Breakdown of Hij wilde de reis niet boeken, tenzij het sneeuwde.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
niet
not
willen
to want
het
it
Questions & Answers about Hij wilde de reis niet boeken, tenzij het sneeuwde.
How does the word tenzij affect the word order in this sentence?
Tenzij means unless and it is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause and pushes the conjugated verb to the very end of that clause. Here, the clause is just het sneeuwde (it snowed), so the verb is naturally at the end. If we added more words, like in december, the verb would still go last: tenzij het in december sneeuwde.
Why does niet come right before boeken in the first part of the sentence?
In the main clause, wilde is the conjugated verb in the second position, which pushes the infinitive boeken (to book) to the very end of that clause. When you use niet (not) to negate the entire action of booking, it is placed right before the infinitive at the end.
Why does the past tense verb sneeuwde end in -de and not -te?
To form the simple past tense, we look at the stem of the verb sneeuwen (to snow), which is sneeuw. Because the final letter of the stem is w, which is not one of the voiceless consonants in the memory word 't kofschip, we add -de instead of -te.
Is wilde the standard past tense form for the verb willen?