Breakdown of De bloemen waarvan de doorns steeds groter worden, zijn gevaarlijk.
zijn
to be
groot
big
de bloem
flower
worden
to become
gevaarlijk
dangerous
steeds
again and again, constantly / still (in 'nog steeds')
waarvan
whose / of which
de doorn
the thorn
Questions & Answers about De bloemen waarvan de doorns steeds groter worden, zijn gevaarlijk.
Why does this sentence use waarvan instead of wiens to mean 'whose'?
In Dutch, you must use waarvan (literally 'where of') to say 'whose' or 'of which' when referring to inanimate objects, such as plants, things, or concepts. Words like wiens are only used for people.
How do we get 'increasingly larger' from steeds groter?
The word steeds is frequently combined with a comparative adjective (like groter, meaning 'larger' or 'bigger'). Together, this structure means 'more and more' or 'increasingly'. Therefore, steeds groter translates to 'bigger and bigger' or 'increasingly larger'.
Why is the verb worden placed at the very end of its clause before the comma?
The word waarvan introduces a relative clause, which follows standard subclause word order. In a subclause, the working verb (worden) is pushed to the end of the clause.
Why does the main verb zijn come immediately after the comma?
This is due to the Dutch 'verb-second' rule for main clauses. The entire chunk before the comma, De bloemen waarvan de doorns steeds groter worden, acts as the subject. Since that entire long block takes up the first position, the main verb (zijn) must sit directly in the second position.
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