Breakdown of Ef svifflugan hefði mótor, virkaði hún betur.
hún
she
hafa
to have
ef
if
betur
better (adverb)
virka
to work (to function)
svifflugan
the glider
mótorinn
the motor
Questions & Answers about Ef svifflugan hefði mótor, virkaði hún betur.
How can I tell that virkaði is in the past subjunctive here?
For weak verbs like virka (to work), the past subjunctive is identical to the regular past tense. We only know it is subjunctive here, translating to "would work", because of the hypothetical context set up by the "if" clause.
Why is it hefði instead of the normal past tense hafði?
Hefði is the past subjunctive of hafa (to have). While weak verbs look the same in both past forms, many other verbs change their vowel. Here, the letter "a" in the regular past tense hafði shifts to an "e" to make the subjunctive hefði. The word ef (if) triggers this form because the sentence describes an unreal or hypothetical situation.
Why does the second half of the sentence start with the verb virkaði instead of hún virkaði?
Why is the pronoun hún (she) used for a machine like a glider?
In Icelandic, pronouns always match the grammatical gender of the noun they are replacing. The word for glider, sviffluga, is a feminine noun, so you must use the feminine pronoun hún rather than the neuter það (it).
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