Conditional clauses

Introduction

Conditional clauses are used to to refer to hypothetical situations; things that could happen if certain criteria were met. These criteria are expressed by the conditional clause, whilst the main clause describes the hypothetical situation as such.

The main clause accompanying a conditional clause can be made with a main verb in the present tense or using the past tense of the modal verb zullen. Most of the time, the subordinating conjunction als (or indien for more formal language) is used to introduce the conditional clause, but the conditional clause can also occur without any conjunction.

The tense used in the conditional clause will determine how hypothetical the sentence is.

Conditional in the present tense

A conditional in the present tense describes a straightforward condition for something to happen in the future.

Note that a present tense is used in both the subordinate clause and the main clause, even though the present tense of zullen plus an infinitive is also possible in the main clause.

Conditional in the past tense

Using a conditional in the past tense will make the situation in the main clause more hypothetical but not entirely unrealistic.

Note that in the subordinate clause the verb is in the past tense.

It is actually possible to have a conditional sentence without zou/zouden:

The last example is an illustration of carefully phrased advice. This can also be used without als, when the context is clear, as you can see in the example below:

Conditional in the pluperfect

When using a conditional in the pluperfect, the situation is no longer possible, as the condition was not fulfilled in the past.

Note that in the subordinate clause the verb is in the pluperfect tense.

It is actually possible to have a conditional sentence without zou/zouden:

Conditional clause without conjunction

Mocht ze geld hebben, dan zou zij naar Antwerpen gaan?
Should she have money, she would go to Antwerp.

Zouden mijn ouders tijd hbben gehad, dan  zouden op bezoek zijn gekomen/waren ze op bezoek gekomen.
Should they have had the time, my parents would have visited me.