Breakdown of Zij nam een pauze, al was het maar om zich even uit te rekken.
zij
she
een
a/an
nemen
to take (general, abstract, e.g., transport, medicine)
de pauze
the break
Questions & Answers about Zij nam een pauze, al was het maar om zich even uit te rekken.
Why do we use was instead of is in al was het maar?
The phrase al was het maar means "if only" or "even if it was just". We use the past tense was to match the past tense of the main clause, where she took (nam) a break. If the sentence were in the present tense (zij neemt een pauze), you would use al is het maar.
What is the purpose of zich in this sentence?
It belongs to the verb zich uitrekken (to stretch oneself). In English, we often just say "to stretch" when talking about our bodies, but in Dutch, this specific type of stretching is a reflexive action, so you must include the reflexive pronoun zich.
How does the om ... te structure work with the verb uitrekken at the end?
The structure om ... te is used to express purpose, meaning "in order to". Because uitrekken (to stretch out) is a separable verb, the word te must be placed between the separable prefix uit and the base verb rekken, resulting in uit te rekken.
Could I drop the word even here, or is it required?