Breakdown of Glück im Lotto wäre mein Traum.
sein
to be
das Glück
the luck
mein
my
der Traum
the dream
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
das Lotto
the lottery
Questions & Answers about Glück im Lotto wäre mein Traum.
Why do we use wäre here instead of ist?
wäre is the Konjunktiv II (Subjunctive II) form of sein (to be). We use it to talk about imaginary situations, wishes, or dreams. While ist means 'is' (a fact), wäre means 'would be' (a hypothetical dream).
Could I say würde sein instead of wäre?
Grammatically yes, but it sounds unnatural. For most verbs, Germans use würde plus the infinitive to say 'would do' something. However, the verbs haben and sein almost always use their special one-word forms: hätte (would have) and wäre (would be).
Why is it im Lotto instead of just in Lotto?
In German, you need the definite article here. im is a contraction of the preposition in and the dative article dem. Lotto is a neuter noun (das Lotto), and since we are describing a static concept rather than movement into a place, it takes the dative case.
Why isn't mein Traum in the accusative case?
The verb sein (and its forms like wäre) is a linking verb. It acts like an equals sign between the subject (Glück) and what it is (mein Traum). Because there is no direct object receiving an action, both sides stay in the nominative case.
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