Het klimtouw is met de klimgordel verbonden.

Because Dutch nouns have grammatical gender, and each noun takes either de or het as its singular definite article.

• het touw = the rope
• de gordel = the belt / harness

In compounds, the article is determined by the last part of the word:

• klimtouw ends in touw, so it stays het klimtouw
• klimgordel ends in gordel, so it becomes de klimgordel

This is a very useful rule for compound nouns in Dutch.

Yes. Dutch forms compound nouns very freely, and they are usually written as one word.

• klim + touw = climbing rope
• klim + gordel = climbing harness

The second part is the main noun, and the first part describes what kind of thing it is.

So:

• touw is the core noun in klimtouw
• gordel is the core noun in klimgordel

This is similar to English compounds like toothbrush or bedroom, but Dutch uses them even more often and writes many combinations as a single word.

Because in a Dutch main clause with zijn + a past participle/adjective-like form, the non-finite part often comes at the end.

The sentence structure is:

• Het klimtouw = subject
• is = finite verb
• met de klimgordel = prepositional phrase
• verbonden = past participle / predicate part

Dutch often places this final element near the end:

• Het klimtouw is met de klimgordel verbonden.

This is very normal Dutch word order.

It can feel like a mixture of both, and that is exactly why learners often notice it.

In this sentence, verbonden comes from the verb verbinden = to connect. But in is verbonden, it often functions in a more adjectival or result-state way:

• The rope is connected to the harness

This focuses on the state/result, not so much on the action of someone connecting it.

So while it is related to the past participle of verbinden, in everyday usage it often feels like:

• The rope is connected... rather than
• The rope is being connected...

If you wanted a more clearly action-focused passive, context would usually make that obvious.

Because Dutch commonly uses the fixed combination verbonden met.

• verbonden met = connected with / connected to

Dutch prepositions do not always match English ones directly. So even though English prefers to, Dutch often uses met after verbonden.

You should learn this as a common combination:

• iets is met iets verbonden = something is connected to something

There is also verbonden aan, but verbonden met is very common for physical or general connection.

Yes, that is also possible.

Both of these can be used:

• Het klimtouw is met de klimgordel verbonden
• Het klimtouw is aan de klimgordel verbonden

Very roughly:

• met emphasizes the connection between two things
• aan can emphasize that one thing is attached to another

In many situations, both are acceptable. The version with met is a very natural general way to say that two things are connected.

The infinitive is verbinden, which means to connect, to join, or to link.

Its principal forms are:

• verbinden = infinitive
• verbindt = present singular
• verbond = past singular
• verbonden = past participle

So in your sentence:

• verbonden is the form derived from the past participle of verbinden

Because here verbonden is not placed directly before a noun as an attributive adjective.

Compare:

• Het klimtouw is verbonden.
  Here it is part of the predicate, so no extra -e is added.

But before a noun, Dutch usually adds -e:

• het verbonden touw
• de verbonden onderdelen

So the reason is grammatical position:

• predicative use: no -e
• attributive use before a noun: often -e

Yes, it could be reversed.

For example:

• De klimgordel is met het klimtouw verbonden.

The meaning stays very similar. The difference is mainly about what you choose as the subject and what you want to talk about first.

Dutch, like English, often puts known or topic information first. So the original sentence is simply choosing the climbing rope as the starting point.

Yes, klimgordel is a normal and transparent word.

• klim = climbing
• gordel = belt / harness-like support

Depending on context, you may also encounter terms like harnas, especially in technical or safety contexts, but klimgordel is clear and idiomatic for a climbing harness.

You would make the nouns plural and adjust the article and verb:

• De klimtouwen zijn met de klimgordels verbonden.

Changes:

• het klimtouw → de klimtouwen
• de klimgordel → de klimgordels
• is → zijn

Notice that all plural definite nouns take de in Dutch.

Not perfectly. A very literal breakdown would be:

• Het = the
• klimtouw = climbing rope
• is = is
• met = with
• de klimgordel = the climbing harness
• verbonden = connected

So literally you get something like:

• The climbing rope is connected with the climbing harness

That is understandable in English, but the more natural English translation is usually:

• The climbing rope is connected to the climbing harness

This is a good example of why Dutch prepositions should not always be translated mechanically.