Log inSign up

Se vincessi alla lotteria, sarei un uomo molto fortunato.

Se vincessi alla lotteria, sarei un uomo molto fortunato.
If I won the lottery, I would be a very lucky man.
From Lesson 197:The second conditional (se... + conditional)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Se vincessi alla lotteria, sarei un uomo molto fortunato.

Why does this sentence use vincessi instead of a regular past tense verb?
This is the second conditional, used for hypothetical or unlikely situations. In Italian, the 'if' part of a hypothetical sentence (se) must use the imperfect subjunctive tense, which is vincessi here. The result part uses the present conditional (sarei).
Vincessi is both the 'io' (I) and 'tu' (you) form in the imperfect subjunctive. How do we know it means 'I won' here?
You have to look at the other half of the sentence for context. The conditional verb sarei strictly means 'I would be'. If the sentence was about 'you' winning, it would use the 'tu' conditional form: se vincessi alla lotteria, saresti... (if you won, you would be...).
Why does it say alla lotteria? Doesn't vincere mean 'to win', so shouldn't it just be vincere la lotteria?
In English, we win a thing directly ('win the lottery'). But in Italian, when you win a game, sport, or contest, you usually use the preposition a. So 'to win the lottery' translates to vincere alla lotteria (literally 'to win at the lottery').
Could I swap the two halves of the sentence around?
Yes, you can completely reverse the order without changing the meaning or the verb tenses: Sarei un uomo molto fortunato se vincessi alla lotteria.

Learn Se vincessi alla lotteria, sarei un uomo molto fortunato and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →