Breakdown of Wäre die Fälschung doch nur nicht wertlos!
sein
to be
nicht
not
nur
only
doch
after all / indeed (modal particle)
Questions & Answers about Wäre die Fälschung doch nur nicht wertlos!
Why does the sentence start with the verb Wäre instead of using a Wenn clause?
To express an unfulfilled wish, you can drop Wenn entirely and move the conjugated verb to the very first position. It looks just like a yes/no question, but the exclamation mark and the particles tell you it is a wish. You could also say Wenn die Fälschung doch nur nicht wertlos wäre! with exactly the same meaning.
What form of the verb is Wäre?
It is the Konjunktiv II (Subjunctive II) form of sein (to be). It translates to "were" or "would be" in English. We use Konjunktiv II here because the speaker is imagining an unreal situation: the forgery is actually worthless right now, but they are wishing it were not.
Why are both doch and nur used together here? Could I just use one?
Yes, using either doch or nur alone is perfectly fine and also translates to "if only" in this context. However, combining them into doch nur makes the wish extra strong and emotional. It really emphasizes the speaker's regret.
How is the adjective wertlos formed?
It is built from the noun der Wert (the value or worth) and the suffix -los (meaning without or -less). Adding -los to a noun is a common way to create adjectives in German, similar to arbeitslos (unemployed) or sinnlos (pointless).