Als het lampje weer begint te knipperen, moet je op de knop drukken en daarna nogmaals inloggen.

Als means if or sometimes when in contexts like this.

In this sentence, Als het lampje weer begint te knipperen introduces a condition or situation:

• If/when the little light starts blinking again

Dutch often uses als for this kind of practical instruction. In English, both if and when may sound natural depending on context.

A learner should notice that als starts a subordinate clause, which affects word order later in the clause.

Because lampje is a diminutive form of lamp.

• de lamp = the lamp / the light
• het lampje = the little lamp / little light / indicator light

In Dutch, all diminutives take het, no matter whether the original noun uses de or het.

So:

• de lamp
• het lampje

This is a very important rule:

• de tafel → het tafeltje
• de auto → het autootje
• het huis → het huisje

The ending -je is a diminutive suffix. It often means:

• small
• little
• or sometimes just a more natural everyday form for a small object

So lampje literally means little lamp. In many practical or technical contexts, it refers to a small indicator light, so English might translate it simply as the light rather than the little lamp.

Dutch uses diminutives much more often than English does, so you should not always translate them literally.

Weer here means again.

In het lampje weer begint te knipperen, it modifies the action:

• starts blinking again

Its position is normal in Dutch middle-field word order. Dutch often places words like weer, niet, ook, al in this area of the sentence, before the final verb cluster.

So:

• het lampje weer begint te knipperen

not usually:

• het lampje begint weer te knipperen — this is also possible in some contexts, but the given version is very natural.

This is because Dutch uses beginnen + te + infinitive.

• beginnen = to begin
• te knipperen = to blink

So:

• begint te knipperen = starts to blink

This structure is very common:

• Hij begint te lachen = He starts laughing / starts to laugh
• Het regent en het begint harder te waaien = It’s raining and it starts blowing harder

So after beginnen, you usually use te before the second verb.

Because als introduces a subordinate clause, and in Dutch subordinate clauses the conjugated verb usually moves toward the end.

Main clause order:

• Het lampje begint weer te knipperen

Subordinate clause order:

• Als het lampje weer begint te knipperen

The verbs are grouped near the end:

• begint te knipperen

This is one of the most important Dutch word-order patterns to learn:

• Ik weet dat hij morgen komt
• Als je tijd hebt, kom langs
• Toen ik thuis kwam, belde ze al

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause, and then the main clause follows with inversion.

Basic main clause:

• Je moet op de knop drukken...

But when another element comes first, Dutch puts the verb in second position:

• Als het lampje weer begint te knipperen, moet je...

So the pattern is:

1. fronted element / clause
2. finite verb
3. subject

Examples:

• Morgen ga ik naar Amsterdam
• Na het eten belt hij
• Als hij komt, ga ik weg

This is the classic V2 rule in Dutch main clauses.

Op de knop drukken is the normal Dutch expression for to press the button.

Literally, it looks like press on the button, but in Dutch that is simply the standard phrasing.

So:

• op de knop drukken = to press the button

You should learn it as a fixed combination.

Compare:

• druk op de knop = press the button
• ik drukte op de bel = I pressed the doorbell

Because both actions depend on the same modal verb moet.

The sentence means:

• you must press the button
• and then log in again

Dutch often uses one modal verb with multiple infinitives:

• Je moet op de knop drukken en daarna nogmaals inloggen

This is similar to English:

• You have to press the button and then log in again

You do not need to repeat:

• moet je ... en moet je ...

unless you want extra emphasis.

Yes, inloggen is a separable verb:

• in + loggen

But separable verbs are only split in certain forms, especially in a finite main clause:

• Ik log in
• Je logt opnieuw in

In the infinitive, they stay together:

• inloggen
• opnieuw inloggen
• moeten inloggen

So here, because it is an infinitive after moet, it is written as one word:

• moet je ... inloggen

Good question. This is because different verbs behave differently.

After beginnen, Dutch normally uses te + infinitive:

• begint te knipperen

But after a modal verb like moeten, Dutch uses the infinitive without te:

• moet ... drukken
• moet ... inloggen

Common modal verbs that do not take te:

• kunnen = can
• moeten = must
• mogen = may
• willen = want
• zullen = shall/will

Examples:

• Ik moet werken
• Zij kan komen
• Wij willen vertrekken

Nogmaals means once again or again.

In this sentence:

• daarna nogmaals inloggen = then log in again

Compared with similar words:

• weer = again
• opnieuw = again / anew
• nogmaals = once more, again, often slightly more formal or instruction-like

In practical instructions, nogmaals sounds very natural.

So all of these can be similar, but the nuance is a bit different:

• Log opnieuw in = Log in again
• Log nogmaals in = Log in once more
• Het lampje knippert weer = The light is blinking again

Daarna means after that or afterwards, so it clearly shows sequence.

• op de knop drukken en daarna nogmaals inloggen
• press the button and afterwards log in again

Dan could also sometimes work, but daarna is a little clearer and more explicit in instructions, because it directly signals:

1. first press the button
2. after that, log in again

So daarna is especially common in step-by-step directions.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Als het lampje weer begint te knipperen, ...

In Dutch, when a subordinate clause comes first, it is normally followed by a comma before the main clause.

So the structure is:

• Als ... , moet je ...

This is also common in English:

• If the light starts blinking again, you must press the button...

Here je can be understood as a general you, like in instructions.

So it does not necessarily mean one specific friend or family member. It often means:

• you = the user / the person following the instructions

Dutch instructions often use:

• je for informal/general instructions
• u for formal instructions

So a more formal version could be:

• Als het lampje weer begint te knipperen, moet u op de knop drukken en daarna nogmaals inloggen.

Both are correct; je is simply less formal and often feels more user-friendly.