Relative Clauses with Prepositions (B1)

Relative clauses add extra information about a noun (the antecedent) in the main clause. They are typically introduced by relative pronouns die (for de-words and plurals) and dat (for het-words). At B1, a key development is handling relative clauses where the relative pronoun is linked to a preposition.

The Challenge:

In English, we often put the preposition at the end of the relative clause (e.g., "The city that I live in.") or use structures like "in which" (e.g., "The city in which I live."). Dutch has different patterns.

Forming Relative Clauses with Prepositions:

1. Referring to People: Use preposition + wie (for whom) or sometimes preposition + die (less common, can be ambiguous).

• Example: De vrouw met wie ik praatte, is mijn buurvrouw. (The woman with whom I spoke is my neighbour.)
• Example: De collega aan wie ik het boek gaf, was blij. (The colleague to whom I gave the book was happy.)
• Avoid ending with the preposition for people: Incorrect: De vrouw die ik mee praatte...

1. Referring to Things/Concepts (The waar- construction): This is the most common and important pattern for B1. Instead of preposition + die/dat, Dutch uses a pronominal adverb formed with waar-.

• Formation:
• waar + preposition (if preposition starts with a consonant)
• waar + consonant + preposition (if preposition starts with a vowel)
• Structure: Antecedent (thing) + , + waar- form + Subject + ... + Verb(s).

• Examples:
• Het huis waarin ik woon, is oud. (The house in which I live is old.) - in + het -> waarin
• De stad waarover hij spreekt, ken ik goed. (The city about which he speaks, I know well.) - over + de -> waarover
• Het onderwerp waarop hij zich concentreert, is moeilijk. (The subject on which he concentrates is difficult.) - op + het -> waarop
• De fiets waarmee ik naar mijn werk ga, is nieuw. (The bicycle with which I go to work is new.) - met + de -> waarmee
• Het probleem waaraan we denken, is complex. (The problem about which we are thinking is complex.) - aan + het -> waaraan

• Splitting waar- forms: Sometimes, especially in spoken language or longer clauses, the waar- part stays near the antecedent, and the preposition moves further towards the end, often near the verb.
• Example: Het huis waar ik in woon, is oud.
• Example: De fiets waar ik mee naar mijn werk ga, is nieuw.

Key Points for B1:

• Master the waar- + preposition structure for non-human antecedents.
• Recognize that this replaces preposition + die/dat.
• Use preposition + wie for people.
• Understand both the combined (waarin) and split (waar ... in) forms of the pronominal adverb in relative clauses.
• Remember that relative clauses are subordinate clauses, so the verb(s) typically go at the end.

This construction is essential for creating more complex and descriptive sentences involving locations, objects, and concepts linked by prepositions.