Breakdown of Wanneer het systeem vastloopt, zo lost u het probleem op.
u
you (formal)
het probleem
the problem
wanneer
when
oplossen
to solve / to resolve
Questions & Answers about Wanneer het systeem vastloopt, zo lost u het probleem op.
Why do we use zo after the comma instead of dan?
While dan (then) is the most common resumptive adverb used after a fronted clause, zo (in this way / like this) is used here because the sentence specifically means "this is how you solve the problem", not just "then you solve it".
Why is the word order zo lost u and not zo u lost?
The resumptive adverb zo takes up the first position in the main clause. Because Dutch main clauses strictly follow the "verb-second" rule, the verb lost must come immediately after it. This pushes the subject u to the third position, causing subject-verb inversion.
Both vastlopen (to crash) and oplossen (to solve) are separable verbs. Why is one split up in this sentence but the other isn't?
It depends on the type of clause they are in! Wanneer introduces a subordinate clause, which pushes all verbs to the end. This means vastlopen stays glued together as vastloopt. The second half is a main clause, so the conjugated verb (lost) sits in the second position, and its separable prefix (op) gets kicked to the very end.
Could I use Als instead of Wanneer at the beginning of the sentence?