Breakdown of Ik zou de afspraak afzeggen, maar ik ben alsnog gegaan.
ik
I
zijn
to be
maar
but
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
de afspraak
the appointment
zullen
shall / will
afzeggen
to cancel (an appointment, arrangement)
alsnog
after all
Questions & Answers about Ik zou de afspraak afzeggen, maar ik ben alsnog gegaan.
Why is zou translated as "was going to" here instead of "would"?
In this context, zou combined with the infinitive afzeggen expresses the future in the past. It describes an intention or plan you had in the past that usually didn't end up happening. While it translates literally as "would," saying "was going to" is the most natural way to express this broken plan in English.
What exactly does alsnog mean?
The word alsnog means "anyway," "nevertheless," or "still" (in the sense of eventually doing something). It is used to show that an action happened despite previous plans or expectations. Here, it emphasizes that the speaker went to the appointment despite having planned to cancel it.
Why does the second part say ben gegaan instead of heb gegaan?
In Dutch, verbs that express a clear change of location or direction, like gaan (to go) and komen (to come), use zijn (to be) as their auxiliary verb in the perfect tense instead of hebben (to have). Therefore, "I went" is formed as ik ben gegaan (literally "I am gone").
Why isn't the separable verb afzeggen split up in this sentence?
Afzeggen (to cancel) is indeed a separable verb. However, because it is used here with the helper verb zou, the full infinitive is pushed to the very end of the clause and remains in one piece. It would only split if it were the conjugated main verb, for example in the present tense: Ik zeg de afspraak af.
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