Breakdown of Que tragédia teria acontecido se eles se tivessem despistado?
eles
they (m)
ter
to have
que
what (before a noun)
acontecer
to happen
se
if
a tragédia
the tragedy
despistar-se
to crash
Questions & Answers about Que tragédia teria acontecido se eles se tivessem despistado?
How is the third conditional structured in this sentence?
This sentence shows the classic third conditional structure for impossible past events. The hypothetical result uses the compound conditional (teria acontecido), and the condition introduced by se uses the pluperfect subjunctive (tivessem despistado).
Why are there two words spelled se in the phrase se eles se tivessem?
The first se is the conjunction meaning 'if'. The second se is the reflexive pronoun belonging to the verb despistar-se (to crash). It is placed before the auxiliary verb tivessem because the conjunction se acts as a 'magnet' word, forcing the pronoun to sit before the verb.
Does despistar-se literally translate to 'crashed'?
Could we use the imperfect indicative here instead of the compound conditional, like we sometimes do in spoken Portuguese?
Yes, in informal spoken Portuguese, people often replace the conditional with the imperfect, so you might hear Que tragédia tinha acontecido.... However, teria acontecido is the grammatically correct form for this conditional structure and is widely used.
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