Breakdown of Ik zou de conducteur vragen of deze verbinding nu rechtstreeks naar het centrum gaat.
ik
I
nu
now
naar
to
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
Questions & Answers about Ik zou de conducteur vragen of deze verbinding nu rechtstreeks naar het centrum gaat.
Why do we put nu before rechtstreeks naar het centrum?
Dutch generally follows the TMP rule for adverbial phrases in the middle of a sentence: Time, then Manner, then Place. Here, nu (now) is the Time, rechtstreeks (directly) is the Manner, and naar het centrum (to the center) is the Place.
Why does the verb gaat appear at the very end of the sentence?
The word of (meaning "if" or "whether" here) introduces a subclause. In Dutch subclauses, the conjugated verb is pushed to the end, so gaat must come after all the time, manner, and place details.
How does zou vragen translate to "would ask"?
zou is the past tense form of the verb zullen (will). When you combine zou with an infinitive verb like vragen, it creates the conditional mood, which translates to "would ask" in English.
I've seen of used to mean "or". How do I know it means "if" here?
When of connects two simple nouns or main clauses, it means "or". But when it introduces a dependent clause and pushes the verb to the end, as it does with gaat here, it means "if" or "whether".