Breakdown of Ik lees een sprookje waarin een prins heeft moeten vechten.
ik
I
een
a/an
hebben
to have
lezen
to read
Questions & Answers about Ik lees een sprookje waarin een prins heeft moeten vechten.
Doesn't the conjugated verb usually go at the very end of a subordinate clause? Why is heeft placed before moeten vechten here?
You are right that conjugated verbs normally get pushed to the end of a subordinate clause. However, when you have a double infinitive (like moeten vechten), the conjugated auxiliary verb (heeft) must come right before that group of infinitives. You cannot put heeft at the very end after the infinitives.
Why does the sentence use the infinitive moeten instead of its past participle gemoeten?
This happens because of a rule often called IPP (infinitive instead of participle). When a modal verb like moeten is used in the perfect tense alongside another main verb (vechten), the modal verb turns into an infinitive rather than taking its normal past participle form. This creates the double infinitive moeten vechten.
Could I swap the order of the infinitives at the end and say heeft vechten moeten?
No, the order within this verbal cluster is strict. The modal verb (moeten) must come before the main action verb (vechten). The required order is always the conjugated auxiliary (heeft), then the modal verb (moeten), and finally the main verb (vechten).
Why is the word waarin used for 'in which' instead of translating it literally as in wat or in welk?