When troubleshooting IT problems or giving technical support instructions, you often need to plan for unlikely scenarios. In English, you might say "If by any chance..." or "Should this happen...". In Dutch, you can express this high-improbability conditional using the past tense of the verb mogen.
To build this structure, start the conditional clause with mocht (for singular subjects) or mochten (for plural subjects). The subject comes next, and the main action verb is pushed to the end of the clause as an infinitive.
| Should the screen display the error message, restart the router. | Mocht het scherm de foutmelding weergeven, herstart dan de router. |
| Should they want to see the error message, do not close the window. | Mochten ze de foutmelding willen zien, sluit het venster dan niet. |
Connecting the main clause
Because the conditional clause occupies the first position in the sentence, the main clause that follows must start with a verb (either an imperative or a conjugated verb triggering inversion).
The word dan (then) is often used to smoothly transition into the instructions.
| Should you want to configure the setting manually, click on this button. | Mocht je de instelling handmatig willen configureren, klik dan op deze knop. |
| Should the operating system need an update, the helpdesk can help you. | Mocht het besturingssysteem een update nodig hebben, dan kan de helpdesk je helpen. |
Using dan is optional. If you omit it, the main clause still starts immediately with the verb.
| Should you change the setting manually, you only have to call the helpdesk. | Mocht je de instelling handmatig veranderen, hoef je alleen maar de helpdesk te bellen. |
| Should you receive this error message, you only have to restart the router. | Mocht je deze foutmelding ontvangen, hoef je alleen maar de router te herstarten. |