# Wat was je aan het doen als ik je gebeld?



## UK2NL

Wat was je aan het doen asl ik je gebeld?

What were you doing when I called you??

Is this correct, if not, please correct me!

Thanks!

Chris.


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## Lopes

Wat was je aan het doen toen ik je belde?


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## UK2NL

Toen = when?
Als = when or not?

Could you please explain the difference?


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## Sauv

Als = possibilty --> if

Wat was je aan het doen als ik je belde?
What were you doing if I called you?

Toen = when


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## UK2NL

Dankje!


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## Joannes

(In the West-Flemish dialect people do use *als* in the sense of 'when'. Came up in this thread (in Dutch though).)


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## MaxJ

Joannes said:


> (In the West-Flemish dialect people do use *als* in the sense of 'when'. Came up in this thread (in Dutch though).)


Niet alleen in West-Vlaams, dat is gewoon algemeen Nederlands 

*When* I go to school I'll call you.
*Als* ik naar school ga zal ik je bellen.

Of bedoelde jij wat anders?


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## Arrius

Joannes's quoted thread seems to refer to the use of _toen_ vs _dan_ in the sense of _then,_ but here the problem seems to be _toen_ vs _als _in the sense of _when._
Would I be right in thinking that whereas _toen _is used for past time, _als _is used for future time. I suppose _wanneer _is used for _when_ in the sense of _whenever_.
 Is _als _used for the present too, say, to translate the sentence "You can see that when I press the switch the light goes on." (which you are actually doing as you speak).
Oddly, in German,_ als_ is used for _when _in the past not the future.


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## Joannes

MaxJ said:


> Niet alleen in West-Vlaams, dat is gewoon algemeen Nederlands
> 
> *When* I go to school I'll call you.
> *Als* ik naar school ga zal ik je bellen.
> 
> Of bedoelde jij wat anders?


Yes, I meant something else.  I meant instead of *toen* (so past time reference).



Arrius said:


> Joannes's quoted thread seems to refer to the use of _toen_ vs _dan_ in the sense of _then,_


Yes, mainly, but see posts #9-13, which deal about *toen* vs. *als* in the sense of 'when (PST)'.



Arrius said:


> Would I be right in thinking that whereas _toen _is used for past time, _als _is used for future time. I suppose _wanneer _is used for _when_ in the sense of _whenever_.


Not sure about that. You could use *als* in the sense of 'whenever' too.
(1)* (Telkens) als ik de bus neem, groet ik de chauffeur beleefd.*
(2) *(Telkens) wanneer ik de bus neem, groet ik de chauffeur beleefd.*

I guess the difference is that *wanneer* necessarily implies that something should happen (general habitual or not), whereas *als* could be conditional. (Van Dale says *wanneer* can be conditional as well: *wanneer hij gaat, ga ik niet*. But that sounds odd to me.)



Arrius said:


> Is _als _used for the present too, say, to translate the sentence "You can see that when I press the switch the light goes on." (which you are actually doing as you speak).


Yes, it is. Personally, I would rather say this with *als* than with *wanneer*. (Similarly, I would rather say my sentence (1) than version (2).)

Edit: But I think you do have a point that the doing as you speak thing might be a trigger in favor of *wanneer*.


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## Arrius

*Ik dank U wel, A.*


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