Breakdown of Det er umuligt at overleve her hvis oasen er udtørret.
være
to be
her
here
det
it (neuter)
at
to
hvis
if
overleve
to survive
umulig
impossible
oasen
the oasis
udtørret
dried out
Questions & Answers about Det er umuligt at overleve her hvis oasen er udtørret.
Since the lesson is about dropping the unstressed 'e' for nouns ending in -en, does oasen become oasner in the plural?
No, because its base dictionary form doesn't actually end in -en! The base noun is en oase (an oasis), and the -n in this sentence is just the singular definite article (the). The syncopation rule you are learning only applies to base nouns that naturally end in -en, like en ørken (a desert) becoming ørkner. The plural of oase is simply oaser.
If the sentence were about multiple oases, how would the word udtørret change?
It would become udtørrede. When a past participle like udtørret (dried out) is used after the verb at være to describe a state, it functions like an adjective. This means it must agree with the subject. If the subject is plural (oaserne), you have to add an -e to the end.
Why doesn't the word order invert to er oasen udtørret in the second half of the sentence?
Because hvis (if) introduces a subordinate clause. While you are used to the V2 rule forcing the verb to swap places with the subject in main clauses, subordinate clauses in Danish strictly follow a Subject-Verb order. Since oasen is the subject of this sub-clause, it must come right before the verb er.
Is overleve a separable verb? Could I say leve over instead?
No, at overleve (to survive) is strictly inseparable. While some Danish verbs can be split into a root verb and a preposition, overleve is always kept as a single, combined word.
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