Breakdown of Wir hoffen, dass sie das Radio ausschalten würden.
wir
we
sie
they
das Radio
the radio
hoffen
to hope
Questions & Answers about Wir hoffen, dass sie das Radio ausschalten würden.
Why are both verbs (ausschalten würden) at the very end of the sentence?
The word dass (that) introduces a subordinate clause. In German, subordinate clauses always push the conjugated verb to the very end. Here, the conjugated helper verb is würden, so it goes last, and the infinitive action verb ausschalten sits right in front of it.
How does würden work to change the meaning here?
würden is the Konjunktiv II (hypothetical) form of the verb werden. Whenever you combine a form of würden with an infinitive like ausschalten, it creates a phrase meaning 'would do something'. Therefore, ausschalten würden means 'would turn off'.
Normally the verb ausschalten splits into schalten... aus. Why is it a single word here?
Separable verbs only split when they act as the conjugated verb in a standard clause. Because the helper verb würden is doing all the conjugation work in this clause, the main action verb ausschalten stays in its full, unsplit dictionary form.
How do we know sie means 'they' here and not 'she'?
We can tell by looking at the verb ending. If the sentence was about 'she', the conjugated verb would be würde. Since we see the plural form würden, we know sie has to mean 'they'. Note that if it were capitalized as Sie, it would mean the formal 'you'.