Questions & Answers about Waar praten zij over?
Why does this sentence use Waar (where) instead of Wat (what)?
In Dutch, you generally cannot use a preposition like over together with wat (what) to ask about a thing. Instead, wat turns into waar (where), combining with the preposition to form words like waarover (literally "where-about").
Why are Waar and over separated here?
It is very common in Dutch to split combinations like waarover. When you split them in a question, waar stays at the front, and the preposition (over) moves to the end of the sentence. You can also say Waarover praten zij?, but splitting it like in this sentence sounds much more natural in daily speech.
Could this sentence mean "Who are they talking about?"
No. The waar + preposition structure is strictly used for things, ideas, or situations. If you want to ask about people, you don't use waar. Instead, you use wie (who) and keep the preposition at the front: Over wie praten zij?
How does this connect to the word elkaar (each other)? How would you say "They are talking about each other"?
Because elkaar refers to people, it behaves like wie rather than wat. You do not use the waar trick. Instead, the preposition just goes directly in front of the word: Zij praten over elkaar.
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