Breakdown of Hvis han var mindre udmattet, ville han arbejde.
være
to be
han
he
arbejde
to work
ville
want to / will
hvis
if
mindre
less / smaller
udmattet
exhausted
Questions & Answers about Hvis han var mindre udmattet, ville han arbejde.
Why do we use the past tense var when talking about a hypothetical situation right now?
Just like in English, Danish uses the past tense to express something unreal or hypothetical in the present. Saying Hvis han var means he is not currently less exhausted, but we are imagining what would happen if he were.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb ville instead of han?
This is the V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire if-clause (Hvis han var mindre udmattet) counts as the first position in the overall sentence. Therefore, the main clause must immediately follow with the verb (ville) to keep the verb in the second position.
How do we form the hypothetical would work part in Danish?
To say that someone would do something, Danish uses the past tense of the modal verb vil, which is ville, followed by the infinitive form of the main verb. So would work becomes ville arbejde.
Why do we use mindre before udmattet?
Mindre means less. Because udmattet (exhausted) is a long word derived from a verb, it sounds awkward to add a comparison ending to it. Instead, we put mindre in front of it, just like saying less exhausted in English.
Learn Hvis han var mindre udmattet, ville han arbejde and more in Danish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free