Relative Pronouns in Dutch

In Brief

Use die after a singular de-word and after every plural noun, and use dat after a singular het-word: de vrouw die belt, de boeken die ik lees, het huis dat te koop staat. Use wat after indefinite words such as alles, iets, and niets. A Dutch relative clause is a subordinate clause, so its verb or verb group normally comes at the end.

Overview

A relative clause adds information about a person, thing, or idea without starting a new sentence. In de buurman die naast ons woont (“the neighbour who lives next door”), die naast ons woont tells you which neighbour is meant. The word that the clause refers back to—de buurman here—is called the antecedent (the person, thing, or idea already mentioned).

Dutch and English use these clauses for the same broad purpose, but they make different choices inside them. English often chooses between “who,” “which,” and “that” according to whether the antecedent is a person or a thing. Basic Dutch usually does not make that distinction. Instead, die or dat normally depends on whether the antecedent is a de-word, a het-word, or a plural. English may also leave out an object relative pronoun—“the film I saw”—but Dutch normally keeps it: de film die ik zag.

This is an A2 topic because the central rule is compact and highly useful. It builds directly on knowing which nouns take de and which take het. Once that rule is secure, the main new skill is putting the words in the relative clause in Dutch subordinate-clause order.

How It Works

The core choice: die, dat, or wat

Antecedent	Relative pronoun	Example	Meaning
singular de-word	die	de fiets die buiten staat	the bicycle that is outside
plural noun, regardless of singular article	die	de fietsen die buiten staan	the bicycles that are outside
singular het-word	dat	het raam dat openstaat	the window that is open
alles, iets, niets, or a similarly indefinite idea	wat	iets wat ik niet begrijp	something that I do not understand

The choice is controlled by the antecedent, not by the role of the pronoun inside the clause. Compare:

• de docent die daar loopt — “the teacher who is walking there”
• de docent die ik gisteren sprak — “the teacher whom I spoke to yesterday”

In the first sentence, die is the subject (the person doing the action). In the second, it is the object (the person affected by the action). It remains die because docent is a de-word.

Singular and plural can change the pronoun

Many het-words take dat in the singular but die in the plural, because all Dutch plural nouns use de:

• het kind dat buiten speelt — the child who is playing outside
• de kinderen die buiten spelen — the children who are playing outside
• het probleem dat we oplossen — the problem that we are solving
• de problemen die we oplossen — the problems that we are solving

This makes article knowledge practical: if you know het boek but de boeken, you can predict het boek dat... and de boeken die....

Wat after an indefinite antecedent

Use wat when the antecedent does not name one definite person or object but is an indefinite word such as:

• alles — everything
• iets — something
• niets — nothing
• weinig — little / not much
• veel — much, when it stands on its own rather than modifying a noun

Examples include alles wat je nodig hebt (“everything you need”) and er is niets wat mij tegenhoudt (“there is nothing that is stopping me”). With an actual noun after veel or weinig, return to the noun rule: de vele vragen die we kregen (“the many questions we received”).

Do not use wat merely because the antecedent is an object rather than a person. “The book that I bought” is het boek dat ik kocht, not het boek wat ik kocht in careful standard Dutch.

Relative-clause word order

A relative clause is a subordinate clause (a clause that depends on another part of the sentence). Dutch normally places its conjugated verb at the end:

• Main statement: De man woont in Utrecht.
• Relative clause: de man die in Utrecht woont
• Full sentence: Ik ken de man die in Utrecht woont.

If there are several verbs, they form a verb group near the end:

• het boek dat ik wil lezen — the book that I want to read
• de foto die zij heeft gemaakt — the photo that she took
• de trein die we hadden moeten nemen — the train that we should have taken

At beginner level, a useful pattern is:

antecedent + die/dat/wat + subject + other information + verb group

For example: het restaurant + dat + wij + gisteren + hebben bezocht. The result is het restaurant dat wij gisteren hebben bezocht.

That pattern changes slightly when the relative pronoun itself is the subject. In de vrouw die hier werkt, there is no separate subject after die: die is the person who works. A practical check is to turn the clause back into a sentence:

• De vrouw werkt hier. → de vrouw die hier werkt
• Ik ken de vrouw. → de vrouw die ik ken

The relative clause sits directly after its antecedent

Keep the clause close to the word it describes. This prevents ambiguity:

• Ik heb het verslag gelezen dat je stuurde. — I read the report that you sent.
• De student die naast de deur zit, stelt een vraag. — The student sitting by the door asks a question.

A relative clause can interrupt the main clause. Once it ends, the main sentence simply continues:

• De student die naast de deur zit, stelt een vraag.

The verb zit belongs to the relative clause; stelt is the main-clause verb. Recognising those two layers makes long Dutch sentences much easier to read.

Dutch usually does not omit the pronoun

English can say either “the coat that I bought” or “the coat I bought.” In Dutch, keep the connector:

• de jas die ik heb gekocht
• het cadeau dat zij kreeg

Leaving out die or dat does not produce a normal standard Dutch relative clause.

Examples in Context

Dutch	English	Note
De man die daar staat is mijn vader.	The man who is standing there is my father.	Singular de-word; die is the subject.
Het boek dat ik lees is interessant.	The book that I am reading is interesting.	Singular het-word; dat is the object.
Alles wat hij zegt is waar.	Everything he says is true.	Wat follows alles.
De mensen die ik ken wonen overal.	The people I know live everywhere.	Every plural takes die.
Waar is de sleutel die op tafel lag?	Where is the key that was on the table?	Sleutel is a de-word.
We bezoeken het museum dat vorige maand is geopend.	We are visiting the museum that opened last month.	The verb group closes the relative clause.
Zij draagt de jas die ze in Rotterdam heeft gekocht.	She is wearing the coat that she bought in Rotterdam.	Dutch keeps die, unlike optional English “that.”
Ken je het meisje dat bij de bakker werkt?	Do you know the girl who works at the bakery?	A person can take dat because meisje is a het-word.
Dit zijn de kinderen die hier elke woensdag spelen.	These are the children who play here every Wednesday.	Plural of het kind takes die.
Ik zoek iets wat niet te duur is.	I am looking for something that is not too expensive.	Wat follows iets.
Er is niets wat we nu kunnen doen.	There is nothing we can do now.	The modal construction ends the clause.
De trein die we wilden nemen had vertraging.	The train we wanted to take was delayed.	The relative clause interrupts the main clause.
Het eten dat je hebt gemaakt smaakt heerlijk.	The food you made tastes delicious.	Eten is a singular het-word here.
De collega met wie ik samenwerk woont in Gent.	The colleague I work with lives in Ghent.	With a preposition and a person, use wie.
Het onderwerp waarover we praten is ingewikkeld.	The subject we are talking about is complicated.	With a preposition and a thing, Dutch commonly uses waar + preposition.

Common Mistakes

Choosing by “person versus thing”

• Wrong: het meisje die naast mij zit
• Right: het meisje dat naast mij zit
• Why: English encourages you to think “person = who,” but Dutch chooses according to the noun’s article. Meisje is a singular het-word, despite referring to a person.

Forgetting that plurals take die

• Wrong: de boeken dat op tafel liggen
• Right: de boeken die op tafel liggen
• Why: All plural nouns take de, so all ordinary plural antecedents use die. The singular is het boek dat..., but the plural is de boeken die....

Using wat after every thing

• Wrong: het huis wat we willen kopen (in careful standard Dutch)
• Right: het huis dat we willen kopen
• Why: Wat is not the general Dutch equivalent of English “what/that.” A singular het-noun normally requires dat. Reserve the beginner use of wat for antecedents such as alles, iets, and niets.

Keeping main-clause word order

• Wrong: de vrouw die werkt in dit kantoor
• Right: de vrouw die in dit kantoor werkt
• Why: The relative clause uses subordinate-clause order, with werkt at the end.

Dropping the object pronoun as in English

• Wrong: de film ik gisteren zag
• Right: de film die ik gisteren zag
• Why: English permits “the film I saw,” but standard Dutch needs die or dat to introduce the relative clause.

Adding an extra pronoun inside the clause

• Wrong: de man die hij daar staat
• Right: de man die daar staat
• Why: Here die already serves as the subject of staat. Add a separate subject only when it is genuinely needed, as in de man die ik daar zie (“the man whom I see there”).

Usage Notes

In everyday speech, you may hear wat after a specific het-word, as in het boek wat ik lees. This occurs in informal and regional usage, but dat remains the safest choice in standard writing and in formal situations. For learners, consistently applying het boek dat gives a clear and reliable foundation.

Commas work somewhat differently from the restrictive/non-restrictive rule often taught for English. Dutch punctuation commonly places commas around a longer relative clause when it is parenthetical or when clarity requires them: Mijn broer, die in Brussel woont, komt morgen. Short identifying clauses often appear without commas: De man die daar staat is mijn vader. Meaning, rhythm, and sentence length all influence punctuation, so do not assume every Dutch die must be preceded by a comma.

The pronouns die and dat also have other jobs in Dutch, including demonstrative uses roughly like “that” or “those.” Context reveals the function. In Dat boek is duur, dat points out a book. In het boek dat duur is, it introduces a clause describing the book.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of the following at A2, but these patterns complete the picture and occur frequently in authentic Dutch.

A preposition before the relative word

When a preposition belongs with the relative expression, standard Dutch distinguishes people from things more clearly:

• person: preposition + wie — de vriend met wie ik reis (“the friend I travel with”)
• thing: waar + preposition — de stoel waarop ik zit (“the chair I am sitting on”)

Dutch compounds waar with many prepositions: waarop, waarin, waarmee, waarover, waarvoor. In speech, the two parts can sometimes be separated: het onderwerp waar we over praten. With people, forms such as met wie, aan wie, and voor wie are standard. This is why de collega met die ik werk is not correct standard Dutch.

Wat referring to a whole statement

Wat can refer back not to one noun but to an entire preceding fact:

• Hij kwam te laat, wat niemand verbaasde. — He arrived late, which surprised nobody.
• Ze heeft de wedstrijd gewonnen, wat geweldig nieuws is. — She won the match, which is wonderful news.

Here wat means “which fact/event,” so the de/het rule does not apply.

Wat after an independent superlative

When a superlative stands on its own rather than directly modifying a noun, wat is common:

• Dat is het mooiste wat ik ooit heb gezien. — That is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
• Het beste wat je kunt doen, is wachten. — The best thing you can do is wait.

Compare a superlative attached to a noun: het mooiste schilderij dat ik ooit heb gezien (“the most beautiful painting I have ever seen”). The named antecedent schilderij is a het-word, so it takes dat.

Possession: wiens and wier

Formal or written Dutch can use wiens (“whose,” masculine singular) and wier (“whose,” feminine singular or plural): de schrijver wiens roman ik lees. These forms are correct but can sound formal. Modern Dutch often rewrites the sentence, especially in conversation: de schrijver van wie ik de roman lees. Recognition is more important than active use until an advanced level.

Hetgeen and datgene wat

Formal writing may use hetgeen to refer to an idea or statement: Hetgeen hij beweert, klopt niet (“What he claims is not correct”). The construction datgene wat means “that which” or “what”: Datgene wat telt, is ervaring. These are useful to recognise, but ordinary speech usually prefers simpler wording with wat or a concrete noun.

Practice Tips

1. Pair each noun with its article. Make short chains such as de tafel → de tafel die..., het raam → het raam dat..., and then pluralise them: de ramen die.... This trains the choice as one unit rather than as an isolated rule.
2. Combine two sentences. Start with Ik ken een vrouw. Zij werkt in Leiden. Then merge them: Ik ken een vrouw die in Leiden werkt. Practise both subject clauses and object clauses: Ik ken de vrouw. Jij hebt haar gebeld. → Ik ken de vrouw die jij hebt gebeld.
3. Mark the verb boundary while reading. Underline die/dat/wat, then find the verb or verb group at the end of its clause. In a sentence such as Het cadeau dat je voor mij hebt gekocht is prachtig, this helps you see that hebt gekocht closes the relative clause and is belongs to the main sentence.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: De and Het Words — knowing a noun’s article lets you choose between die and dat.