Breakdown of De baas is blij als we de cadeaus uitdelen.
zijn
to be
blij
happy
de baas
the boss
het cadeau
the gift
Questions & Answers about De baas is blij als we de cadeaus uitdelen.
Why is uitdelen written as one single word here?
Uitdelen (to hand out) is a separable verb. In a normal main sentence, it splits up, putting the prefix at the end: We delen de cadeaus uit. But this sentence part starts with als (when), which creates a subordinate clause and pushes the verb to the end. When the parts of a separable verb are pushed to the end of a clause, they glue back together into one word: uitdelen.
Does als translate to "if" or "when"?
It can be both! In Dutch, als is used for "if" (conditional) and also for "when" in the present or future tense. The boss being happy could be a condition ("if we hand out...") or a scheduled event ("when we hand out..."). If you want to be strictly clear that you mean "when", you can also use the word wanneer.
What would happen to uitdelen if I added a helper verb like moeten (must)?
If you add a helper verb, both verbs go to the end of the subordinate clause. Uitdelen stays glued together as a full infinitive. For example: ...als we de cadeaus moeten uitdelen (...when we must hand out the gifts).
Why does the plural of cadeau just get an s without an apostrophe?