Breakdown of Het is de hamster die in het snoer bijt.
zijn
to be
in
in
het
it
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
de hamster
the hamster
bijten
to bite
het snoer
the cord
Questions & Answers about Het is de hamster die in het snoer bijt.
Why do we use die here instead of dat for the "that" part of the sentence?
In this sentence structure, the word for "that" points directly back to the noun we are emphasizing. Because hamster is a de-word (de hamster), we must use the relative pronoun die. If we were emphasizing a het-word instead, like het konijn (the rabbit), we would use dat: Het is het konijn dat...
How does this Het is... structure change the meaning compared to just saying De hamster bijt in het snoer?
Starting the sentence with Het is... adds a strong, contrasting emphasis to the hamster. It makes it clear that it is specifically the hamster—and not the cat, the dog, or someone else—that is doing the chewing.
Why is the verb bijt placed at the very end of the sentence?
The second half of the sentence, die in het snoer bijt, is a relative clause describing the hamster. In Dutch, relative clauses act like subclauses, which means they follow subclause word order: all the verbs are pushed to the end.
Do I have to use the preposition in when translating "bites the cord"?
Yes. When you specify the object that is being bitten, Dutch almost always pairs the verb bijten with the preposition in (literally "to bite into"). If you leave it out and just say De hamster bijt, it simply means "The hamster bites" (as a general habit).
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