Breakdown of Ze moeten het evenement afgelasten, behalve wanneer de storm stopt.
zij
they
moeten
to have to, must
stoppen
to stop
het evenement
the event
de storm
the storm
behalve wanneer
except when / unless
afgelasten
to cancel
Questions & Answers about Ze moeten het evenement afgelasten, behalve wanneer de storm stopt.
Could I use tenzij instead of behalve wanneer here?
Yes, you can! Tenzij is a very common word for "unless" and means exactly the same thing in this context. If you used it, the sentence would be ... tenzij de storm stopt. Both tenzij and behalve wanneer act as subordinating conjunctions and send the verb to the end of the clause.
Is there any difference between using behalve wanneer and behalve als in this sentence?
No, in everyday Dutch they are completely interchangeable when meaning "except if" or "unless". You could just as easily say ... behalve als de storm stopt, and it would mean exactly the same thing and require the exact same word order.
Why is the verb stopt at the very end of the sentence?
Because behalve wanneer is a subordinating conjunction. Words like this introduce a subordinate clause (a dependent part of the sentence) and force the conjugated verb, which is stopt in this case, all the way to the end of that clause.
Is afgelasten a separable verb, and why is it not split here?
Yes, afgelasten (to cancel) is a separable verb made of af + gelasten. It isn't split here because the modal verb moeten is the conjugated verb taking the second position in the main clause. That grammar rule pushes the full infinitive verb afgelasten to the end of the main clause.
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