Breakdown of Als ik meer tijd had, zou ik elke dag naar de sportschool gaan.
ik
I
hebben
to have
gaan
to go
naar
to
elke
every
de dag
the day
meer
more
als
if
de tijd
the time
zouden
would
de sportschool
the gym
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Questions & Answers about Als ik meer tijd had, zou ik elke dag naar de sportschool gaan.
Why is als used here instead of wanneer?
In Dutch, als introduces hypothetical or general conditions (“if…”), while wanneer is reserved for questions about time (“when…”). Since this sentence expresses an unreal condition (“if I had more time…”), we use als.
Why does the verb had appear instead of heeft?
This is the simple past tense (preterite) of hebben. In the “if”-clause of a conditional sentence in Dutch, you use the past tense form (had) even though it’s hypothetical. It signals that the condition is contrary to reality.
What is the function of zou in zou ik elke dag naar de sportschool gaan?
Zou is the past-tense form of zullen, used to build the conditional mood. In English it corresponds to “would.” So zou ik … gaan = “I would … go.”
Why does the word order change to zou ik instead of ik zou?
After the comma, the main clause of a conditional sentence in Dutch triggers inversion: the finite verb comes first (zou), then the subject (ik), followed by the rest of the clause.
Why is gaan placed at the end of the clause?
Dutch places the infinitive of a modal or auxiliary construction at the very end. Here gaan (the infinitive of “to go”) follows the conditional auxiliary zou and other sentence elements.
What does elke dag exactly mean and where does it go?
Elke dag means “every day.” Time expressions like this typically come early in the main clause (after the verb + subject inversion) but before location or manner phrases. So you get: Zou ik elke dag naar de sportschool gaan.
Could you translate the full sentence literally?
Literally:
“If I more time had, would I every day to the gym go.”
Natural English:
“If I had more time, I would go to the gym every day.”