Breakdown of Om bussen kom i tid, skulle vi äntligen hinna till mötet.
i
in
till
to
vi
we
om
if
komma
to come
tiden
the time
mötet
the meeting
skulle
would
bussen
the bus
hinna
to have time
äntligen
finally
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Questions & Answers about Om bussen kom i tid, skulle vi äntligen hinna till mötet.
Why is the verb in the if-clause past tense (kom) instead of present (kommer)?
Swedish often uses the preterite to signal a hypothetical/less likely situation (irrealis), not past time. So Om bussen kom i tid ≈ “If the bus were to come on time” (which we doubt or consider unlikely). For a neutral, realistic condition, use the present: Om bussen kommer i tid, …
Is this sentence about the past or about a hypothetical future?
It’s about a hypothetical present/future outcome. The preterite kom marks unreality/low likelihood, not past time, and skulle … hinna expresses the resulting “would” in English.
How does skulle work here? Could I say it without skulle?
- skulle + infinitive forms a conditional: skulle … hinna = “would make it.”
- Without skulle, you get a straightforward real conditional in the present: Om bussen kommer i tid, hinner vi (äntligen) till mötet. Use the version with skulle when the condition feels unlikely or speculative; use the present-present version when it’s a normal, open possibility.
Why is it skulle vi (verb before subject) rather than vi skulle?
Swedish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb comes second. When you front something (here, an entire subordinate clause: Om bussen kom i tid, …), the finite verb of the main clause must come next. Hence: …, skulle vi äntligen hinna …. Without a fronted element, you’d say: Vi skulle äntligen hinna …
Where do adverbs like äntligen and inte go?
- In main clauses, sentence/time adverbs normally come after the finite verb and before the infinitive/participle:
- Om bussen kom i tid, skulle vi äntligen hinna till mötet.
- Om bussen kom i tid, skulle vi inte hinna till mötet (for the negative meaning).
- In subordinate clauses, adverbs go before non-finite verbs as well:
- Om bussen inte kom i tid, … You can front Äntligen for emphasis: Äntligen skulle vi hinna till mötet, but the neutral spot is after the finite verb.
Do I need the comma after the first clause?
Yes, it’s standard to put a comma after a subordinate clause placed first: Om bussen kom i tid, skulle …. If the subordinate clause comes last, Swedish typically does not use a comma: Vi skulle … om bussen kom i tid.
Can I start with the main clause instead?
Yes:
- Vi skulle äntligen hinna till mötet om bussen kom i tid.
No comma is normally used before the trailing om-clause.
What exactly does hinna mean, and how do I use it?
hinna = “have time,” “manage in time,” or “make it (before a deadline).” Common patterns:
- hinna + infinitive: Vi skulle hinna äta (We would have time to eat).
- hinna till + event/place/time: hinna till mötet / hinna till kl. 10 (make it to the meeting / by 10).
- hinna med + noun: hinna med bussen (catch the bus), hinna med mötet (have time for the meeting; be able to attend). Note: Don’t use bare hinna att + infinitive. If you use hinna med, you may add att before a following verb: hinna med (att) göra något; the att is optional there.
Why is it till mötet and not på mötet or i mötet?
- till mötet = to the meeting (destination), often with the nuance “in time for.”
- på mötet = at the meeting (location/attendance).
- i mötet = in the meeting (inside/participating in the meeting context). With hinna, you want the destination/time goal: hinna till mötet.
Can I form the if-clause in other ways?
Yes:
- Om-less real conditional: Kommer bussen i tid, hinner vi till mötet.
- Low-probability/hypothetical: Skulle bussen komma i tid, skulle vi äntligen hinna till mötet.
- You can also say: Om bussen skulle komma i tid, … to stress doubt. Dropping om and fronting skulle is common in written style.
How do I say the past counterfactual (“If the bus had come on time, we would have made it”)?
Two natural options:
- Om bussen hade kommit i tid, hade vi äntligen hunnit till mötet.
- Om bussen hade kommit i tid, skulle vi ha hunnit till mötet.
Both are widely used; the first uses hade … hade, the second uses hade … skulle ha.
What are the key verb forms here?
- komma – kommer – kom – kommit
- hinna – hinner – hann – hunnit
- ska/skall – skulle (preterite; used for conditionals)
Noun note: ett möte – mötet – möten – mötena.