Breakdown of Deze kamerplant zou meer bloemen krijgen als hij elke dag licht kreeg.
hij
he
elke
every
de dag
the day
meer
more
als
if
deze
this
zouden
would
de bloem
the flower
krijgen
to get
het licht
the light
de kamerplant
the houseplant
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Deze kamerplant zou meer bloemen krijgen als hij elke dag licht kreeg.
Why is zou used in this sentence?
Zou is the conditional form of zullen. Here it corresponds to English “would,” indicating a hypothetical result (“would get more flowers”).
Why does the clause after als use kreeg instead of another zouden form?
In Dutch conditional sentences introduced by als (“if”), the if-clause uses the simple past (imperfect) tense (kreeg), and the main clause uses the conditional (zou krijgen). That pattern mirrors English “If it got…, it would get…”.
Why is the verb kreeg placed at the end of the als-clause?
Subordinate clauses in Dutch (those starting with conjunctions like als) follow the V2 rule by pushing the finite verb to the clause’s end.
Could you use wanneer instead of als here?
Wanneer means “when” or “whenever” and is used for real or repeated conditions. Als is preferred for hypothetical or counterfactual situations, as in this sentence.
Why is there no article before licht?
Here licht is an uncountable noun meaning “light” (sunlight). Uncountable nouns in Dutch generally don’t take an article when speaking in general terms.
Does hij refer to “de kamerplant”?
Yes. In Dutch, nouns with the article de (common gender) are referred to as hij (“he”) by default, even if they’re plants or objects.
Why is it deze kamerplant instead of die kamerplant?
Deze means “this” (something nearby or just mentioned). Die means “that” (more distant). We use deze because we’re talking about this specific plant.
Can I start the sentence with the als-clause? What changes?
Yes. If you front the als-clause, the main clause still begins with the conditional but you must maintain Dutch inversion in the main clause:
Als hij elke dag licht kreeg, zou deze kamerplant meer bloemen krijgen.
What does meer bloemen krijgen literally mean?
Literally it’s “to get more flowers,” i.e. “to produce or have more flowers.” In natural English we’d say “would have more flowers.”