The pattern
For things, Dutch normally replaces a preposition plus wat with waar plus that preposition: waarmee, waarover, waaraan. For people, it keeps the preposition and adds wie: met wie, over wie, aan wie.
- Most prepositions simply attach: waarover, waaraan, waarop, waarin, waarvoor, waarvan, waarnaar, waardoor.
- Two change shape: met becomes mee (waarmee) and tot becomes toe (waartoe). This also happens when the parts split: Waar betaal je mee?
- You can keep the two parts together at the start, or split them: waar goes first and the preposition goes to the end, before any infinitive or past participle: Waar heb je op gewacht?
- The split version is the everyday spoken choice. The joined version tends to sound a little more careful and is common in writing.
- In standard Dutch, wie stays next to its preposition: Op wie wacht je?
- The preposition usually comes from the verb or adjective: denken aan, wachten op, bang zijn voor. See verbs with a fixed preposition.
Examples
| Waarmee betaal je hier, met je pinpas of met je telefoon? | What do you pay with here, your debit card or your phone? |
| Waar gaat de vergadering van morgen over? | What is tomorrow's meeting about? |
| Waarover wilt u de huisarts spreken? | What would you like to see the GP about? |
| Waar denk je aan, Sanne? Je kijkt zo serieus. | What are you thinking about, Sanne? You look so serious. |
| Waar wacht je nog op? De trein vertrekt zo. | What are you still waiting for? The train is about to leave. |
| Waardoor is de verwarming uitgevallen? | What made the heating stop working? |
| Waar heeft Ahmed zich zo over opgewonden? | What did Ahmed get so worked up about? |
| Aan wie heb je de reservesleutel gegeven? | Who did you give the spare key to? |
| Met wie fiets je morgen naar je werk? | Who are you cycling to work with tomorrow? |
| Op wie wachten jullie nog, op Daan of op Priya? | Who are you still waiting for, Daan or Priya? |
Why it works this way
Dutch has a whole family of these words. A preposition does not like to stand in front of het, dit, dat or wat when they refer to a thing, so it hooks onto a small place word instead:
- ermee: with it
- hiermee: with this
- daarmee: with that
- waarmee: with what
If you know er plus a preposition, waar- is simply the question member of the same family, and it splits in the same way. English once had this system too, and traces survive in words like therefore, herewith, whereby and whereupon. Dutch just kept using it.
Splitting feels natural to English speakers, because English also leaves the preposition at the end: What are you waiting for? The trap is people. English happily says Who are you waiting for?, but standard Dutch does not split wie. Compare:
- Waar wacht je op? (the bus, a parcel)
- Op wie wacht je? (Joris, your sister)
- Waarmee ga je naar Utrecht? (the train, the car)
- Met wie ga je naar Utrecht? (Mei, your colleagues)
Spanish and Arabic speakers often translate word for word and produce met wat. German speakers will recognise the system from their own wo- forms, so the only surprise is mee.
To be honest about real speech: you will hear met wat or over wat in quick, casual Dutch, and when someone missed a word and asks back with stress: Met wát? In ordinary questions, and in anything you write, use waar-. The same split also turns up in relative clauses and indirect questions: Ik weet niet waar ze het over hadden.
Remember: a thing gets waar-, a person gets wie. If the answer could be a name, put the preposition in front of wie and keep them together.
Watch out
خطأWat denk je aan?
صوابWaar denk je aan?
only waar can leave its preposition at the end
خطأWaarmet open je dit blik?
صوابWaarmee open je dit blik?
met becomes mee
خطأWaarover gaat het artikel over?
صوابWaar gaat het artikel over?
the preposition appears only once
خطأWie lijk je op, je vader of je moeder?
صوابOp wie lijk je, je vader of je moeder?
wie stays with its preposition
خطأWaar heb je gewacht op?
صوابWaar heb je op gewacht?
the preposition comes before the final verb
Quick check
- Fill in one word: ... is die tas gemaakt? Van oude spijkerbroeken.
- Choose Op wie or Waarop: ... wacht je? Op Lotte, die is altijd te laat.
- Rewrite in the usual form, with waar first and the preposition at the end: Over wat heeft Bas het steeds?
- Fill in the missing preposition: Waar ben je de hele ochtend al ... bezig? Met mijn belastingaangifte.
اعرض الإجابات
- Waarvan (a thing, and gemaakt van needs van)
- Op wie (Lotte is a person)
- Waar heeft Bas het steeds over? (the usual form of over wat is waar ... over)
- mee (bezig met, and met becomes mee even when split)
Use it today
Ask one split question about a thing and one question about a person today, for example Waar ben je nu mee bezig? to a colleague and Met wie ga je naar die verjaardag? to a friend or neighbour.