Breakdown of Sollte die Garderobe zu klein sein, wird sie sich beschweren.
sein
to be
sie
she
klein
small
zu
too (e.g., too big)
sollen
should / ought to
werden
will (future auxiliary)
sich beschweren
to complain (make a complaint)
die Garderobe
the dressing room
Questions & Answers about Sollte die Garderobe zu klein sein, wird sie sich beschweren.
Why does the sentence start with the verb Sollte instead of using Wenn?
Just like in formal English, you can drop the 'if' (wenn) in a German conditional sentence. When you drop wenn, the conjugated verb (Sollte) moves to the very first position. It translates perfectly to 'Should the dressing room be too small'.
Why is the word order wird sie and not sie wird after the comma?
The entire conditional clause (Sollte die Garderobe zu klein sein) acts as the first building block of the whole sentence. Because German main clauses strictly follow the V2 rule (verb in position 2), the conjugated verb wird must come right after the comma, immediately followed by the subject sie.
Is Garderobe a false friend here?
Yes! While it looks like 'wardrobe', a piece of furniture for clothes in a bedroom is a Kleiderschrank. Garderobe refers to a cloakroom, a coat rack, or in this context, a dressing room or changing room (like in a theater or TV studio).
How could we rewrite this sentence to emphasize her reaction using the was ... ist ... pseudo-cleft structure from this lesson?
You could wrap the main clause into a pseudo-cleft sentence like this: Was sie tun wird, sollte die Garderobe zu klein sein, ist, sich zu beschweren. This isolates her action ('what she will do is complain') to give it maximum emphasis.
Why do we need the word sich at the end of the sentence?
The German verb for 'to complain' is sich beschweren. It is a strictly reflexive verb, meaning you technically 'complain yourself' in German. Since the subject is sie (she), the mandatory reflexive pronoun is sich.
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