Breakdown of Het geniaalste wat de regisseur deed, was de muziek veranderen.
zijn
to be
de muziek
the music
doen
to do
veranderen
to change
de regisseur
the director
wat
that / which (relative)
geniaal
brilliant (genius)
Questions & Answers about Het geniaalste wat de regisseur deed, was de muziek veranderen.
Why do we use wat here instead of dat?
Normally, a relative clause pointing back to a neuter (het) word starts with dat. However, when it points back to a neuter superlative acting as a noun (like het geniaalste, meaning 'the most brilliant thing'), Dutch uses wat instead of dat. This is a specific rule you will see often with superlatives!
Why does geniaalste have an -e at the end?
Geniaalste is the superlative form of geniaal (brilliant). Here, it is being used independently as a noun to mean 'the most brilliant thing'. Whenever you turn an adjective into a neuter noun like this by putting het in front of it, you must add an -e to the end.
Could I just say Het geniaalste ding dat... instead?
Yes! If you add the actual word ding (thing), it becomes a normal noun phrase, so you would go back to using dat: Het geniaalste ding dat de regisseur deed. However, dropping the noun and using wat is much more common and sounds more natural in Dutch.
Why does the verb was come right after the comma?
In a main Dutch clause, the conjugated verb must be in the second position. The entire first chunk of the sentence, Het geniaalste wat de regisseur deed (The most brilliant thing the director did), counts as one single subject occupying the first position. Therefore, the main verb was must come immediately after it.
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