Breakdown of Al is er gevaar voor een lawine, hij gaat toch snowboarden.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
een
a/an
gaan
to go / to go off (of an alarm)
Questions & Answers about Al is er gevaar voor een lawine, hij gaat toch snowboarden.
Why is the word order is er instead of er is after al?
The word al here means 'even if' or 'even though'. When you use al to introduce this kind of condition, it triggers a special verb-first structure. The verb (is) comes immediately after al, followed by the subject (er).
Why doesn't the second part of the sentence invert to gaat hij?
Normally, starting a sentence with a subclause forces the main clause to invert (verb-subject). However, concessive clauses starting with al are a major exception! The main clause keeps its regular subject-verb word order, which is why we say hij gaat.
Why do we use voor instead of van to say 'danger of'?
In Dutch, the fixed preposition used with danger is gevaar voor (literally 'danger for'). This is similar to how we say bang voor for 'afraid of'. Fixed prepositions often do not translate word-for-word from English.
What role does the word toch play in this sentence?
Here, toch means 'still' or 'anyway'. It is very commonly used in the main clause after an al (even if) clause to strongly emphasize that the action will happen regardless of the obstacle.