Breakdown of Wir warteten auf Hilfe, aber die Lösung wäre nicht verborgen worden.
sein
to be
aber
but
wir
we
nicht
not
die Hilfe
the help
die Lösung
the solution
warten auf
to wait for
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
verbergen
to hide (conceal, e.g. feelings or truth)
Questions & Answers about Wir warteten auf Hilfe, aber die Lösung wäre nicht verborgen worden.
Why do we use wäre here instead of hätte for would have?
In German, the passive voice is formed with werden, and the perfect tenses of werden always take the helping verb sein. So, to say something would have been done, you must use the Konjunktiv II of sein (wäre) plus the past participle of the main action (verborgen) plus worden. You can never use hätte to form the past passive.
Why is the last word worden and not geworden?
When werden is used as a helping verb to form the passive voice, its past participle drops the ge- prefix, making it worden. You only use geworden when it acts as a main verb meaning to become, like in Er ist alt geworden (He has become old).
The first half uses the simple past (warteten). Can you mix the real past and the unreal past (Konjunktiv II) in one sentence?
Yes, absolutely! The first half is a statement of a real fact in the past: we waited for help. The second half introduces a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situation related to that past event. Mixing real and unreal moods is very common when contrasting what actually happened with what could have happened.
Why does auf Hilfe mean for help instead of on help?
The verb warten requires the preposition auf followed by the accusative case to express waiting for someone or something. Prepositions rarely translate word-for-word between English and German, so it is best to memorize the entire verb-preposition combination: warten auf.
What is the base verb for verborgen, and why doesn't it start with ge-?
The infinitive is verbergen (to hide or conceal). It is a strong verb, which is why its past participle ends in -en (verborgen) rather than a -t. It does not take a ge- prefix because verbs starting with the inseparable prefix ver- never do.
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