Use zou / zouden plus an infinitive at the end to argue about what would be the case: Dat zou betekenen dat... For something that did not happen, put the als-clause in the plusquamperfectum (had + participle) and answer it with zou hebben + participle, or simply repeat had + participle.
Examples
- Als de overheid eerder had ingegrepen, zou het probleem kleiner zijn geweest.
- If the government had intervened earlier, the problem would have been smaller.
- Dat zou betekenen dat we onze uitgangspunten moeten herzien.
- That would mean that we have to revise our premises.
- Zonder die cijfers had niemand het voorstel serieus genomen.
- Without those figures nobody would have taken the proposal seriously.
The mistake to avoid
Never put zou in the als-clause itself - Dutch says "Als ik meer tijd had...", not "Als ik zou meer tijd hebben...".
Where this fits in
Logical argumentation, Dutch C1: Build a logical argument: claims, evidence, counterargument, persuasion.