Breakdown of Wie de schildpad kent, weet wat de haas mist.
kennen
to know
missen
to miss / to lack
wie
who
weten
to know (a fact)
wat
that / which (relative)
de haas
the hare
de schildpad
the tortoise
Questions & Answers about Wie de schildpad kent, weet wat de haas mist.
How does wie work at the beginning of this sentence?
Here, wie means "whoever" or "the person who". It introduces a free relative clause (Wie de schildpad kent) that acts as the entire subject for the main verb weet. Because it is a dependent clause, the verb kent is pushed to the end.
Why does the main clause start with the verb weet?
This is the standard verb-second (V2) rule in action. The entire first clause (Wie de schildpad kent) counts as the first position of the sentence. Therefore, the main verb (weet) must immediately follow it in the second position.
In the phrase wat de haas mist, is wat the subject?
No, wat acts as the direct object here, meaning "what" or "that which". The subject of this specific clause is de haas (the hare). The entire clause wat de haas mist then functions as the direct object of the main verb weet, telling us exactly what the person knows.
Does mist here mean "misses" or "lacks"?
It means "lacks" in this context. The Dutch verb missen is versatile: it can mean to miss a person, to miss a train or target, or to lack something. Here, it refers to the qualities that the hare lacks compared to the tortoise.
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