Breakdown of De schoenmaker repareert de schoen die te strak zit, maar niet de veter.
niet
not
maar
but
te
too
de schoen
the shoe
repareren
to repair
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
de schoenmaker
the cobbler
de veter
the shoelace
zitten
to fit / be (in a state)
strak
tight (taut, form-fitting)
Questions & Answers about De schoenmaker repareert de schoen die te strak zit, maar niet de veter.
How do we know this is a restrictive relative clause, and what does that mean for the punctuation?
A restrictive clause (beperkende bijzin) specifies exactly which item we are talking about. Here, die te strak zit tells us he only repairs the specific shoe that is too tight, not any other shoe. Because it is restrictive and essential to the sentence's core meaning, we do not put a comma before die.
What would happen to the meaning if we added a comma before die?
Adding a comma would make it a non-restrictive clause (uitbreidende bijzin). That would imply there is only one shoe in the context of the story, the cobbler is repairing it, and as extra information, it happens to be too tight. The current restrictive version without a comma implies there might be multiple shoes, but he is specifically picking the tight one to fix.
Why does the sentence use zit instead of is for a shoe that is too tight?
In Dutch, the verb zitten (to sit) is used to describe how clothing, shoes, and accessories fit on the body. Using te strak zitten is the most natural way to say that an item of clothing fits too tightly.
Why do we use the relative pronoun die here instead of dat?
The relative pronoun must match the noun it refers back to. Because it refers back to de schoen, which is a de-word, we use die. You only use dat when referring to a het-word.
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