Word
Ohne den Schulterblick hättest du durchfallen können.
Meaning
Without the shoulder check, you could have failed.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ohne den Schulterblick hättest du durchfallen können.
du
you (informal singular)
haben
to have
können
can / to be able to
ohne
without
Questions & Answers about Ohne den Schulterblick hättest du durchfallen können.
Why is it können at the end instead of the past participle gekonnt?
This is due to the double infinitive rule. When a modal verb like können is used with another verb in past tenses, it drops its past participle form (gekonnt) and uses its infinitive form instead. That is why you see durchfallen können at the end.
How does the grammar behind hättest du durchfallen können work?
This expresses a hypothetical past event, meaning you could have failed, but you did not. To build this structure with a modal verb, you use the subjunctive form of haben (here, hättest), followed by the subject, and then two infinitives at the end of the sentence: the action verb (durchfallen) and the modal verb (können).
Why does the verb hättest come before the subject du?
The phrase Ohne den Schulterblick takes up the first position in the sentence. Because the conjugated verb must always sit in the second position in a regular German main clause, hättest comes next, pushing the subject du into the third position.
Why is it den Schulterblick and not der Schulterblick?