Breakdown of Betaal je automatisch, dan is het makkelijk.
zijn
to be
betalen
to pay
het
it
makkelijk
easy
dan
then
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
automatisch
automatically
Questions & Answers about Betaal je automatisch, dan is het makkelijk.
Why does the sentence start with the verb Betaal? I thought 'if' was als.
You can leave out the word als (if) to make a conditional sentence. When you drop als, the verb moves to the very beginning of the sentence. This means Als je automatisch betaalt (If you pay automatically) becomes Betaal je automatisch. This is a very common and natural way to speak in Dutch.
Why is the second half dan is het instead of dan het is?
The word dan (then) connects the result to the condition. Because dan takes the first spot in that part of the sentence, the verb is must come immediately after it to stay in the second position. This pushes the subject het after the verb, which is a rule called inversion.
Why is the verb betaal instead of betaalt? Doesn't je usually get a -t added to the verb?
Normally, yes (je betaalt). But there is a special rule for the subject je or jij: when it comes exactly after the verb, the -t is dropped. Because this conditional sentence puts the verb first, je comes right after it, so betaalt loses its -t and becomes betaal.
Could I use the word gemakkelijk instead of makkelijk?
Yes, you can. Both words mean exactly the same thing (easy). Makkelijk is slightly more informal and very common in everyday speech, while gemakkelijk is just a bit more formal, but they are completely interchangeable here.
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