Learn Dutch: De afhandeling is onvoorwaardelijk, wat er dan ook met het product gebeurt. - The processing is unconditional, whatever happens to the product.

You form words like whatever, whoever, or wherever in Dutch by adding dan ook to a question word. In this sentence, wat (what) paired with dan ook translates to "whatever".

Why is er inserted right in the middle of wat dan ook?

In this clause, wat is the subject of the verb gebeurt (happens). Because it's an indefinite subject ("whatever happens"), Dutch requires the placeholder er. This er naturally inserts itself immediately after the question word, splitting wat and dan ook.

Why does the verb gebeurt go at the very end of the sentence?

The construction wat er dan ook introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch, subordinate clauses use verb-final word order, pushing the conjugated verb gebeurt all the way to the end.

How can I easily remember the meaning of onvoorwaardelijk?

You can break it down into familiar parts: the prefix on- (un-), the noun voorwaarde (condition), and the suffix -lijk (-al). Put together, it means exactly the same as its English parts: "un-condition-al".