Breakdown of Mocht de server vandaag op kantoor vastlopen, herstart hem dan handmatig.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
vandaag
today
op
on
mogen
to be allowed to / may
het kantoor
the office
dan
then
de server
the server
herstarten
to restart
vastlopen
to freeze (computers, machines)
handmatig
manually
Questions & Answers about Mocht de server vandaag op kantoor vastlopen, herstart hem dan handmatig.
Why does this sentence start with Mocht instead of Als?
Using the past tense of mogen (mocht for singular, mochten for plural) at the start of a sentence creates a high-improbability conditional. It translates perfectly to the English structure 'Should the server crash...'.
Why is the main verb vastlopen in the infinitive at the end of the first clause?
In this structure, mocht acts as an auxiliary verb. Just like with standard modal verbs, the auxiliary takes the conjugated spot (which is the first position here due to inversion) and pushes the main verb to the end of the clause as a full infinitive.
Why is the second clause herstart hem dan handmatig instead of starting with a subject?
The entire first clause acts as the first position of the overall sentence, triggering inversion in the second clause so the verb (herstart) comes next. Because this is an imperative (a command), the subject is dropped entirely.
What is the purpose of dan in the second clause?
It acts as a resumptive word meaning 'then' (as in 'if X, then Y'). While technically optional, Dutch speakers frequently add dan after an als or mocht clause to smoothly connect the condition to the action.
Why do we use hem to refer to a computer server?
Server is a de-word. In Dutch, most non-human de-words are treated as masculine by default, so you use hij for the subject and hem for the object when referring to 'it'.
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