Breakdown of Indien u een bijwerking ervaart, moet u de apotheker bellen.
een
a/an
u
you (formal)
bellen
to call
moeten
to have to, must
ervaren
to experience (subjectively)
indien
in the event that
de bijwerking
the side effect
de apotheker
the pharmacist
Questions & Answers about Indien u een bijwerking ervaart, moet u de apotheker bellen.
Why does the verb ervaart go at the very end of the first clause?
The word indien is a subordinating conjunction. Words like this introduce a dependent clause and always push the conjugated verb (in this case, ervaart) to the end of that clause.
Could I just use als instead of indien here?
Yes, grammatically als works perfectly and means the same thing. However, indien is much more formal. You will often see it in written instructions, official conditions, or medical texts like this one about side effects.
Why is it moet u instead of u moet in the second half of the sentence?
Does the word bijwerking literally mean 'side work'?
Almost! Werking means 'effect' or 'operation' (from the verb werken). The prefix bij- is often used to mean 'extra' or 'secondary' (like in bijzaak, a secondary issue). Put them together, and a bijwerking is a secondary effect, or 'side effect'.
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