Breakdown of Omdat onze auto de koplampen automatisch aanzet, is hij veiliger dan die van de concurrent.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
de auto
the car
onze
our (de-words, plurals)
Questions & Answers about Omdat onze auto de koplampen automatisch aanzet, is hij veiliger dan die van de concurrent.
Why does the sentence use die van instead of dat van here?
Die van (that of) replaces a noun that is a de-word to avoid repeating it. Here, it refers back to de auto. If the sentence were about a het-word, like het voertuig (the vehicle), you would use dat van instead.
Why is the car referred to as hij?
In Dutch, de-words are historically masculine or feminine. When referring back to a de-word like de auto, you almost always use the masculine pronoun hij (he), rather than het (it), which is reserved for het-words.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb is (is hij veiliger)?
The sentence starts with a subordinate clause (Omdat onze auto de koplampen automatisch aanzet). In Dutch, this entire clause takes up the first position of the main sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position (the V2 rule), the verb is must come right after the comma, swapping places with the subject hij.
Why is aanzet at the very end of the first clause and written as one word?