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Conditional clause - Voorwaardelijke bijzinIntroduction 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. The tense used in the conditional clause will determine how hypothetical the sentence is. Conditional in the present tenseA conditional in the present tense describes a straightforward condition for something to happen in the future.
Als ik studeer voor mijn examen, haal ik een A. 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. Als ik studeer voor mijn examen, zal ik een A halen. Conditional in the past tenseUsing a conditional in the past tense will make the situation in the main clause more hypothetical but not entirely unrealistic.
Als ik voor mijn examen studeerde, zou ik een A halen. 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:
Conditional in the pluperfectWhen using a conditional in the pluperfect, the situation is no longer possible, as the condition was not fulfilled in the past.
Als ik voor mijn examen had gestudeerd, zou ik een A hebben gehaald. 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: Als ik jou was geweest, had ik niets gedaan.Condition without alsSometimes the condition expresed by als can be omitted and its presence can be imagined.
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