Breakdown of Verlengen we het abonnement, dan kost het geld.
het geld
the money
het
it
kosten
to cost
dan
then
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
het abonnement
the subscription
verlengen
to extend
Questions & Answers about Verlengen we het abonnement, dan kost het geld.
Why is there no word for "if" in this sentence?
This is exactly how a "verb-first conditional" works! By putting the verb (Verlengen) right at the beginning of the sentence, the word als (if) is dropped, but the "if" meaning remains. It's a very common and natural way to express conditions in Dutch.
Is the word dan (then) strictly required here?
While it isn't completely mandatory, it is heavily used and sounds much more natural. Because the sentence didn't start with als (if), putting dan in the second half helps clearly signal to the listener that the first part was a condition.
Why does the second half say kost het instead of het kost?
This is due to the verb-second rule. The entire "if" clause acts as the first piece of information. The word dan links back to it, and then the main verb (kost) must take the next spot. The subject (het) gets pushed after the verb.
Is there an easy way to remember the verb verlengen (to extend)?
Yes! If you look closely, it contains the root word lang (long). In Dutch, wrapping an adjective in the prefix ver- and the suffix -en often turns it into a verb meaning "to make [adjective]". So, verlengen literally means "to make longer".
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