Breakdown of Als de oudere kinderen me plaagden, werd ik erg boos.
ik
I
het kind
the child
oud
old
erg
very / really
boos
angry
worden
to become
me
me (unstressed form of mij)
als
if / when (condition)
plagen
to tease
Questions & Answers about Als de oudere kinderen me plaagden, werd ik erg boos.
Why is als used here instead of toen, since the sentence is in the past tense?
In Dutch, toen is used for a single, specific event or period in the past. Because this sentence describes a repeated action or a habit in the past (meaning 'whenever' or 'every time'), you must use als.
Why does the second half of the sentence start with the verb werd?
The sentence begins with a subordinate clause (Als de oudere kinderen me plaagden). In Dutch word order, this entire clause acts as the first element of the main sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position (the V2 rule), the subject and verb in the main clause must invert, giving us werd ik.
Why is werd used to translate 'got'?
In English, 'got' can mean many things. Here it means 'became' (a change of state). The Dutch verb for 'to become' or 'to get' in this sense is worden, and werd is its simple past tense form for 'I'.
Why does the comparative adjective ouder get an extra -e here?
Adjectives usually get an -e ending when placed directly before a noun. Because kinderen is plural and is preceded by the definite article de, the comparative form ouder (older) follows the normal adjective inflection rule and gets an -e, becoming oudere.
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