Doordat de scanner weer werkte, kon ik het formulier toch nog op tijd mailen.

Doordat means because / as a result of the fact that. It often emphasizes a real cause-and-effect relationship.

Omdat also means because, but it is the more general word for giving a reason.

In this sentence, doordat sounds very natural because the scanner working again directly caused the result: being able to email the form on time.

So:

• doordat = cause leading to a result
• omdat = general reason

In many contexts, both are possible, but doordat feels a bit more specific here.

Because doordat introduces a subordinate clause.

In Dutch subordinate clauses, the finite verb usually goes to the end. So:

• main clause: De scanner werkte weer.
• subordinate clause: doordat de scanner weer werkte

That final verb position is one of the most important Dutch word order patterns to learn.

This is because Dutch main clauses use verb-second word order.

The whole first clause, Doordat de scanner weer werkte, takes the first position in the sentence. After that, the finite verb of the main clause must come next, so you get:

• kon = second position
• ik = subject after the verb

So:

• normal order: Ik kon het formulier ... mailen.
• after an opening clause: Doordat ..., kon ik het formulier ... mailen.

This is often called inversion.

Here weer means again.

So de scanner weer werkte means the scanner was working again, or had started functioning again.

In this sentence, weer suggests that the scanner had not been working before.

They add extra nuance:

• nog = still / yet
• toch = nevertheless / after all / despite that

Together, toch nog suggests something like:

• it looked doubtful at first
• but in the end it was still possible

So toch nog op tijd mailen gives the feeling of still managing to email it in time after all.

Because kon is a modal verb.

With modal verbs in Dutch main clauses, the conjugated modal goes in second position, and the other verb stays in the infinitive at the end:

• Ik kon het formulier mailen.

So in this sentence:

• kon = conjugated modal verb
• mailen = infinitive at the end

This is a standard Dutch pattern.

Dutch often uses the simple past to describe past situations, background events, or what was possible at a certain moment.

Here the sentence tells a past event:

• the scanner was working again
• as a result, the speaker was able to send the form in time

So werkte and kon are very natural here.

Yes. Op tijd is a very common fixed expression meaning on time or in time.

You should learn it as a unit. Dutch speakers use it very often, for example:

• Ik was op tijd.
• Kun je op tijd komen?

In this sentence, it means the form was emailed before the deadline.

Yes, Dutch word order is somewhat flexible, but some positions sound more natural than others.

The version here, toch nog op tijd mailen, sounds very natural because op tijd stays close to the action it describes.

You may hear other orders in speech, but this one is the safest and most idiomatic choice.

Yes. Mailen is completely normal everyday Dutch for to email.

And yes, it can take a direct object, so het formulier mailen is natural Dutch and means to email the form.

A more formal alternative would be something like het formulier per e-mail versturen, but mailen is much more common in ordinary speech.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause.

In Dutch, when a subordinate clause comes first, it is normally separated from the main clause by a comma:

• Doordat de scanner weer werkte, kon ik ...

The comma helps show where the first clause ends and where the main clause begins.