Breakdown of Wat gevaarlijk! Die slang heeft een kikker gevangen.
een
a/an
hebben
to have
wat
what
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
gevaarlijk
dangerous
vangen
to catch
de kikker
the frog
de slang
the snake
Questions & Answers about Wat gevaarlijk! Die slang heeft een kikker gevangen.
Why do we use wat instead of wat een here?
In this sentence, we are making an exclamation using only an adjective (gevaarlijk). When making an exclamation with a bare adjective, a plural noun, or an uncountable noun, you just use wat. You only use wat een when there is a singular countable noun involved, like Wat een gevaarlijke slang! (What a dangerous snake!).
Why does wat translate to "how" in this sentence instead of "what"?
English uses "How...!" for adjectives ("How dangerous!") and "What a...!" for nouns ("What a snake!"). Dutch keeps it simple and uses wat for both. Because it is followed directly by an adjective here, it naturally translates to "how" in English.
Why does the word gevangen (caught) go at the very end of the sentence?
This is a classic Dutch word order rule for the present perfect tense. The helping verb (heeft) takes the normal second position in the sentence, while the past participle (gevangen) gets pushed to the very end. This creates a "verb brace" that wraps around the object (een kikker).
Why is it die slang (that snake) and not dat slang?
Because slang is a de-word (de slang). When pointing out "that" specific thing, de-words use die, while het-words use dat.
Learn Wat gevaarlijk! Die slang heeft een kikker gevangen and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free