Word
Als je de zieke bezoekt, is hij blij.
Meaning
If you visit the sick person, he is happy.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Als je de zieke bezoekt, is hij blij.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
blij
happy
bezoeken
to visit
Questions & Answers about Als je de zieke bezoekt, is hij blij.
Why is it de zieke instead of de zieke persoon?
In Dutch, you can often turn an adjective into a noun to refer to a person by adding an -e and using the article de. Ziek means sick, so de zieke means "the sick person" or "the patient". You do not need to add the word for person!
Why does the second half say is hij instead of hij is?
This is because of the Dutch verb-second rule. The entire first clause (Als je de zieke bezoekt) counts as position number one. To keep the main verb in the second position, is has to come right after the comma, swapping places with the subject hij.
Why is bezoekt at the very end of the first clause?
The word als (if/when) creates a dependent clause. In these types of clauses, the working verb (bezoekt) is always pushed to the very end of that specific clause, right before the comma.
Could als mean "when" in this sentence instead of "if"?
Absolutely! Als translates to both "if" and "when" in present-tense Dutch sentences. Depending on the context, "When you visit the sick person, he is happy" is a perfectly correct interpretation.