Breakdown of Wie ijdel is, verliest zijn veren.
wie
who
zijn
his
verliezen
to lose
ijdel
vain
de veer
the feather
Questions & Answers about Wie ijdel is, verliest zijn veren.
Why does wie translate to "whoever" here instead of just "who"?
In this sentence, wie introduces a free relative clause, meaning it doesn't refer back to a specific noun we already mentioned. When wie stands on its own like this and acts as the subject, it translates to "whoever", "anyone who", or "he who".
Why is the verb verliest placed immediately after the comma?
The entire first clause, Wie ijdel is, acts as the subject of the overall sentence. Because this whole clause occupies the first position, the main verb (verliest) must come right after it to maintain the strict verb-second rule of Dutch main clauses.
Why do we use zijn to refer back to wie?
The pronoun wie is grammatically singular in Dutch and traditionally takes the masculine possessive pronoun zijn. Even though "whoever" can refer to anyone regardless of gender, zijn is the standard default pronoun to use in this structure.
Why does the verb is come at the end of the first clause (Wie ijdel is)?
Even though it sits at the start of the sentence, Wie ijdel is is a subordinate clause. In Dutch, subordinate clauses always push their conjugated verb to the end of that clause.
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