B2~60 min

Advanced Relative & Noun Clauses

Geavanceerde betrekkelijke bijzinnen

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Exam relevant: This topic is covered in the Staatsexamen NT2 (Programma II — B2 level).

Relative Clauses with wie, wat, and hetgeen

Beyond "die" and "dat", Dutch uses "wie" (who, whoever), "wat" (what, whatever), and "hetgeen" (that which — formal) as relative pronouns in specific contexts.

"Wie" is used when the antecedent is a person and there is no explicit noun: "Wie dit zegt, heeft gelijk" (Whoever says this is right). "Wat" is used when the antecedent is an entire clause, an indefinite pronoun (iets, niets, alles, veel), or a superlative: "Het beste wat we kunnen doen..." (The best thing we can do...). "Hetgeen" is a formal written equivalent of "wat" used in legal and official texts.

Use of wie, wat, hetgeen

Pronoun	Used when antecedent is...	Example	English
wie	person (no explicit noun)	Wie dit wil, kan zich aanmelden.	Whoever wants this can register.
wie	person after preposition	De man met wie ik sprak...	The man with whom I spoke...
wat	entire preceding clause	Hij vertrok vroeg, wat ik niet verwachtte.	He left early, which I did not expect.
wat	iets, niets, alles, veel, weinig	Er is niets wat ik kan doen.	There is nothing I can do.
wat	superlative noun	Het mooiste wat ik ooit zag.	The most beautiful thing I ever saw.
hetgeen	entire clause (formal written)	De wet verbiedt dit, hetgeen logisch is.	The law prohibits this, which is logical.

"Hetgeen" is literary/legal; in spoken Dutch always use "wat" instead.

Common Mistakes

✗Het is het beste dat we kunnen doen.

✓Het is het beste wat we kunnen doen.

After superlatives, use "wat" as the relative pronoun, not "dat".

✗Alles dat hij zei, was interessant.

✓Alles wat hij zei, was interessant.

After "alles", "niets", "iets", "veel", "weinig", use "wat" as the relative pronoun.

Noun Clauses: het feit dat, de vraag of, de reden waarom

Noun clauses are subordinate clauses that function as the subject or object of a sentence. In Dutch they are introduced by "dat", "of", "wie", "wat", "hoe", "wanneer", and "waarom".

A noun clause replaces a noun phrase: "Ik weet het" → "Ik weet dat hij komt." At B2, these are combined with abstract head nouns: "het feit dat" (the fact that), "de vraag of" (the question whether), "de reden waarom" (the reason why), "de mogelijkheid dat" (the possibility that). This creates complex noun phrases that appear frequently in academic and formal texts.

Noun clause structures

Head noun + connector	Example	English
het feit dat	Het feit dat hij ziek is, verklaart zijn afwezigheid.	The fact that he is ill explains his absence.
de vraag of	De vraag of dit haalbaar is, blijft open.	The question of whether this is feasible remains open.
de reden waarom	De reden waarom ze weigerde, is onduidelijk.	The reason why she refused is unclear.
de mogelijkheid dat	We houden rekening met de mogelijkheid dat het mislukt.	We account for the possibility that it fails.
de verwachting dat	De verwachting dat de markt groeit, is realistisch.	The expectation that the market will grow is realistic.
de kans dat	De kans dat het lukt, is groot.	The chance that it will work is high.
het idee dat	Het idee dat dit simpel is, klopt niet.	The idea that this is simple is incorrect.

In these constructions the head noun (het feit, de vraag) is the grammatical subject or object. The "dat/of/waarom" clause elaborates on it. The entire construction can be very long — common in formal written Dutch.

Stacked and Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses

At B2 level, relative clauses can be stacked (one inside another) or non-restrictive (adding extra information, set off by commas). Both require careful punctuation and word order management.

A restrictive relative clause limits the noun: "De medewerker die dit heeft gedaan, moet verantwoording afleggen" (The employee who did this must be accountable). A non-restrictive relative clause adds parenthetical information: "De directeur, die al twintig jaar in dienst is, gaat met pensioen" (The director, who has been with the company for twenty years, is retiring). Non-restrictive clauses are set off by commas and never use "dat" — only "die", "wie", or "wat".

Restrictive vs. non-restrictive

Type	Example	Effect
Restrictive (no comma)	De wet die in 2020 werd ingevoerd, geldt nog steeds.	Specifies which law
Non-restrictive (comma)	De wet, die in 2020 werd ingevoerd, geldt nog steeds.	Adds extra info about the law
Stacked (nested)	Het rapport dat de commissie die vorig jaar was opgericht heeft gepubliceerd...	Complex: commission clause inside report clause

Stacked relative clauses are grammatically possible but often rewritten in formal prose for clarity.

In academic and legal text

Het voorstel, waarover al weken werd gediscussieerd, werd uiteindelijk aangenomen.

The proposal, which had been debated for weeks, was finally adopted.

Er is niets wat de rechtbank in dit dossier niet heeft onderzocht.

There is nothing that the court has not investigated in this case.

De vraag of de maatregel rechtmatig is, wordt door de rechter beoordeeld.

The question of whether the measure is lawful is being assessed by the judge.

Relative and Noun Clauses in Authentic Formal Texts

Advanced relative and noun clause constructions appear densely in formal Dutch. At B2 you need to decode long noun-clause chains and construct complex relative clause structures in writing.

A challenge in formal Dutch reading is "centre-embedding" — a relative or noun clause inserted into the middle of a sentence, separating a noun from its verb: "De man die ons heeft gebeld [relative clause] werkt bij de gemeente." (The man who called us works for the municipality.) Multiple embeddings create very long sentences that require careful parsing. At B2, you are expected to both read these constructions fluently and produce moderate versions of them in writing.

Relative pronouns: complete overview

Pronoun	Antecedent type	Can follow preposition?	Example
die	de-word person or thing	No — use wie (persons) or waar+prep (things)	De man die belde. / De tafel die hier staat.
dat	het-word thing	No — use waar+prep	Het boek dat ik las. / Het systeem dat werkt.
wie	person after preposition	Yes	De collega met wie ik werk.
waar + prep	thing after preposition	Yes (split or combined)	De taak waaraan ik werk. / De kwestie waar hij over spreekt.
wat	entire clause / iets / niets / alles / superlative	Yes: waar+prep for things	Alles wat ik weet. / Dat hij wegging, wat iedereen verraste.
hetgeen	entire clause (very formal)	Yes (formal)	De wet verbiedt dit, hetgeen consequenties heeft.

"Waar + preposition" can be split (er … over, waar … op) or combined (waarover, waarop). Both are standard.

Complex noun-clause chains in formal texts

Het feit dat de resultaten, die maandenlang waren verzameld, niet overeenkomen met de verwachting, is teleurstellend.

The fact that the results, which had been collected for months, do not match the expectation is disappointing.

Noun clause (het feit dat) + embedded relative clause (die … verzameld)

De vraag of de maatregel, waarover al lang werd gedebatteerd, ook in de praktijk haalbaar is, blijft open.

The question of whether the measure, which had long been debated, is also practically feasible, remains open.

Noun clause (de vraag of) + embedded relative clause (waarover …)

When writing these structures, keep the embedded clause as short as possible to avoid confusion. If it grows beyond 10 words, consider rewriting as two sentences.