Breakdown of Ik geef de oude kleding weg, wat makkelijk is.
ik
I
zijn
to be
oud
old
makkelijk
easy
wat
that / which (relative)
de kleding
the clothing
weggeven
to give away
Questions & Answers about Ik geef de oude kleding weg, wat makkelijk is.
Since this lesson is about quantifiers, how would I change this to say "I give all the old clothing away"?
You would use al de and say: Ik geef al de oude kleding weg. Because you are pointing to a specific, definite noun (using the article de), you use al de. You would use just alle if you were talking about old clothing in a general, indefinite sense (Ik geef alle oude kleding weg).
Why is the word wat used here instead of dat or die?
In this sentence, wat translates to "which" and refers back to the entire preceding action (the fact that you are giving the clothing away), rather than just referring to one specific noun. When referring to a whole previous clause or idea, Dutch always uses wat.
Why is weg sitting by itself right before the comma?
It belongs to the separable verb weggeven (to give away). In a main clause, the conjugated part of the verb (geef) takes the second position, and the separable prefix (weg) is pushed to the very end of that clause.
Why is the verb is at the very end of the sentence?
The phrase wat makkelijk is is a subclause (specifically, a relative clause). In Dutch subclauses, verbs are pushed to the end.
Is kleding a plural word like "clothes" in English?
No, kleding translates to "clothing" and is a singular, uncountable de-word. If you specifically wanted to use the plural word for "clothes", you would use kleren.
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