Breakdown of Wenn ich geholfen hätte, wäre das Abendessen nicht schiefgegangen.
ich
I
sein
to be
haben
to have
nicht
not
helfen
to help
das Abendessen
the dinner
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
schiefgehen
to go wrong
Questions & Answers about Wenn ich geholfen hätte, wäre das Abendessen nicht schiefgegangen.
Why do we use hätte in the first half but wäre in the second half?
Just like in the regular past tense (Perfekt), you have to choose the right helper verb. The verb helfen takes haben, so its Konjunktiv II form is hätte. The verb schiefgehen (to go wrong) indicates a change of state and takes the helper verb sein, which becomes wäre in Konjunktiv II.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb wäre?
The first part of the sentence is a subordinate clause starting with Wenn (If). In German, this entire clause counts as the first position. Since the verb of the main clause must be in the second position, wäre has to come immediately after the comma.
Why is the -ge- in the middle of schiefgegangen?
The infinitive is schiefgehen (to go wrong). This is a separable verb made of schief (crooked/wrong) and gehen (to go). When you form the past participle of a separable verb, the -ge- gets sandwiched between the prefix and the main verb.
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