Questions & Answers about Als u rook ziet, dan blijft u kalm.
Why do we use dan in the middle of this sentence?
The word dan (then) is a resumptive adverb. It acts as a bridge, referring back to the entire condition we just set in the Als... (If...) clause. It emphasizes the cause-and-effect relationship between seeing the smoke and staying calm.
Is it mandatory to include dan here?
No, it is optional. You could absolutely say Als u rook ziet, blijft u kalm. However, inserting dan is very common in both spoken and written Dutch because it makes the transition between the two halves of the sentence feel smoother.
Why is the word order blijft u instead of u blijft?
In a regular Dutch main clause, the verb must be in the second position. Here, the word dan takes up the first position, so the verb blijft must come immediately after it, pushing the subject u to the third spot. Note that even if you dropped dan, you would still invert to blijft u because the entire fronted Als clause would count as position one.
Why is the verb ziet at the very end of the first part of the sentence?
The word Als (if) introduces a subordinate clause, which is a dependent clause that gives extra information but cannot stand alone as a full sentence. In Dutch, subordinate clauses push their verbs to the very end of that clause.