Breakdown of Imperiumi olisi voittanut, jos keisari olisi elänyt.
olla
to be
jos
if
voittaa
to win
elää
to live, to be alive
Questions & Answers about Imperiumi olisi voittanut, jos keisari olisi elänyt.
How is the conditional perfect built in the phrase olisi voittanut?
It is built with the conditional form of the auxiliary verb olla (to be) plus the active past participle of the main verb. For the third person singular, olla becomes olisi. The past participle of voittaa is voittanut. Together, olisi voittanut creates the "would have won" meaning.
Why does the jos (if) clause use olisi elänyt instead of a pluperfect tense like in English?
This is a major difference between Finnish and English! While English says "had lived" in the "if" clause, Finnish requires the conditional perfect in both halves of the sentence. You must literally say "if the emperor would have lived" (jos keisari olisi elänyt).
Why is the ending for the past participle of elää spelled as -nyt instead of -nut?
This is due to vowel harmony. Because the verb elää (to live) contains the front vowel ä, the participle ending must also use front vowels, making it elänyt rather than elänut.
Does the verb voittaa (to win) change its tt to a single t in the word voittanut?