Word
Was mijn paspoort maar niet verlopen!
Meaning
If only my passport had not expired!
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Was mijn paspoort maar niet verlopen!
Why does this sentence start with the verb Was if it is not a question?
This is a verb-first exclamation, which is used to express a strong wish or regret. By putting the verb first and adding a modal particle like maar, the sentence translates to 'If only...'. In this case, it expresses a strong regret about a past event: 'If only my passport had not expired!'
Why do we use Was instead of Had here? The English translation says 'had not expired'.
In Dutch, the verb verlopen (to expire) uses zijn as its auxiliary verb in the perfect tenses, not hebben. This is common for verbs that describe a clear change of state (like going from valid to invalid). Because of this, we must use Was (the past tense of zijn) rather than Had.
What exactly is the word maar doing in this sentence?
The particle maar is the magic ingredient that turns a verb-first sentence into a wish. If you removed it, Was mijn paspoort niet verlopen? would just be a regular yes/no question ('Had my passport not expired?'). Adding maar changes the meaning entirely to the exclamation 'If only...'.
Why is the word order maar niet instead of niet maar?