Breakdown of Wenn ich Glück im Lotto hätte, wäre ich reich.
ich
I
sein
to be
haben
to have
das Glück
the luck
reich
rich
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
das Lotto
the lottery
Questions & Answers about Wenn ich Glück im Lotto hätte, wäre ich reich.
Why are we using hätte and wäre here instead of habe and bin?
These are the Konjunktiv II (Subjunctive II) forms. We use them to talk about imaginary, hypothetical, or unrealistic situations. Because you do not actually have lottery luck right now, it is a 'what if' scenario, so we use hätte (if I had) and wäre (I would be).
Why is hätte at the very end of the first part before the comma?
The word Wenn (if) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it takes the conjugated verb of its clause and kicks it all the way to the end. That is why hätte sits right before the comma.
Why does the second half of the sentence start with the verb wäre? Shouldn't it be ich wäre?
This happens because of the German 'verb second' rule. The entire first chunk of the sentence (Wenn ich Glück im Lotto hätte) acts as position one. To keep the main verb in position two, wäre must come immediately after the comma, followed by the subject ich.
Why do we say im Lotto rather than just in Lotto?
Lotto is a neuter noun (das Lotto). When talking about a static state like having luck in something, the preposition in requires the dative case (dem). The words in and dem combine to make the short form im.
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