Breakdown of Mocht u de specialist willen bezoeken, dan is de wachtlijst lang.
zijn
to be
u
you (formal)
willen
to want
mogen
to be allowed to / may
bezoeken
to visit
lang
long
dan
then
de wachtlijst
the waiting list
de specialist
the specialist
Questions & Answers about Mocht u de specialist willen bezoeken, dan is de wachtlijst lang.
Why does this sentence start with Mocht instead of Als?
Using the past tense of mogen (mocht) at the start of a sentence is a formal way to create a conditional clause. It translates directly to the English structure "Should you..." (as in, "Should you wish to..."). It makes the situation sound a bit more hypothetical and polite than simply saying Als u de specialist wilt bezoeken.
Could we rewrite this conditional clause into the Nominal Style taught in this lesson?
You generally wouldn't! Nominal style (using a preposition + het + infinitive + van) is great for reducing clauses of time or cause, such as turning Nadat u de specialist bezoekt into Na het bezoeken van de specialist. However, it does not work naturally for purely hypothetical conditional ("if/then") clauses like this one.
Why are there two infinitives (willen bezoeken) at the end of the first clause?
The conjugated verb in this clause is mocht, which is acting as a modal verb. In Dutch, when a modal verb is combined with other verbs, those other verbs are pushed to the end of the clause as infinitives. This creates the double infinitive cluster willen bezoeken.
Is the word dan mandatory before is de wachtlijst lang?
It is not strictly mandatory, but it is highly recommended and very natural. When you start a sentence with an inverted conditional clause like Mocht u..., inserting dan neatly kicks off the main clause and makes the "if..., then..." relationship perfectly clear to the listener.
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