Breakdown of We hadden een probleem met het netwerk, dus we kijken naar de provider.
een
a/an
hebben
to have
het probleem
the problem
met
with
Questions & Answers about We hadden een probleem met het netwerk, dus we kijken naar de provider.
Why is the word order we kijken after dus, instead of moving the verb to the end?
Dus (so/therefore) is a coordinating conjunction, just like en (and) or maar (but). It links two independent main clauses, meaning the second clause keeps the standard Subject-Verb word order. It does not push the verb to the end like a subordinating conjunction (such as omdat or hoewel) would.
Can you mix the simple past (hadden) and the present tense (kijken) in the same sentence like this?
Yes, this is completely natural and works just like it does in English. The problem was experienced in the past (We hadden een probleem), and as a direct result, the action of investigating the provider is happening right now (we kijken naar).
Does kijken naar literally mean "looking at" here?
It means "looking at" in a figurative sense, which maps perfectly to English. While kijken naar is used for physically looking at something (like watching TV or looking at a screen), here it means investigating, checking, or considering the provider as a possible cause of the issue.
How could we expand this sentence using the current lesson's focus to say "...so we are looking to what extent the provider is responsible"?