Breakdown of Экология была бы лучше, если бы заводы сократили выбросы?
завод
factory
быть
to be
бы
would (conditional particle) / concessive particle
если
if
Questions & Answers about Экология была бы лучше, если бы заводы сократили выбросы?
Why is сократили in the past tense if we are asking about a potential future or general situation?
In Russian, unreal or counterfactual conditions (things that are hypothetical or haven't happened) are always formed using если бы (if) followed by a verb in the past tense. Even if you mean "if they were to reduce" right now or in the future, you must use the past tense сократили.
Why do we need the word была here, instead of just saying Экология бы лучше?
Unreal conditionals in Russian always require a past tense verb to work with the particle бы. Since "to be better" uses the verb "to be", we must use была (the feminine past tense, agreeing with экология) to mean "would be better". You cannot just stick бы next to an adjective without a verb.
Can I put the first бы anywhere else in the sentence?
The particle бы is quite flexible, but it usually directly follows the word it modifies or emphasizes. In Экология была бы лучше, it naturally follows the verb была. You will often hear it right after the subject too (Экология бы была лучше), but placing it right after the past tense verb is the most standard phrasing.
Does экология just mean the science of "ecology" here?