Breakdown of Wie overal opschept, faalt zoals de haas faalde.
wie
who
overal
everywhere
falen
to fail (in general, to not succeed)
zoals
such as, like
Questions & Answers about Wie overal opschept, faalt zoals de haas faalde.
How does wie work in this sentence if it isn't asking a question?
Here, wie introduces a free relative clause. Instead of referring back to a specific noun, it acts as an independent subject meaning 'whoever' or 'anyone who'. The entire clause Wie overal opschept functions as the subject for the second half of the sentence.
Why does the verb faalt come immediately after the comma?
This is a great example of the Dutch verb-second rule in action. Because the entire first clause (Wie overal opschept) acts as the subject, it takes up the first position in the main sentence. The main verb faalt must then take the second position, right after the comma.
The verb for 'to brag' is the separable verb opscheppen. Why isn't it split up here?
Because wie introduces a subordinate clause, the verb is pushed to the end of that clause. When a separable verb is pushed to the end of a subordinate clause, its separable prefix (op) and the conjugated verb (schept) reunite into one word: opschept.
Why is the final verb faalde pushed to the end of the sentence?
The word zoals (meaning 'like' or 'as' in this context) is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a new subordinate clause, which forces its conjugated verb (faalde) to the very end.