De diplomaat die de alliantie oprichtte, is beroemd.
The diplomat who founded the alliance is famous.
Breakdown of De diplomaat die de alliantie oprichtte, is beroemd.
zijn
to be
beroemd
famous
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
oprichten
to found / to establish
Questions & Answers about De diplomaat die de alliantie oprichtte, is beroemd.
Why is the separable verb oprichtte written as a single word here, rather than split up?
Oprichten is a separable verb (op + richten). In a normal main clause, the prefix detaches and moves to the end (for example: Hij richtte de alliantie op). However, die de alliantie oprichtte is a relative clause, which follows subclause word order and pushes the verb to the end. When the prefix and the verb meet at the end of a clause like this, they are written together as one word.
Why do the verbs oprichtte and is appear right next to each other, separated only by a comma?
The entire phrase De diplomaat die de alliantie oprichtte acts as the subject of the main sentence. In a Dutch main clause, the conjugated verb (is) must sit in the second structural position (the V2 rule). Because that entire long subject counts as the first position, the main verb is must follow immediately after it.
Since 'the diplomat' is a person, why do we use the relative pronoun die instead of wie for 'who'?
English distinguishes between 'who' for people and 'that/which' for things, but Dutch distinguishes by word gender. You use die for all de-words and dat for all het-words, regardless of whether they are humans or objects. You only use wie as a relative pronoun when it directly follows a preposition (for example, de diplomaat met wie... meaning 'the diplomat with whom...').