgene wat literally translates to "that which" or "the thing that". While you could technically just use wat (What happens during the ceremony is...), using datgene adds emphasis to the specific thing happening and makes the sentence sound a bit more formal or dramatic.
Is datgene always followed by wat?
Yes, when referring to things or abstract concepts, datgene is paired with wat. If you were talking about a person instead ("the one who"), you would use the person-specific version from this lesson: degene die.
Why are there two verbs right next to each other (gebeurt, is)?
The entire phrase before the comma (Datgene wat tijdens de ceremonie gebeurt) is a relative clause that acts as the subject of the main sentence. Because this whole block takes up the first position, the main verb is must come immediately after it to satisfy the Dutch verb-second (V2) rule. Meanwhile, gebeurt sits right before the comma because relative clauses push their verbs to the end.
Why does gebeurt end with a -t here?
The subject of the relative clause is wat, which refers back to the singular concept datgene. Because it acts like a singular "it", the verb gebeuren (to happen) takes the standard third-person singular present tense form: the stem (gebeur) plus a -t.
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