Introduction

In Unit 24 of Basic Dutch we introduced the basic principles of relative pronouns and relative clauses. A relative clause begins with a relative pronoun and ends with the verb (it is a subordinated clause). The relative pronoun refers to a noun or other word earlier in the sentence (the antecedent). The relative clause gives information about the antecedent. This unit will continue with more complex forms of the relative clause, and it will focus on more complicated questions of word order. First, an overview:

Relative pronoun Antecedent

die de-words in singular dat het-words in singular die all nouns in plural waar + preposition objects preceded by a preposition wie a persons preceded by a preposition; b no explicit

antecedent wat a no explicit antecedent; b complete sentence;

c indefinite pronouns; d others

The relative pronoun die refers to de-words in the singular and all plurals. If it refers to a person, the relative pronoun needs to be the subject or direct object of the sentence. The relative pronoun dat refers to het-words in the singular. Examples:

Dit is de bank die ik deze week heb gekocht. This is the sofa that I bought this week.