Breakdown of Het is dat het ongelegen komt, anders wilde ze zich niet afmelden.
zijn
to be
niet
not
komen
to come
willen
to want
het
it
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
dat
that (conjunction)
anders
otherwise / differently
ongelegen
inconvenient
zich afmelden
to excuse oneself / to cancel (one's attendance)
Questions & Answers about Het is dat het ongelegen komt, anders wilde ze zich niet afmelden.
How does the structure 'Het is dat...' set up the meaning of this sentence?
The phrase Het is dat translates to 'It's just that...' or 'The only reason is that...'. It introduces the actual fact that prevents the hypothetical situation from happening. Notice that it triggers subordinate word order, sending the verb komt to the end of its clause.
Why does the Dutch sentence use the verb komt instead of is for 'it's inconvenient'?
In Dutch, the standard expression for bad timing is ongelegen komen (literally 'to come inconveniently'). While you might occasionally hear it used with zijn (to be), using komen is the most natural way to say that something happens at an inconvenient time.
Why is wilde used here to mean 'would want' instead of 'wanted'?
Although wilde is the simple past tense of willen (to want), Dutch frequently uses the simple past to express a hypothetical or counterfactual scenario. Here, combined with anders (otherwise), it acts like the English conditional 'would want'.
Why is the word order wilde ze instead of ze wilde?
The word anders (otherwise) takes up the first position in the second clause. Because Dutch main clauses follow a verb-second (V2) rule, the verb wilde must come immediately after anders, pushing the subject ze into the third position.
What is the difference between zich afmelden and annuleren for cancelling?
Zich afmelden is a reflexive verb used when you cancel your own attendance at an event, appointment, or meeting (literally 'to sign oneself off'). Annuleren is used for cancelling external things, like a hotel reservation, a flight, or an order.
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