Breakdown of Het was de wetenschap die de oplossing creëerde.
zijn
to be
het
it
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
de oplossing
the solution
de wetenschap
the science
creëren
to create
Questions & Answers about Het was de wetenschap die de oplossing creëerde.
Why do we use die after wetenschap instead of dat?
In this type of cleft sentence, the word meaning "that" or "who" is a relative pronoun. Because wetenschap is a de-word (de wetenschap), you must use die. If the focused noun were a het-word, like het onderzoek (the research), you would use dat: Het was het onderzoek dat...
Why does the verb creëerde go at the very end of the sentence?
The second half of a cleft sentence (die de oplossing creëerde) is a relative clause. In Dutch, relative clauses use subordinate word order, which means the conjugated verb gets pushed to the very end of the clause.
Why is there a definite article (de) before wetenschap when the English translation just says "science"?
In Dutch, abstract concepts, academic fields, and general categories (like science, nature, or history) usually take a definite article (de or het). While English drops "the" when talking about science in general, Dutch requires it.
Why does creëerde have two dots (a trema) on the ë?
The infinitive verb is creëren (to create), which has a root of creëer. To make it past tense for a singular subject, we add -de. The trema on the ë tells you to start a new syllable there (cre-ee-er-de), preventing you from reading the three e's together as a single vowel sound.
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