Learn Hardcore Dutch: Als er stukken ontbreken, kunnen we hooguit wachten tot morgen. - If pieces are missing, we can at most wait until tomorrow.

er is an expletive or “dummy” subject used in Dutch existential constructions to mean “there.” Without er, the clause would sound incomplete. So Als er stukken ontbreken literally means “If there are pieces missing.”

Why is ontbreken placed at the end of Als er stukken ontbreken?

Dutch subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like als, omdat, terwijl, etc., follow the verb-final (SOV) rule. The structure is:
• Als (conjunction)
• er stukken (subject)
• ontbreken (finite verb)
Hence the verb ontbreken appears at the very end of the clause.

What does hooguit mean, and how does it differ from hoogstens?

hooguit means “at most” or “at best,” setting an upper limit on what follows. It’s essentially synonymous with hoogstens and op z’n hoogst. Any difference is purely stylistic:
• hooguit – common in both speech and writing
• hoogstens – slightly more formal or emphatic
In this sentence, they’re interchangeable.

Why does the main clause start with kunnen instead of we in kunnen we hooguit wachten tot morgen?

After a subordinate clause (Als er stukken ontbreken), Dutch applies inversion in the main clause: the finite verb comes first, then the subject. This follows the V2-rule for main clauses:
1st position: verb (kunnen)
2nd position: subject (we)
Thus you get kunnen we … rather than we kunnen ….

What does tot mean in tot morgen, and why not totdat?

tot here means “until” and is used with a noun/phrase indicating a point in time (“tomorrow”). totdat is a conjunction meaning “until (that)…,” used before full clauses (e.g. wachten totdat hij komt – “wait until he arrives”). Since morgen is just a time word, you use tot, not totdat.

Why is morgen not capitalized in tot morgen?

In Dutch, only proper nouns are capitalized. Words like morgen (meaning “tomorrow”) function as adverbs or common nouns and stay lowercase, unless they begin a sentence—which is purely because they’re first, not because they’re days or months.

Why is als used for “if” here, and not wanneer?

In Dutch, als expresses a condition (“if”), while wanneer is strictly a temporal conjunction (“when” in the sense of “at the time that”). Since this sentence deals with a hypothetical missing-pieces scenario, als is the correct choice.

Why is there a comma after Als er stukken ontbreken?

Standard Dutch punctuation separates a subordinate clause from its main clause with a comma. After Als er stukken ontbreken, you place a comma before starting the main clause kunnen we hooguit wachten tot morgen.