Breakdown of Aangezien de hond slaapt, is het de kat die de rommel veroorzaakt.
zijn
to be
de hond
the dog
de kat
the cat
slapen
to sleep
het
it
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
aangezien
since / as (because)
de rommel
the mess
veroorzaken
to cause
Questions & Answers about Aangezien de hond slaapt, is het de kat die de rommel veroorzaakt.
Why does the main clause start with is het instead of the standard cleft structure het is?
The sentence begins with a subordinate clause (Aangezien de hond slaapt). In Dutch, when a sentence starts with a subordinate clause, the main clause that follows must have inverted word order (the verb comes before the subject). Therefore, the standard het is becomes is het.
Why do we use die after kat in this cleft sentence, rather than dat?
In Dutch cleft sentences, the relative pronoun you use to mean "that" or "who" depends on the gender of the noun being emphasized. Because kat is a de word (de kat), you must use die. If you were emphasizing a het word, like het dier (the animal), you would use dat.
Why is the verb slaapt at the very end of the first clause?
The word aangezien (meaning "since" or "seeing that") is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause, which automatically pushes the conjugated verb (slaapt) to the end of that specific clause.
Could I use omdat instead of aangezien in this sentence?
Yes, omdat (because) works grammatically and also pushes the verb to the end of the clause. However, aangezien translates more specifically to "since" or "seeing as." This is often used when making a logical deduction, which fits perfectly here: you are logically blaming the cat based on the observation that the dog is asleep.
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