'If I had known' in Dutch: the past conditional

"If I had known, I would have come." "I should have called." "If only I had listened." These are the sentences of regret, missed chances and imagined alternatives, and you'll need them as soon as you start telling stories in Dutch. The good news: Dutch builds them from two forms you probably already know, had + participle and zou + infinitive, and there's even a shortcut that makes them easier than in English.

The full form: als … had …, zou …

The standard pattern for an unreal situation in the past has two clauses:

• The if-clause: als + past perfect (had or was + participle)

• The main clause: zou + hebben or zijn + participle

• Als ik dat had geweten, zou ik zijn gekomen. — If I had known that, I would have come.

• Als we eerder waren vertrokken, zouden we de trein hebben gehaald. — If we had left earlier, we would have caught the train.

• Als je het had gevraagd, zou ik je hebben geholpen. — If you had asked, I would have helped you.

Choose hebben or zijn exactly as you would in the perfect tense: komen and vertrekken take zijn, so you get zou ik zijn gekomen and als we waren vertrokken. The if-clause uses the past perfect, which is covered in the pluperfect lesson.

At the end of the clause, both orders of the verbs are correct: zou ik zijn gekomen and zou ik gekomen zijn, als ik dat had geweten and als ik dat geweten had.

The short form: had or was in both clauses

In everyday Dutch, people often drop zou altogether and use the past perfect in both clauses. This sounds odd to English ears, but it is completely standard, and in speech it's probably the form you'll hear most.

• Als ik het had geweten, had ik het gezegd. — If I had known, I would have said it.
• Als ik dat had geweten, was ik gekomen. — If I had known that, I would have come.
• Als het niet had geregend, waren we naar het strand gegaan. — If it hadn't rained, we would have gone to the beach.

Again, hebben or zijn depends on the main verb: gezegd goes with had, gekomen and gegaan go with was/waren.

Both forms mean the same thing. The short form is shorter and very natural, so it's a great one to use yourself.

Word order

The usual rules for Dutch word order apply, and they matter here.

1. In the als-clause, the verbs go to the end. Als is a subordinating conjunction, so had moves to the end of its clause.

• Als ik meer tijd had gehad, … — If I had had more time, …

2. If the als-clause comes first, the main clause starts with the verb. The whole als-clause counts as position one, so the conjugated verb (zou, had or was) comes immediately after the comma, followed by the subject.

• Als ik meer tijd had gehad, was ik langer gebleven. — If I'd had more time, I would have stayed longer.
• Wrong: Als ik meer tijd had gehad, ik was langer gebleven.

You can add dan at the start of the main clause for emphasis. The verb still comes straight after it: Als ik het had geweten, dan had ik het gezegd.

3. If the main clause comes first, it has normal order.

• Ik was langer gebleven als ik meer tijd had gehad. — I would have stayed longer if I'd had more time.
• Ik zou je hebben gebeld als ik je nummer had gehad. — I would have called you if I'd had your number.

4. You can drop als and start with had. This is common in both writing and speech, and dan usually introduces the main clause:

• Had ik het geweten, dan was ik gekomen. — Had I known, I would have come.
• Waren we eerder vertrokken, dan hadden we de trein gehaald. — Had we left earlier, we would have caught the train.

Had ik maar…: if only

To express regret, Dutch puts had or was first and adds maar:

• Had ik maar harder gestudeerd. — If only I had studied harder.
• Was ik maar thuisgebleven. — If only I had stayed at home.
• Had je het maar eerder gezegd! — If only you had said so earlier!

Maar here doesn't mean "but"; it adds the sense of a wish. You can also use Ik wou dat… (I wish that…), with normal subordinate-clause order:

• Ik wou dat ik het had geweten. — I wish I had known.

Should have, could have, would have liked to

English uses "should have", "could have" and "would have liked to". Dutch uses had + a double infinitive: the modal verb and the main verb, both as infinitives, at the end of the clause. No participle and no te.

• Ik had moeten bellen. — I should have called.
• Je had het kunnen weten. — You could have known.
• We hadden het graag willen zien. — We would have liked to see it.
• Hij had daar niet mogen parkeren. — He shouldn't have parked there (he wasn't allowed to).
• Je had niet hoeven te komen. — You didn't need to come. (With hoeven, te is optional here.)

Compare the meanings:

These work inside an als-clause too, with the conjugated verb in front of the two infinitives:

• Als ik had kunnen komen, was ik er geweest. — If I had been able to come, I would have been there.

You may also hear zou versions such as Ik zou het hebben kunnen doen (I could have done it). They're correct but heavy, and Ik had het kunnen doen is what most people say. For more on modals, see Dutch modal verbs.

Present or past? Don't mix them up

The past conditional is about something that didn't happen in the past. For something unreal in the present or future, you use the simple past or zou + infinitive instead, as explained in the conditional lesson. Compare:

• Als ik het wist, zou ik het zeggen. — If I knew, I would say it. (now)
• Als ik het had geweten, had ik het gezegd. — If I had known, I would have said it. (then)

English speakers sometimes translate "if I would have known" literally. In Dutch, stick with had in the if-clause: Als ik het had geweten. It's the simplest choice and always correct.

Quick summary

• Full form: Als ik het had geweten, zou ik zijn gekomen.
• Short form, very common: past perfect in both clauses: Als ik het had geweten, was ik gekomen / had ik het gezegd.
• Hebben or zijn follows the main verb, as in the perfect tense.
• Als-clause first → verb right after the comma: …, had ik het gezegd.
• Drop als and start with had: Had ik het geweten, dan was ik gekomen.
• Regret: Had ik maar…, Was ik maar…, Ik wou dat…
• Should/could have: had + double infinitive: Ik had moeten bellen, Je had het kunnen weten.

Practise it

Put it all together in Past conditional, review the present conditional in Conditional sentences, and brush up on had + participle in The pluperfect.