Breakdown of Ondanks de regels is het de hond die de rommel veroorzaakt.
zijn
to be
de hond
the dog
het
it
de regel
the rule
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
ondanks
despite
de rommel
the mess
veroorzaken
to cause
Questions & Answers about Ondanks de regels is het de hond die de rommel veroorzaakt.
Why do we use die here instead of dat to mean "that"?
In a cleft sentence, the choice between die and dat depends on the noun being emphasized. Because hond is a de-word (de hond), we must use die. If we were emphasizing a het-word like het dier (the animal), we would use dat.
Why does the sentence say is het de hond instead of het is de hond?
This is because of the verb-second rule. The sentence starts with the phrase Ondanks de regels. Because this takes up the first position, the main verb (is) must come second, pushing the subject (het) to the third position.
Why is the verb veroorzaakt placed at the very end of the sentence?
The second part of a cleft sentence (die de rommel veroorzaakt) is a relative clause. In Dutch, relative clauses act as subordinate clauses, meaning the conjugated verb is pushed to the end of that clause.
Is the verb veroorzaakt related to the noun for "cause"?
Yes, it is directly built from it! The noun for "the cause" is de oorzaak. By adding the prefix ver- and the suffix -en, it becomes the verb veroorzaken (to cause). Here it is conjugated for a third-person singular subject.
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