Vore det bra om vi minskade portionsstorleken?

Because this is a yes/no question, and Swedish normally puts the finite verb first in that kind of question.

• Statement: Det vore bra om vi minskade portionsstorleken.
• Question: Vore det bra om vi minskade portionsstorleken?

So vore comes first simply because of Swedish word order in questions.

Vore is the form of vara used for a hypothetical or tentative idea here. It corresponds to English would be.

So:

• var = was
• vore = would be / were in a hypothetical sense

In modern Swedish, vore is especially common in phrases like:

• Det vore bra ... = It would be good ...
• Vore det möjligt ...? = Would it be possible ...?

A more everyday alternative is often skulle vara:

• Skulle det vara bra om vi minskade portionsstorleken?

But vore is perfectly correct and quite natural in careful or slightly formal Swedish.

This is a very common pattern in both Swedish and English.

After om in a hypothetical sentence, Swedish often uses the preterite/past form to express something unreal, tentative, or imagined, not actual past time.

So:

• om vi minskade = if we reduced
• not necessarily about the past

Compare English:

• Would it be good if we reduced the portion size?

English also uses a past-looking form (reduced) in this kind of hypothetical structure.

So here minskade does not mean that the action already happened. It means something like if we were to reduce.

Here om means if.

It introduces a conditional clause:

• om vi minskade portionsstorleken = if we reduced the portion size

This is different from other uses of om, such as:

• tala om något = talk about something
• om en timme = in an hour

In this sentence, it is clearly the conditional if.

Because after om, you have a subordinate clause, and Swedish keeps the normal subject-verb order there:

• om vi minskade ...
• subject vi comes before the verb minskade

That is the standard pattern in Swedish subordinate clauses.

So:

• correct: om vi minskade
• not correct: om minskade vi

Yes, but here it is mainly a formal subject, just like English it in sentences such as:

• It would be good if...

Swedish often uses det in the same way:

• Det vore bra om...
• Vore det bra om...?

It does not refer to a specific thing. It is just part of the normal sentence structure.

Because Swedish loves compound nouns.

portionsstorleken is built like this:

• portion = portion
• s = linking s
• storlek = size
• -en = the (definite ending)

So:

• portionsstorlek = portion size
• portionsstorleken = the portion size

Writing it as one word is completely normal in Swedish.

It is a linking s, which often appears in Swedish compounds.

So:

• portion
• storlek
• together: portionsstorlek

This s does not have a separate meaning by itself. It just helps connect the parts of the compound, much like in some other Swedish compound words.

Not every compound uses a linking s, but many do.

Because the sentence is talking about the portion size, not just a portion size in general.

Compare:

• portionstorlek / portionsstorlek = portion size (indefinite)
• portionsstorleken = the portion size (definite)

In this sentence, the speakers are referring to a specific portion size under discussion, so the definite form is natural.

Swedish often uses the definite form where English also would:

• the portion size
• portionsstorleken

They are very close in meaning.

• Vore det bra om... = slightly more compact, sometimes a bit more formal or polished
• Skulle det vara bra om... = very natural and common in everyday speech

Both mean roughly:

• Would it be good if...

So if you understand one, you can usually understand the other.

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things.

• Vore det bra om vi minskade portionsstorleken? = Would it be good if we reduced the portion size?
• Vore det bättre om vi minskade portionsstorleken? = Would it be better if we reduced the portion size?

bra asks whether it is a good idea at all.

bättre compares it more directly with the current situation or another option.

So the original sentence is grammatically fine; it just does not emphasize comparison as strongly as bättre would.

Yes. It sounds tentative, careful, and somewhat polite.

Instead of directly saying:

• Vi ska minska portionsstorleken. = We are going to reduce the portion size.

the speaker is asking more cautiously:

• Vore det bra om vi minskade portionsstorleken?

That makes it sound like a suggestion for discussion rather than a firm decision.

Yes, that is a very useful way to feel the nuance.

A close English paraphrase is:

• Would it be good if we reduced the portion size?
• Would it be good if we were to reduce the portion size?

The were to version helps show the hypothetical, tentative feeling that Swedish expresses with vore and minskade here.