Breakdown of De veters die te kort zijn, breken makkelijk.
zijn
to be
te
too
kort
short
makkelijk
easy
breken
to break
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
de veter
the shoelace
Questions & Answers about De veters die te kort zijn, breken makkelijk.
Why is there no comma before die, but there is one after zijn?
Because this is a restrictive relative clause, meaning it specifies exactly which shoelaces break (only the short ones). In Dutch, you don't put a comma before a restrictive relative clause. However, it is common to place a comma at the end of it (after zijn) to clearly separate it from the rest of the main sentence.
How would the meaning change if we wrote De veters, die te kort zijn, breken makkelijk?
Adding commas around the relative clause makes it non-restrictive, meaning it just gives extra, non-essential info. It would imply that all the shoelaces break easily, and by the way, they also happen to be too short. Leaving the commas out correctly restricts the warning to only the short ones.
Why do the verbs zijn and breken end up right next to each other?
This happens when a relative clause interrupts the main sentence. The relative clause (die te kort zijn) pushes its own verb (zijn) to the end of its block. Once it finishes, the main sentence resumes. Since the entire subject group (De veters die te kort zijn) acts as position one, the main verb (breken) must immediately follow it to satisfy the Dutch verb-second rule.
Can I use gemakkelijk instead of makkelijk here?
Yes, they mean exactly the same thing and are entirely interchangeable. Makkelijk is slightly more common in everyday spoken Dutch, while gemakkelijk can sound a tiny bit more formal or traditional, but both work perfectly in this sentence.
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