Breakdown of Zodra u de instructie leest, dan start u de procedure.
u
you (formal)
lezen
to read
dan
then
starten
to start
zodra
as soon as
de instructie
the instruction (directions)
de procedure
the procedure
Questions & Answers about Zodra u de instructie leest, dan start u de procedure.
Why do we put dan in the middle of this sentence?
We use dan here as a resumptive adverb. It points back to the entire first clause (Zodra u de instructie leest) to emphasize the timing: once this happens, then that happens. While you could leave dan out, including it makes the connection stronger and sounds very natural in Dutch.
Why is the verb start placed before the subject u?
In Dutch main clauses, the verb must be in the second position. The whole first clause along with the word dan acts as position number one. Because position one is already taken, the verb start must come next, forcing the subject u to move after the verb. This is called inversion.
Could we use zo instead of dan here?
No. The resumptive adverb zo is usually paired with als (if) to show a conditional result, often relating to how something is done or in what state it is. Because our starting clause uses Zodra (as soon as) to express a clear sequence in time, we use dan (then).
Why is the verb leest at the end of the first part of the sentence?
The word Zodra (as soon as) is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a dependent clause, and the main rule for dependent clauses in Dutch is that the conjugated verb (in this case, leest) gets pushed to the very end of that specific clause.
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