Breakdown of Dit is veruit de allergrootste fout die hij ooit heeft gemaakt.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
hebben
to have
maken
to make
dit
this (neuter)
de fout
the mistake
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
ooit
ever, someday
veruit
by far
allergrootst
very biggest
Questions & Answers about Dit is veruit de allergrootste fout die hij ooit heeft gemaakt.
Can you use both veruit and aller- at the same time? Isn't that redundant?
Yes, you can combine them for extra emphasis! Veruit means "by far", and the prefix aller- translates to "of all" or "very" when attached to a superlative. Together in veruit de allergrootste, they create a strong, amplified superlative meaning "by far the biggest of all" or "by far the very biggest".
Does the prefix aller- only attach to superlatives like grootste?
Yes, as an amplifier, aller- is specifically attached to the superlative form of an adjective. You cannot say allergroot (very big) or allergroter (very bigger); it must be allergrootste (the biggest of all).
Why do we use die for "that" in the second half of the sentence?
Die is a relative pronoun pointing back to de fout (the mistake). Because fout is a de-word, we must use die to say "that" or "which". If the noun were a het-word, like het probleem, you would use dat instead (e.g., het grootste probleem dat hij ooit heeft gemaakt).
Why are the verbs heeft gemaakt pushed to the very end of the sentence?
The phrase die hij ooit heeft gemaakt is a relative clause, which functions as a subordinate clause (or subclause). In Dutch subclauses, all verbs—including the conjugated verb (heeft) and the past participle (gemaakt)—are sent to the end.
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