Breakdown of Toen de pijn erger werd, ging ik naar de dokter.
ik
I
gaan
to go
naar
to
worden
to become
toen
when
de dokter
the doctor
de pijn
the pain
erger
worse
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Questions & Answers about Toen de pijn erger werd, ging ik naar de dokter.
What is the role of Toen in this sentence?
Toen here is a temporal subordinating conjunction meaning “when” for a specific moment in the past. It introduces a subordinate time clause and pushes the finite verb to the end of that clause.
Why does the verb werd appear at the end of the clause Toen de pijn erger werd?
In Dutch subordinate clauses (introduced by conjunctions like Toen, omdat, als), the finite verb moves to the end. That’s why werd (“became”) comes last in that clause.
Why is erger not inflected with an -e ending (like ergere)?
Erger is the comparative form of erg (“bad/serious”). When an adjective is used predicatively (after a linking verb such as worden), it remains uninflected. Hence no extra -e.
Why does the main clause start with ging ik instead of ik ging?
Because the sentence starts with the entire subordinate clause Toen de pijn erger werd, that counts as the first position. Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (ging) must be in second place, so it precedes the subject (ik).
Why are both verbs in the simple past (werd, ging) rather than in the present perfect?
Dutch often uses the simple past (preterite) in narrative or written contexts to describe completed past actions. Using the present perfect (e.g. is erger geworden, ben gegaan) is also possible, but the preterite is perfectly normal here.
What’s the difference between using toen and nadat in past-time clauses?
Toen means “when” and is used for a single past event with the simple past. Nadat means “after” and normally requires the perfect in the subordinate clause, for example: Nadat de pijn erger was geworden, ging ik naar de dokter.
Why do you need naar de dokter instead of just dokter or een dokter?
Movement toward a person or place uses the preposition naar (“to”). The definite article de is standard when you refer to seeing your (or any) doctor. Naar een dokter would mean “to some doctor,” whereas naar de dokter is the usual idiomatic phrase “to the doctor.”
Why are pijn and dokter preceded by de and not het?
Dutch nouns are either common gender (taking de) or neuter (taking het). Both pijn and dokter are common-gender nouns, so they correctly use de.
Could you rephrase the sentence using the perfect tense? What would it look like?
Yes. One possible version is:
Toen de pijn erger was geworden, ben ik naar de dokter gegaan.
Here was geworden is the past perfect in the subordinate clause, and ben gegaan is the present perfect in the main clause.