Als de groenten langer zouden garen, zou de smaak nog beter zijn.

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Questions & Answers about Als de groenten langer zouden garen, zou de smaak nog beter zijn.

Why are there two zou-forms—zouden in the first clause and zou in the second?

Because the conditional in Dutch uses the past-tense of zullen, which still agrees with the subject:

  • de groenten is plural → zouden garen (“would cook”)
  • de smaak is singular → zou … zijn (“would be”)
What is the word order rule in the subordinate clause “Als de groenten langer zouden garen”?

In a subordinate clause introduced by als, Dutch puts all verbs at the end. Here you have two verbs:

  1. zouden (the auxiliary)
  2. garen (the infinitive) They both go to the clause-final position: “Als … zouden garen.”
Why does the main clause start with zou instead of keeping the subject first?

After an als-clause it’s common to invert subject and auxiliary in the main clause to signal the result part of a conditional. So instead of: • “De smaak zou nog beter zijn”
it becomes: • “Zou de smaak nog beter zijn”
This inversion (auxiliary first, then subject) is stylistic and typical in formal conditional sentences.

What role does nog play in “nog beter”?

Nog means “even” or “still” here. In front of a comparative adjective it intensifies it: • beter = better
nog beter = even better

Why is the verb zijn at the very end of the main clause?
In a Dutch main clause with a compound verb (auxiliary + participle/infinitive), the auxiliary (zou) occupies first position (because of inversion), the subject (de smaak) second, and the non-finite part (nog beter zijn) goes to the end.
Could you replace garen with koken? If not, why choose garen?

They’re similar but not identical:

  • koken = to boil or cook in general
  • garen = to cook through, to let something reach full doneness
    In a recipe context, garen focuses on achieving the right internal texture/taste rather than just heating.
Is this a “second conditional” like in English (“If they cooked …, the flavor would …”)?
Yes. Dutch uses als + verleden tijd of zullen (i.e. zouden) to express hypothetical situations, paralleling the English “if … would …” pattern.
Can you drop als and just use inversion?

Yes, you can form a more literary conditional by inverting both verbs and subjects without als: • “Zouden de groenten langer garen, dan zou de smaak nog beter zijn.”
But the version with als + simple inversion (as in the original) is more common in everyday Dutch.