Breakdown of Zij gaat naar het ziekenhuis als ze gewond is.
zijn
to be
zij
she
naar
to
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
Questions & Answers about Zij gaat naar het ziekenhuis als ze gewond is.
Why is the verb is placed at the very end of the sentence?
The second half of the sentence is a subordinate clause introduced by als (if). In Dutch, subordinating conjunctions like als push the conjugated verb all the way to the end of their clause. This is why the structure literally becomes 'if she injured is'.
Can als mean 'when' instead of 'if' in this sentence?
Yes! In Dutch, the word als is used for both 'if' and 'when' in the present tense. Without more context, this sentence could also be perfectly translated as 'She goes to the hospital when she is injured.'
Why does the sentence use Zij at the beginning but ze in the second part?
Both words mean 'she'. Zij is the stressed form, and ze is the unstressed form. Using Zij at the start puts a slight emphasis on the person (meaning she goes, not someone else). Using ze later on keeps the sentence flowing naturally so you don't emphasize the pronoun twice in a row.
Is gewond a verb or an adjective here?
It acts as an adjective meaning 'injured'. It is technically a past participle being used to describe her condition. Because of the verb-to-the-end rule triggered by als, this describing word ends up placed directly before the verb is.