Breakdown of Het is de vogel die de plant omgooit, dus hij is de schuldige.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
de plant
the plant
het
it
de vogel
the bird
dus
so, therefore
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
omgooien
to knock over
de schuldige
the culprit
Questions & Answers about Het is de vogel die de plant omgooit, dus hij is de schuldige.
Why do we use die here in Het is de vogel die...?
This is a cleft sentence, which splits a normal sentence to put focus on one specific part. To connect the parts, we use a relative pronoun. Because vogel is a de-word, we use die. If the focused noun were a het-word (like het kind), we would use dat instead.
Why is the verb omgooit at the very end of the first part?
The word die introduces a relative clause. Relative clauses act like subclauses, which means they use subclause word order. This pushes the conjugated verb all the way to the end of that specific clause.
Why is omgooit written as one connected word instead of gooit ... om?
The verb is omgooien (to knock over), which is a separable verb. In a regular main clause, the prefix splits off and goes to the end of the sentence (for example, De vogel gooit de plant om). However, because the subclause word order pushes the verb itself to the end, the two parts are forced back together and written as a single word.
Why is the word order normal (hij is) after dus? Doesn't a comma usually cause inversion?
A comma doesn't automatically cause inversion; the word order depends entirely on the conjunction that follows it. Dus (so/therefore) is a coordinating conjunction, just like en (and) or maar (but). It links two main clauses together without changing the word order, so we keep the standard Subject-Verb order (hij is).
What kind of word is schuldige?
It is an adjective turned into a noun. It comes from the adjective schuldig (guilty). By adding an -e to the end and putting de in front of it, it becomes a noun meaning 'the guilty person' or 'the culprit'.
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