Ik merk dat het water koud is.

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Breakdown of Ik merk dat het water koud is.

• zijn: to be
• het water: the water
• dat: that

Questions & Answers about Ik merk dat het water koud is.

What does Ik merk mean in this sentence?

Ik merk literally means I notice or I am noticing. It indicates that the speaker becomes aware of something.

Why is dat used here?

dat introduces a subordinate clause (just like English “that”). It links the main clause (Ik merk) with the information being noticed (het water koud is).

Can you omit dat in this sentence?

In formal and written Dutch you should keep dat. In very casual speech some people drop it (“Ik merk het water koud is”), but that’s non‑standard and can sound incomplete.

Why does the verb is appear at the end of the clause?

After a conjunction like dat, Dutch uses SOV word order in subordinate clauses. So you get …dat het water koud is, with the finite verb at the end.

Why is the adjective koud unchanged instead of koude?