Breakdown of Wenn das Fleisch nicht angebrannt wäre, hätte es keinen Rauch gegeben.
sein
to be
haben
to have
kein
no, not any
nicht
not
das Fleisch
the meat
es gibt
there is / there are
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
anbrennen
to burn (food)
der Rauch
the smoke
Questions & Answers about Wenn das Fleisch nicht angebrannt wäre, hätte es keinen Rauch gegeben.
Why do we use wäre in the first half but hätte in the second half?
The choice depends on the helper verb each action uses in the normal perfect tense. anbrennen (to burn) describes a change of state, so it takes sein in the past (ist angebrannt). To make it hypothetical, we use wäre angebrannt. The second half uses es gibt (there is), which takes haben in the past (es hat gegeben), so its hypothetical form is hätte es ... gegeben.
Why are wäre and hätte right next to each other in the middle of the sentence?
This is the classic verb-comma-verb rule for conditional sentences! The Wenn clause acts as the first block of information (Position 1) for the main sentence. Because the verb in a Wenn clause always goes to the very end (wäre), and the main clause must put its verb (hätte) in Position 2, the two verbs end up side by side, separated only by the comma.
Why is it keinen Rauch instead of kein Rauch?
The phrase es gibt (there is/are) always requires the accusative case for the thing that exists. Since Rauch (smoke) is a masculine noun (der Rauch), the negative article kein takes the masculine accusative ending -en, becoming keinen.
What is the infinitive of angebrannt?
The infinitive is anbrennen (to burn or scorch, usually referring to food). Because it is a separable verb, the -ge- used to make the past participle is placed right between the prefix an- and the root brennen, giving us angebrannt.
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