Breakdown of Wenn du es eilig hast, kannst du auf dem Eis ausrutschen.
du
you (informal singular)
es
it
haben
to have
können
can / to be able to
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Eis
the ice
eilig
hurried
ausrutschen
to slip (lose one's footing)
Questions & Answers about Wenn du es eilig hast, kannst du auf dem Eis ausrutschen.
What does the es refer to in es eilig hast?
It doesn't refer to a specific noun. In the fixed phrase es eilig haben (to be in a hurry), es acts as a dummy direct object. German uses this structure in several idiomatic expressions where English might just use a state of being, like es ernst meinen (to be serious) or es schwer haben (to have a hard time).
Does the phrase es eilig haben change its word order in a subordinate clause?
The core pieces stay together. Because wenn (if) triggers a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb (hast) is pushed to the very end. The dummy object es and the adjective eilig simply slide down right in front of it, resulting in ... du es eilig hast.
Why is it auf dem Eis (dative) and not auf das Eis (accusative), since slipping involves movement?
Even though slipping is a physical movement, the action happens entirely while you are already on the ice. You aren't moving from somewhere else onto the ice in this specific phrase. Because there is no change of location or destination indicated, the two-way preposition auf takes the dative case to show a fixed location.
Why isn't the separable verb ausrutschen split into rutschst ... aus here?
Because it is paired with the conjugated modal verb kannst. When a separable verb is used with a modal verb, it is pushed to the end of the clause and stays in its full, unseparated infinitive form.
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