Breakdown of Door de luidspreker horen wij wie de winnaar is.
Questions & Answers about Door de luidspreker horen wij wie de winnaar is.
Dutch main clauses follow a verb‑second rule: some element comes first (subject, time, place, etc.), and the conjugated verb must be in second position.
- Here, Door de luidspreker (“Through the loudspeaker”) is placed first to set the scene or focus on the channel.
- Because something other than the subject is in first position, the verb must come next: horen → horen wij.
So:
- Door de luidspreker horen wij wie de winnaar is.
- Wij horen door de luidspreker wie de winnaar is.
Both are correct. The first emphasizes the loudspeaker; the second emphasizes wij (“we”).
Again, this is the verb‑second rule:
- If the sentence starts with the subject, you say: Wij horen …
If you start with something else (time, place, manner, etc.), the finite verb must come second, and the subject moves behind it:
- Door de luidspreker (1st position)
- horen (2nd position – conjugated verb)
- wij (subject)
So: Door de luidspreker horen wij …, not Door de luidspreker wij horen …
All three are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:
door de luidspreker
Literally “through the loudspeaker.” Focuses on the channel through which the sound reaches us. This is fine and understandable.via de luidspreker
Very natural in modern Dutch for communication channels, similar to English via:
Via de luidspreker horen wij wie de winnaar is.uit de luidspreker
Literally “out of the loudspeaker.” This is very common when talking about where the sound comes from:
Uit de luidspreker horen wij … = “We hear … from the loudspeaker.”
All three can work; via and uit are a bit more idiomatic, door is slightly more literal/old‑fashioned here but still correct.
Dutch nouns have two grammatical genders:
- de‑words (common gender)
- het‑words (neuter)
The word luidspreker is a de‑word, so you must use de:
- de luidspreker = the loudspeaker
- een luidspreker = a loudspeaker
There is no rule you can always predict this from; you normally have to learn the gender with the noun:
de luidspreker, de stoel, het huis, het boek, etc.
Both mean “we”, but they differ in emphasis:
- wij – stressed form; used when you want to emphasize the subject:
- Wij horen wie de winnaar is. (as opposed to someone else)
- we – unstressed, more neutral and more frequent in everyday speech:
- We horen wie de winnaar is.
In the original sentence, wij sounds a little more emphatic, but we would also be perfectly correct:
- Door de luidspreker horen we wie de winnaar is.
Wie de winnaar is is an indirect question (also called an embedded question or subordinate interrogative clause).
- It is introduced by the question word wie (“who”).
- It functions as the direct object of horen:
- We hear [who the winner is].
- horen → “to hear”
- wie de winnaar is → “who the winner is” (the thing we hear)
So the structure is roughly:
- [Door de luidspreker] (adverbial phrase)
- horen wij (verb + subject)
- [wie de winnaar is] (object clause)
In Dutch subordinate clauses, the finite verb usually goes to the end of the clause.
- Main clause (direct question):
Wie is de winnaar? – “Who is the winner?” (verb in second position) - Subordinate clause (indirect question):
… wie de winnaar is. – “who the winner is” (verb at the end)
Because wie de winnaar is is embedded inside a larger sentence, it follows subordinate clause word order: subject – other elements – verb.
That would incorrectly mix main clause word order with a subordinate (embedded) clause.
- Wie is de winnaar? is a direct question and must stand alone as a main clause.
- After a verb like horen, weten, vragen, etc., we use an indirect question:
- … horen wij wie de winnaar is.
So:
- Correct: Wij horen wie de winnaar is.
- Incorrect: Wij horen wie is de winnaar.
The Dutch rule: in embedded questions, the verb goes to the end of the clause.
No, die cannot replace wie here, because:
- wie is an interrogative pronoun (“who”) introducing an indirect question:
- wie de winnaar is = “who the winner is”
- die is usually a relative pronoun or demonstrative (“who/that” or “that one”), used in relative clauses, not in indirect questions:
- de man die de winnaar is = “the man who is the winner”
In this sentence we are not describing a noun (no “man who …”), we’re asking/expressing which person is the winner. That’s why wie is required.
Dutch uses fewer commas than English, especially before object clauses.
In English, you might write:
- “We hear, through the loudspeaker, who the winner is.”
- or: “We hear who the winner is.”
In Dutch, you typically do not put a comma before an object clause introduced by wie, wat, of, etc.:
- Door de luidspreker horen wij wie de winnaar is.
A comma would not be wrong in all styles, but it is usually omitted in standard modern Dutch here.
Because the subject is wij (“we”), which is first person plural.
Present tense of horen (“to hear”) is:
- ik hoor – I hear
- jij/je hoort – you (singular) hear
- hij/zij/het hoort – he/she/it hears
- wij/we horen – we hear
- jullie horen – you (plural) hear
- zij/ze horen – they hear
So with wij/we, you must use horen.
Yes, some variations are grammatically possible, but they sound more or less natural:
Wij horen door de luidspreker wie de winnaar is.
– Very natural and common.Door de luidspreker horen wij wie de winnaar is.
– Also natural; emphasizes the loudspeaker.Wij horen wie de winnaar is door de luidspreker.
– Grammatically correct, but the door de luidspreker at the end feels a bit heavy and slightly awkward in everyday speech. It can sound like an afterthought.
In general, Dutch prefers to keep related parts close together and put longer adverbial phrases (like door de luidspreker) earlier in the sentence.