Breakdown of Alleen wanneer de piloot klaar is, zullen we opstijgen.
zijn
to be
klaar
ready
zullen
shall / will
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
alleen wanneer
only when
de piloot
the pilot
opstijgen
to take off (aircraft)
Questions & Answers about Alleen wanneer de piloot klaar is, zullen we opstijgen.
Why does the second part of the sentence say zullen we instead of we zullen?
This is due to the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire conditional clause (Alleen wanneer de piloot klaar is) counts as the first "block" of information in the main sentence. Therefore, the conjugated verb of the main clause (zullen) must come immediately after the comma, causing inversion with the subject (we).
Could I use pas als instead of alleen wanneer here?
Yes, you could say Pas als de piloot klaar is.... The meanings are very similar. Pas als emphasizes the timing (it won't happen until that moment), whereas alleen wanneer stresses the strict condition (it will only happen in that scenario). Both structures trigger the same word order.
Why is the verb is placed at the very end of the first clause, right before the comma?
Because wanneer (when) is a conjunction that introduces a subordinate clause. In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb (in this case, is) gets pushed to the very end of the clause.
Is opstijgen a separable verb? Why doesn't it split here?
Yes, opstijgen (to take off) is a separable verb. If it were the main verb in a simple present tense sentence, it would split (for example: We stijgen op). However, because we are using the auxiliary verb zullen, the main verb gets pushed to the end of the sentence as a full, unseparated infinitive.
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