Breakdown of De storm waarin het schip is vergaan, was hevig.
zijn
to be
waarin
in which
de storm
the storm
hevig
severe
Questions & Answers about De storm waarin het schip is vergaan, was hevig.
Why do we use waarin here instead of in welke to mean 'in which'?
In Dutch, when a relative pronoun refers to a thing (like de storm) and is combined with a preposition (like in), you must use a pronominal adverb. You combine waar + the preposition, which becomes waarin. You generally cannot say in welke for things, though you would use a preposition + wie (like in wie) for people.
Why does the verb vergaan use is instead of heeft for the present perfect tense?
Why are is and vergaan pushed to the end of the clause here?
The phrase waarin het schip is vergaan is a relative subclause giving more information about de storm. In Dutch subclauses, the conjugated verb (is) and any other verbs (vergaan) are pushed to the end. The main clause then wraps around this extra information: De storm ... was hevig.
The verb is vergaan. How does the prefix ver- change the meaning of gaan?