Breakdown of De straat dreigt te overstromen, behalve als het stopt met plensen.
met
with
het
it
stoppen
to stop
de straat
the street
te
to (infinitive marker)
overstromen
to flood
behalve als
except if / unless
plensen
to pour (rain)
dreigen te
to threaten to / to be at risk of
Questions & Answers about De straat dreigt te overstromen, behalve als het stopt met plensen.
Why is the verb stopt not at the very end of the subclause after behalve als?
Because behalve als is a subordinating conjunction, you might expect it to push all verbs to the end: behalve als het met plensen stopt. That is perfectly correct, but Dutch also allows prepositional phrases like met plensen to be placed after the verb at the very end of the sentence. This is highly common and natural in spoken Dutch.
Can I use tenzij instead of behalve als in this sentence?
Yes, tenzij is a direct synonym for 'unless'. You could easily say tenzij het stopt met plensen. Both act as subordinating conjunctions, but behalve als (literally 'except if') feels slightly more colloquial, while tenzij is a standard, very common alternative.
Why do we need the word te in dreigt te overstromen?
The verb dreigen (to threaten or to be at risk of) is one of the verbs that requires te when linking to an infinitive. Just like in English where we say 'threatens to flood', Dutch uses the te + infinitive construction here.
How does the grammar of stopt met plensen work? Is plensen a noun here?
Yes, plensen (to pour/rain heavily) is an infinitive verb functioning as a noun. The fixed prepositional verb stoppen met (to stop doing something) requires an object. When that object is an action, Dutch simply uses the full infinitive, which translates literally to 'stops with pouring'.
Can I use 'tenzij' instead of 'behalve als' in this sentence?
Yes, tenzij is a direct synonym for 'unless'. You could easily say tenzij het stopt met plensen. Both act as subordinating conjunctions, but behalve als (literally 'except if') feels slightly more colloquial, while tenzij is a standard, very common alternative.
Why do we need the word te in dreigt te overstromen?
The verb dreigen (to threaten or to be at risk of) is one of the verbs that requires te when linking to an infinitive. Just like in English where we say 'threatens to flood', Dutch uses the te + infinitive construction here.
How does the grammar of stopt met plensen work? Is plensen a noun here?
Yes, plensen (to pour/rain heavily) is an infinitive verb functioning as a noun. The fixed prepositional verb stoppen met (to stop doing something) requires an object. When that object is an action, Dutch simply uses the full infinitive, which translates literally to 'stops with pouring'.
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