Breakdown of De koning weet dat de dwerg een gouden ring heeft willen stelen.
een
a/an
hebben
to have
willen
to want
weten
to know (a fact)
Questions & Answers about De koning weet dat de dwerg een gouden ring heeft willen stelen.
Why is the conjugated verb heeft placed before willen stelen at the end of the clause?
In a regular subordinate clause, you usually push the conjugated verb to the very end. However, this rule changes when you have a double infinitive (like willen stelen). In these cases, the conjugated auxiliary verb (here, heeft) must be placed immediately before the infinitives. It is strictly incorrect to say ... dat de dwerg een gouden ring willen stelen heeft.
Why does the sentence use the infinitive willen instead of the past participle gewild?
This happens because of the Dutch "double infinitive" rule (sometimes called the IPP effect). When a modal verb like willen (to want) is used in the perfect tense along with another main verb (here, stelen), it drops its past participle form (gewild) and becomes an infinitive. Instead of the literal translation heeft gewild te stelen, Dutch stacks two infinitives together: heeft willen stelen.
Could I change the order of the two infinitives and say heeft stelen willen?
No, the order of the infinitives is fixed here. In a double infinitive cluster, the modal or helping verb (willen) comes first, followed by the main action verb (stelen).
Why does the adjective gouden end in -en rather than just getting the standard -e ending?