Breakdown of Het huis waarvan de deur blauw is, staat naast de tuin.
zijn
to be
het huis
the house
de deur
the door
staan
to stand
Questions & Answers about Het huis waarvan de deur blauw is, staat naast de tuin.
What is waarvan, and why is it used here?
waarvan is a compound relative pronoun ( waar + van ) meaning “of which.” It refers back to het huis and expresses a possession or relationship: literally, “the house of which the door is blue.” English uses “whose” or “of which,” but Dutch uses waarvan for non-human referents.
Why can’t I use die or dat instead of waarvan?
die and dat are general relative pronouns meaning “which” or “that,” but they do not carry a preposition. Since we need “of which,” you must include van. You cannot say het huis die de deur blauw is; it must be het huis waarvan de deur blauw is to show the “of” relationship.
Why is the verb is placed at the end of de deur blauw is?
That part is a subordinate clause (a relative clause). In Dutch subordinate clauses the finite verb moves to the very end (SOV order). So you have:
subject (de deur) + complement (blauw) + verb (is).
Why is there a comma between …blauw is and staat?