Complex Subordinate Clauses in Dutch

In Brief

Dutch can place one subordinate clause inside another, but every clause keeps its own word-order rules: Ik vraag me af of hij weet dat zij komt (“I wonder whether he knows that she is coming”). A subordinate clause normally puts its finite verb or verb group near the end, while prepositional relatives use forms such as met wie for people and waarmee for things. At B2, the main challenge is not learning a single new ending but keeping track of several clause boundaries at once.

Overview

A subordinate clause is a part of a sentence that depends on another clause. It often begins with a conjunction (a linking word) such as dat (“that”), of (“whether”), omdat (“because”), or hoewel (“although”). It may also begin with a relative form such as die, dat, wie, or waarmee. You already meet the basic pattern in sentences such as Ik blijf thuis omdat het regent (“I am staying home because it is raining”).

At B2, those basic clauses start to combine. One thought may contain another thought, a relative clause may need a preposition, or two matching expressions may frame a comparison. Dutch word order then differs sharply from English. English generally leaves the verb directly after its subject; Dutch normally sends the finite verb (the verb marked for tense and subject) toward the end of each subordinate clause.

These structures are frequent in news reports, meetings, formal email, argument, and ordinary conversation. The goal is not to make every sentence long. It is to recognize the architecture of a long sentence and to build one without losing the relationship between subjects, verbs, and connectors.

How It Works

Main clauses and subordinate clauses

A Dutch main clause normally follows the V2 rule: the finite verb occupies the second grammatical position. A subordinate clause introduced by a subordinating word normally has the subject first and the verb or verb group later.

Clause type	Basic pattern	Example	Meaning
Main clause	first element + finite verb + subject/rest	Morgen belt zij mij.	She will call me tomorrow.
Subordinate clause	connector + subject + rest + verb	...omdat zij mij morgen belt	...because she will call me tomorrow
Subordinate clause with several verbs	connector + subject + rest + verb group	...omdat zij mij morgen kan bellen	...because she can call me tomorrow

“Verb-final” is a useful learner rule, but it does not mean that one verb must always be the very last written word of the entire sentence. A following clause can be a complement of that verb: ...of hij weet dat zij komt. Here weet belongs to the of-clause, while komt belongs to the inner dat-clause.

Nested clauses

An embedded or nested clause is a clause contained within another one. Read from one connector to the next and identify which subject and verb belong together.

Layer	Clause	Subject–verb pair
Main clause	Ik vraag me af ...	ik — vraag ... af
Outer subordinate clause	of hij weet ...	hij — weet
Inner subordinate clause	dat zij komt	zij — komt

The complete sentence is Ik vraag me af [of hij weet [dat zij komt]]. Brackets are useful for study, although they do not appear in normal writing.

Indirect questions work in the same way. A direct question has inversion: Waar woont zij? In an indirect question, waar introduces a subordinate clause and the verb moves later: Weet je waar zij woont? Other common openers include wie, wat, wanneer, waarom, and hoe.

With auxiliary verbs and modal verbs, a verb cluster (two or more verbs functioning together) appears toward the end:

Type	Example	Meaning
Modal + infinitive	...dat ze morgen kan komen	...that she can come tomorrow
Perfect	...dat hij het heeft gelezen	...that he has read it
Perfect with modal	...dat ze had willen blijven	...that she had wanted to stay

Dutch allows variation in some perfect-tense clusters, for example dat hij het heeft gelezen and dat hij het gelezen heeft. The available order depends on the verbs and sometimes on regional or stylistic preference. The dependable principle is that the cluster stays together near the end of its own clause; do not copy English order word for word.

Relative clauses with a preposition

A relative clause adds information about a noun: de collega die hier werkt (“the colleague who works here”). When the missing element in that clause follows a preposition, Dutch distinguishes people from things.

Reference	Pattern	Example	Meaning
Person	preposition + wie	de man met wie ik sprak	the man I spoke with
Person, possessive relationship	preposition + wiens/wier in formal style	de auteur over wiens boek we spraken	the author whose book we discussed
Thing or idea	waar + preposition	het onderwerp waarover we spraken	the subject we spoke about
Thing or idea, separated form	waar ... preposition	het onderwerp waar we over spraken	the subject we spoke about

For things, waar and the preposition often form one word: waarmee, waarover, waarvoor, waarin, waarop. In less formal speech and writing, the two parts may be separated: de stoel waar ik op zat. For a person, use op wie, not waarop: de collega op wie ik wacht.

The choice between die and dat still matters when there is no preposition. Use die after a common-gender singular noun and after plurals; use dat after a singular het-word:

• de vrouw die daar staat
• het boek dat ik lees
• de boeken die ik lees

Correlative pairs

A correlative construction uses two matching elements to connect or compare parts of a sentence.

hoe ... des te and hoe ... hoe

This pattern expresses proportional change: as one quantity changes, another changes too.

Pattern	Example	Meaning
hoe + comparative ..., des te + comparative ...	Hoe langer ik wacht, des te ongeduldiger word ik.	The longer I wait, the more impatient I become.
hoe + comparative ..., hoe + comparative ...	Hoe vaker je oefent, hoe makkelijker het wordt.	The more often you practise, the easier it becomes.
Elliptical, with omitted words	Hoe meer je leert, des te beter.	The more you learn, the better.

The first hoe-clause has subordinate order: hoe langer ik wacht. The second part is structurally a main clause, so when an adjective or adverb comes first, the finite verb precedes the subject: des te beter begrijp ik het. English expresses the same relationship with “the ... the ...,” so translating Dutch hoe as ordinary “how” will mislead you here.

zowel ... als

Zowel ... als means “both ... and” and joins equivalent elements: nouns, subjects, objects, adjectives, or larger phrases.

• Zij spreekt zowel Nederlands als Engels.
• Het plan is zowel praktisch als betaalbaar.
• Zowel de docent als de studenten waren voorbereid.

With two distinct singular subjects, plural agreement is common because the combined subject refers to more than one person or thing. Singular agreement also occurs, especially when the pair is viewed distributively or the verb agrees with the nearest singular member: Zowel hij als zij is gekomen. In your own neutral writing, plural is often the clearest choice for two separately named people: Zowel hij als zij zijn gekomen.

Keep zowel immediately before the first element being paired and als before the second. This parallel placement makes the intended contrast easy to read.

Examples in Context

Dutch	English	Note
Ik vraag me af of hij weet dat zij komt.	I wonder whether he knows that she is coming.	An of-clause contains a dat-clause.
Ze vertelde dat ze niet begreep waarom de trein vertraging had.	She said that she did not understand why the train was delayed.	Nested indirect waarom-question.
Kun je uitleggen hoe ik kan controleren of de betaling is ontvangen?	Can you explain how I can check whether the payment has been received?	Three linked clause levels.
Hoewel ik denk dat het plan kan werken, wil ik eerst de kosten zien.	Although I think the plan can work, I want to see the costs first.	A subordinate clause comes first; the main clause then has inversion.
De man met wie ik sprak, zei dat hij morgen terug zou komen.	The man with whom I spoke said that he would return tomorrow.	Person after met uses wie.
Dit is het programma waarmee we de gegevens verwerken.	This is the program with which we process the data.	Thing after met uses waarmee.
Het voorstel waar we gisteren over spraken, is aangepast.	The proposal we spoke about yesterday has been revised.	Separated waar ... over.
De kandidaat op wie iedereen had gewacht, kwam te laat.	The candidate everyone had been waiting for arrived late.	Person after op uses wie.
Hoe meer je leert, des te beter begrijp je de details.	The more you learn, the better you understand the details.	Proportional comparison with main-clause inversion.
Hoe rustiger je spreekt, hoe duidelijker je boodschap overkomt.	The more calmly you speak, the more clearly your message comes across.	Hoe ... hoe is a common alternative.
Zowel de prijs als de levertijd speelt een rol.	Both the price and the delivery time play a role.	Singular agreement presents each factor as playing a role.
Zowel mijn broer als mijn zus wonen in Utrecht.	Both my brother and my sister live in Utrecht.	Plural agreement emphasizes two people together.
Ze is niet alleen deskundig, maar ook geduldig.	She is not only knowledgeable but also patient.	A related paired construction.

Common Mistakes

Keeping English word order inside a subordinate clause

• Wrong: Ik denk dat zij komt morgen.
• Right: Ik denk dat zij morgen komt.
• Why: In the dat-clause, ordinary middle-field information such as morgen normally comes before the final verb.

Treating an indirect question like a direct question

• Wrong: Weet je waar woont hij?
• Right: Weet je waar hij woont?
• Why: Waar hij woont is a subordinate clause, not an independent question. It therefore has subject–verb-final order.

Losing track of verbs in a nested sentence

• Wrong: Ik weet dat hij dat zij komt denkt.
• Right: Ik weet dat hij denkt dat zij komt.
• Why: Denkt belongs to hij and introduces its own complement, dat zij komt. Build the inner clause as a complete unit rather than moving every verb to the end of the entire sentence.

Using waar for a person

• Wrong: de vrouw waarmee ik sprak
• Right: de vrouw met wie ik sprak
• Why: After a preposition, standard Dutch normally uses preposition + wie for a person and waar + preposition for a thing or idea.

Using die or dat directly after a preposition

• Wrong: het project aan dat ik werk
• Right: het project waaraan ik werk / het project waar ik aan werk
• Why: A thing governed by a preposition normally takes a waar-compound, not preposition + die/dat.

Forgetting inversion after an initial subordinate clause

• Wrong: Hoewel het regent, ik ga wandelen.
• Right: Hoewel het regent, ga ik wandelen.
• Why: The entire opening subordinate clause occupies the first position of the main clause. The finite main verb must therefore come next.

Usage Notes

Long nested sentences are grammatical, but grammatical does not always mean readable. In formal Dutch, two or three levels of embedding are common; beyond that, readers can easily lose the thread. When a sentence becomes difficult to say aloud, divide it: Hij zei dat het voorstel was afgewezen. Dat verbaasde hem.

Preposition + wie can sound more formal than an everyday alternative with the preposition later, but both can be natural: de persoon met wie ik werk and de persoon waar ik mee werk. The second version is widespread in informal Dutch, including with people, although careful formal usage traditionally prefers met wie for a person. For things, both joined and split waar-forms are normal; the joined form often suits formal writing.

Des te is clear and standard, especially in writing. Hoe ... hoe is also standard and very common. In speech, speakers sometimes leave out predictable verbs: Hoe eerder, hoe beter (“The sooner, the better”).

With zowel ... als, agreement can vary because grammar and meaning pull in different directions. If you are writing a formal text, follow the house style and avoid forcing a disputed choice when an easy rewrite exists: Zowel Anna als Omar hebben gereageerd is unambiguous, while Anna heeft gereageerd, en Omar ook avoids the issue entirely.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Relative adverbs and separable prepositions

The waar-system extends far beyond waarmee and waarover: waarvan (“of which”), waaraan (“to which”), waardoor (“through/by which”), and waaruit (“from which”). The correct preposition is determined by the verb or expression: afhankelijk zijn van gives de factor waarvan het afhangt; bijdragen aan gives het project waaraan zij bijdraagt.

When split, the preposition stays in the position required by the clause: het probleem waar niemand een oplossing voor kon vinden. Such “stranding” is natural in Dutch and English, but the Dutch waar element may stand much farther from its preposition than English “which.”

Extraposition and information balance

Dutch often places a heavy subordinate clause after the verb rather than packing it into the middle of another clause. Compare:

• Ik heb het boek dat je me vorige week hebt aangeraden eindelijk gelezen.
• Ik heb eindelijk het boek gelezen dat je me vorige week hebt aangeraden.

Both are possible, but the second places the long relative clause later and can be easier to process. The difference is mainly information structure and style, not a different basic meaning.

Reduced repetition in paired structures

Correlative pairs often coordinate forms larger than a single word:

• Niet alleen omdat het goedkoper is, maar ook omdat het sneller geleverd kan worden.
• Zowel wat betreft de planning als wat betreft het budget zijn er problemen.

The two halves should be grammatically parallel. Pair a noun with a noun, an adjective with an adjective, or a clause with a clause. Parallel structure is especially important in formal writing because it lets the reader predict the second half.

Practice Tips

1. Bracket a real sentence. Take one sentence from a Dutch news article and put brackets around each clause. Underline every connector, then match each subject with its finite verb.
2. Transform short sentences. Start with Zij komt. Hij weet het. Ik vraag het me af. Combine them step by step: Hij weet dat zij komt → Ik vraag me af of hij weet dat zij komt.
3. Build relative pairs. Choose five verb–preposition combinations, such as wachten op and praten over. Make one sentence about a person (de collega op wie...) and one about a thing (het onderwerp waarover...) for each combination.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subordinating Conjunctions — introduces connectors such as omdat, dat, and als and the basic verb-final pattern.