De kinderen vinden de doos zo groot dat ze erin willen zitten.

De kinderen vinden de doos zo groot dat ze erin willen zitten.
The children find the box so big that they want to sit in it.

Breakdown of De kinderen vinden de doos zo groot dat ze erin willen zitten.

groot
big
in
in
dat
that
willen
to want
zij
they
er
there
vinden
to find
zitten
to sit
het kind
the child
zo
so
de doos
the box
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Questions & Answers about De kinderen vinden de doos zo groot dat ze erin willen zitten.

What does zo … dat mean here and how does this construction work?

It’s a correlative construction expressing cause and result: so … that …

  • zo groot = so big
  • dat ze erin willen zitten = that they want to sit in it
What does erin stand for in this sentence?
erin is a prepositional adverb combining er (refers back to de doos) + in, so it simply means “in it.” Dutch uses these particles to avoid repeating nouns.
Why is the pronoun ze used for “they,” and how is it different from zij?
  • ze is the unstressed subject pronoun for they and is used in normal speech and writing.
  • zij is the stressed form, used when you want to emphasize or contrast the subject (“It’s zij, not hij, who wants to sit in the box.”).
How does the verb vinden function here? Doesn’t vinden usually mean “to locate”?

vinden has two main uses:

  1. to locate (Ik vind mijn sleutel = I find/locate my key)
  2. to consider/judge (Ik vind dit leuk = I find this nice)
    Here it means “consider”: De kinderen vinden de doos zo groot = “The children consider the box so big…”
Why is the clause dat ze erin willen zitten placed at the end, and why is the order erin willen zitten?

In Dutch subordinate clauses introduced by dat, the finite verb(s) go to the end. With a modal verb like willen, the order is:

  1. Subject (ze)
  2. Adverbial element (erin)
  3. Finite verb (willen)
  4. Infinitive (zitten)
    That yields dat ze erin willen zitten. You cannot say dat ze willen erin zitten or dat ze erin zitten willen.
Why is there no comma before dat?
In Dutch, it’s common to omit the comma before an essential dat-clause. Commas are only added if you need a strong pause or extra clarity.
Why are both kinderen and doos preceded by de? Could you use een doos instead?

De indicates that we’re referring to specific, context-known items:

  • de kinderen = the (aforementioned) children
  • de doos = that particular box
    If you introduce a box for the first time or speak non-specifically, you’d say een doos.