Breakdown of Het onweer laat zien dat het klimaat verandert.
dat
that
laten zien
to show
het onweer
the thunderstorm
het klimaat
the climate
veranderen
to change
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Questions & Answers about Het onweer laat zien dat het klimaat verandert.
Why is the verb phrase laat zien written as two separate words instead of one?
Laten zien is a light‐verb construction (a causative structure), not a single separable verb. You conjugate laten (so it becomes laat in the third person singular) and keep zien in the infinitive. Together they mean “to show.”
Could I replace laat zien with a single verb like tonen?
Yes. You could say Het onweer toont aan dat het klimaat verandert. Note that tonen in this sense requires the preposition aan (“to demonstrate”). Tonen sounds a bit more formal than laten zien.
What role does dat play in this sentence? Can it be omitted?
Dat introduces the subordinate clause (“that the climate is changing”) and marks it as the object of laten zien. In written Dutch you normally keep dat, but in speech you can sometimes drop it:
Het onweer laat zien (dat) het klimaat verandert.
Why is verandert at the end of the clause dat het klimaat verandert? Shouldn’t Dutch verbs be in second position?
Subordinate clauses in Dutch (introduced by words like dat, omdat, etc.) are verb‐final. Once you start a clause with dat, all verbs—including the finite one—move to the very end.
Why is verandert spelled with a t at the end?
Most Dutch verbs in the third person singular present tense add -t to the stem. The stem of veranderen is verander-, so for hij/het you write verandert.
How do I know whether to use the article de or het for a noun? Both onweer and klimaat use het.
Unfortunately, Dutch articles must often be memorized on a word‐by‐word basis. Many abstract nouns, diminutives and loanwords take het, but there are exceptions. A good dictionary entry will always list the correct article.
What is the grammatical function of the dat‐clause in this sentence?
The clause dat het klimaat verandert is a content clause functioning as the direct object of laten zien. It answers the question “What does the thunderstorm show?”
If I wanted to emphasize the ongoing nature of the change (“is changing”), could I use a continuous construction?
Yes. You can use the Dutch continuous form aan het + infinitief, keeping the finite verb at the end:
Het onweer laat zien dat het klimaat aan het veranderen is.