Breakdown of De klasgenoot van wie we de echtgenoot hebben ontmoet, is hier.
zijn
to be
hier
here
hebben
to have
wie
who
ontmoeten
to meet
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
de klasgenoot
the classmate
de echtgenoot
the husband/the spouse
Questions & Answers about De klasgenoot van wie we de echtgenoot hebben ontmoet, is hier.
Why does the sentence use van wie instead of a direct translation for 'whose'?
In Dutch, there isn't a single common word for 'whose' used in relative clauses like this. Instead, you use van wie, which literally translates to 'of whom'. You are essentially saying 'The classmate of whom we met the husband'.
Why is de echtgenoot placed before the verbs hebben ontmoet?
The phrase van wie starts a relative clause, which pushes all verbs to the very end of that clause. Because de echtgenoot is the object of the verb, it sits right before the final verb cluster hebben ontmoet.
Why does the verb is appear right after the comma?
The entire first part of the sentence (De klasgenoot van wie we de echtgenoot hebben ontmoet) acts as one giant subject. In a standard Dutch main clause, the verb must come in the second position. Since the long subject takes up position one, the verb is comes immediately after it.
Does echtgenoot specifically mean 'husband'?
Yes! The word echtgenoot refers to a male spouse. If you wanted to say 'wife', you would add an -e to the end to make it echtgenote. Both words are related to echt, which is an old word for marriage.
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