Breakdown of Wat de klokkenluider heeft gemeld, is een interne misstand.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
hebben
to have
melden
to report
wat
that / which (relative)
intern
internal
de klokkenluider
the whistleblower
de misstand
the abuse (malpractice)
Questions & Answers about Wat de klokkenluider heeft gemeld, is een interne misstand.
Why is there a comma before is, and why does the verb immediately follow it?
The entire clause Wat de klokkenluider heeft gemeld acts as the subject of the main sentence. Because Dutch uses the "verb second" (V2) rule in main clauses, the first position is taken up by that entire subject clause, so the main verb is must come right after it. The comma is used to clearly separate the subordinate clause from the main clause.
What is the literal meaning of the word klokkenluider?
It literally translates to "bell ringer" (klokken = bells, luider = ringer or sounder). Just like the English word "whistleblower", Dutch uses a metaphor of someone making a loud noise to alert people to a hidden problem or wrongdoing.
Why does the adjective interne get an -e ending here even though it follows een?
The word misstand (misconduct or abuse) is a de-word (de misstand). The grammar rule where an adjective loses its -e ending after the indefinite article een only applies to het-words.
Could I say Dat wat instead of just Wat at the beginning of this sentence?
Yes, you could say Dat wat de klokkenluider heeft gemeld..., which explicitly means "That which the whistleblower has reported...". However, using just wat (acting as a free relative pronoun meaning "the thing that" or "what") is perfectly correct and generally sounds much more natural.
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