Breakdown of Sinds de oorlog kennen wij de held wiens nageslacht hier woont.
hier
here
wij
we
wonen
to live
kennen
to know
de oorlog
the war
sinds
since
de held
the hero
wiens
whose (masculine/neuter)
het nageslacht
the descendants / the offspring
Questions & Answers about Sinds de oorlog kennen wij de held wiens nageslacht hier woont.
Why is wiens used here instead of wier?
wiens is the formal genitive relative pronoun for masculine and neuter antecedents. Since it refers back to de held (a masculine noun), we use wiens. If it referred to a feminine noun like de heldin or a plural noun like de helden, you would use wier.
Why is the verb woont singular when it refers to plural 'descendants'?
The Dutch word nageslacht translates to 'descendants' or 'offspring', but grammatically it is a singular neuter noun (het nageslacht). Because the noun itself is singular in Dutch, it takes the singular verb woont.
Why does the sentence say kennen wij rather than wij kennen?
Starting the sentence with the time phrase Sinds de oorlog triggers inversion in the main clause. The verb kennen must take the second position, so the subject wij is placed immediately after it.
Why does woont appear at the very end of the sentence?
The word wiens introduces a relative clause, which functions just like a subordinate clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb (in this case, woont) is always pushed to the end.
Learn Sinds de oorlog kennen wij de held wiens nageslacht hier woont 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