Als ik niet genoeg geduld heb, kan er iets vervelends gebeuren.

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Breakdown of Als ik niet genoeg geduld heb, kan er iets vervelends gebeuren.

• hebben: to have
• niet: not
• kunnen: can
• als: if
• er: there
• iets: something
• genoeg: enough
• vervelend: unpleasant
• gebeuren: to happen

Questions & Answers about Als ik niet genoeg geduld heb, kan er iets vervelends gebeuren.

Why does the subordinate clause als ik niet genoeg geduld heb place its verb at the end?

In Dutch, subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like als ("if") follow a verb-final order. This means the finite verb (heb) comes at the end of the clause. It’s a common grammatical structure that contrasts with the main clause, where the finite verb appears earlier.

What is the role of er in the main clause kan er iets vervelends gebeuren?

The word er acts as a dummy subject (or placeholder) in Dutch. In this sentence, it helps introduce the indefinite subject iets ("something") after the modal verb kan ("can"), ensuring the sentence follows the proper word order and sounds natural.

Why is the adjective vervelends written with an -s ending instead of remaining in its base form vervelend?

When an adjective immediately follows an indefinite pronoun like iets, Dutch grammar often requires it to take an inflected form. The -s ending in vervelends signals that the adjective is attributively modifying iets ("something") in a nominalized way.

How is the overall sentence structured, and what does this tell us about forming conditional sentences in Dutch?

The sentence is built as a conditional statement. The first part, als ik niet genoeg geduld heb, is a subordinate clause stating the condition ("if I don't have enough patience") and uses verb-final order. The second part, kan er iets vervelends gebeuren, is the main clause expressing the consequence ("something unpleasant can happen"). This structure—starting with a condition introduced by als and following with a main clause that places the modal verb in the first position—is typical in Dutch conditional sentences.