Breakdown of Die Zahlen wären zu einer Kombination kombiniert worden.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
die Zahl
the number
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
Questions & Answers about Die Zahlen wären zu einer Kombination kombiniert worden.
Why does this sentence use worden at the end instead of geworden?
When forming perfect tenses in the passive voice, German drops the ge- prefix from geworden. Since this sentence uses the passive voice to say the numbers would have been combined, we use worden. If the sentence were active, like 'They would have become old', you would use the regular past participle geworden.
How does the sentence structure show that this is in the passive voice?
The passive voice in the Konjunktiv II past is built using wären in the second position and worden at the very end of the sentence. The main action verb, kombiniert (combined), is placed right before worden. If this were active voice saying someone would have combined the numbers, it would use hätten instead of wären: Jemand hätte die Zahlen kombiniert.
Why is 'into a combination' translated with zu (zu einer Kombination) instead of in?
In German, when things are formed, transformed, or combined into a new result or state, you almost always use the preposition zu followed by the dative case. You also see this in phrases like zu Eis werden (to turn into ice) or zu Staub zerfallen (to crumble into dust).
Is it natural in German to say zu einer Kombination kombiniert?