Breakdown of Het bruine leer, dat de schoenmaker gebruikt, is mooi.
zijn
to be
mooi
beautiful
gebruiken
to use
dat
that/which (relative pronoun)
bruin
brown
de schoenmaker
the cobbler
het leer
the leather
Questions & Answers about Het bruine leer, dat de schoenmaker gebruikt, is mooi.
Why are there commas around dat de schoenmaker gebruikt?
This makes it a non-restrictive relative clause (uitbreidende relatieve bijzin). The commas tell us that this clause just adds extra, bonus information about het bruine leer. The main point is simply that the brown leather is beautiful; the fact that the cobbler uses it is just an extra detail.
How would the meaning change if we removed the commas?
Without commas, it becomes a restrictive relative clause (beperkende relatieve bijzin). It would mean the sentence singles out only the brown leather that the cobbler uses, implying that other brown leather might not be beautiful. It restricts or narrows down exactly which brown leather we are talking about.
Why is the relative pronoun dat used here instead of die?
The relative pronoun must match the gender of the noun it refers back to. Because leer (leather) is a neuter noun (het leer), we must use dat. If the noun were a de word, like de schoen, you would use die.
Why does the verb gebruikt go at the end of the clause between the commas?
A relative clause is a type of subclause (bijzin). In Dutch subclauses, all verbs are pushed to the end of the clause. That is why it is dat de schoenmaker gebruikt instead of dat gebruikt de schoenmaker.
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