Als is translated in English as ‘if’ and ‘as’. However, many English speakers learning Dutch will have three challenges while using als: the word order, the connection with when and the comparative.
The word order
Conjunctions such as because, while and so that change the order of the words. If the conjunction is in the middle of the sentence, the verbs will be at the end:
-Ik ga naar huis als ik morgen niet moet werken.
-I go home if I don’t have to work tomorrow.
If you start your sentence with the conjunction, the verbs will be at the end of the first part of your sentence, and the next one starts with inversion:
-Als ik morgen niet moet werken, ga ik naar huis.
-If I don’t have to work tomorrow, I go home.
The connection with when
‘Wanneer’ has the same meaning as ‘als.’ However, wanneer also has another meaning: ‘when’ with time in the past. You can’t use als in the following case:
-When I went to school, I was happy.
–Wanneer ik naar school ging, was ik gelukkig.
Same goes for questions. When you’re asking questions with when, always use wanneer:
-When do we go?
-Wanneer gaan we?
The comparative
Als has also other uses, apart from being a conjunction. Here are two of them:
-I work as a coach.
-Ik werk als coach.
-It’s the same as yesterday.
-Dat is hetzelfde als gisteren.
The first meaning is ‘in the capacity of’, and the second meaning one is only used with the same as, not by using the comparative as in the following example:
-I’m bigger than you.
-Ik ben groter dan jou.
Also, when you’re using the structure ‘as … as … ‘, only the second as will be als:
-as big as him
-zo groot als hem
The first one will use zo.
Exercises
Put the words in the right order (both starting with als and with als in the middle):
– ga – wil – iets – ik – hem – naar – als – wil – wel – drinken
Fill in wanneer / als (both are possible):
– … heb je tijd?
– … je tijd hebt, kom je dan naar mij?
Translate:
– He’s as fast as his sister.
– If you study Dutch, you’ll need a good teacher.
Solutions
-Als ik iets wil drinken, ga ik wel naar hem. / Ik ga wel naar hem als ik iets wil drinken.
-wanneer / wanneer or als
-Hij is zo snel als zijn zus.
-Als je Nederlands studeert, zal je een goede leraar nodig hebben.
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