Word
Tijdens de reünie zoeken we de man van wie het gezicht onherkenbaar is.
Meaning
During the reunion, we look for the man whose face is unrecognizable.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Tijdens de reünie zoeken we de man van wie het gezicht onherkenbaar is.
zijn
to be
de man
the man
wie
who
zoeken
to look for
Questions & Answers about Tijdens de reünie zoeken we de man van wie het gezicht onherkenbaar is.
Why is there a het after van wie? Doesn't "whose" just attach directly to the noun?
In English, we say "whose face", dropping the word "the". In Dutch, when you use van wie (meaning "whose" or literally "of whom"), you must still include the definite article for the noun that is owned. So, you literally say "of whom the face": van wie het gezicht.
Could I use wiens instead of van wie het here?
Yes, you could say wiens gezicht (without het). However, wiens is quite formal and mostly used in written Dutch. For everyday speech, using van wie plus the article (de or het) is the standard way to express "whose" for people.
Why is the word order zoeken we and not we zoeken?
Because the sentence starts with the phrase Tijdens de reünie. In Dutch main clauses, the conjugated verb must always be in the second position. Since the introductory phrase takes up the first spot, the verb zoeken comes next, which pushes the subject we behind it. This is known as inversion.
Where is the word for "for" in the Dutch sentence?