Breakdown of Er is niets waarvan de soort onbekend is.
zijn
to be
er
there (existential)
niets
nothing
onbekend
unknown
de soort
the species / the sort
waarvan
whose / of which
Questions & Answers about Er is niets waarvan de soort onbekend is.
Why do we use waarvan here to mean "whose"?
Because niets (nothing) is an abstract concept, not a person. In Dutch, when you want to say "whose" for inanimate objects, animals, or concepts, you must use waarvan (literally "of which"). If you were talking about a person, you would use wiens or wier.
Why does it say waarvan de soort instead of just waarvan soort like the English "whose species"?
In English, "whose" replaces the article, so we just say "whose species". In Dutch, waarvan acts more like "of which", so the noun that follows still needs its definite article (de or het). You are literally saying "of which the species".
Why is the second is placed at the very end of the sentence?
The word waarvan introduces a relative clause (a type of subclause). In Dutch, the rule for subordinate clauses is that the conjugated verb—in this case, is—must be pushed to the very end of the clause.
Could I say Daar is niets instead of Er is niets?
Not if you want to say "There is nothing" in a general sense. Er is is the standard way to express existence ("There is" / "There exists"). You would only use Daar is niets if you were pointing to a specific physical location, meaning "Over there, there is nothing."
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