Breakdown of Was jouw rijbewijs maar niet verlopen!
zijn
to be
niet
not
jouw
your
maar
just, go ahead (softening particle)
Questions & Answers about Was jouw rijbewijs maar niet verlopen!
Why does this sentence start with the verb Was instead of a word for 'if'?
This uses the optative verb-first structure. By putting the verb first and including the particle maar, it expresses a strong wish or regret. You don't need a word for 'if' because the verb-first order combined with maar already does that job, translating to 'If only...'.
What would happen if I left out the word maar?
Without maar, the sentence becomes a standard yes/no question: Was jouw rijbewijs niet verlopen? (Had your driver's license not expired?). The particle maar is strictly necessary here to change the question into an exclamation of regret.
Could I use toch instead of maar in this sentence?
Yes, you can. In these verb-first wish structures, maar, toch, or sometimes toch maar are used to turn what looks like a yes/no question into a strong wish or regret. Was jouw rijbewijs toch niet verlopen! is perfectly correct and means the same thing.
Why do we use was instead of had when the English translation says 'had not expired'?
The Dutch verb verlopen (to expire) indicates a change of state, so it uses zijn (to be) as its auxiliary verb for perfect tenses, rather than hebben (to have). Therefore, you must use was to form the past perfect tense here.