Breakdown of Если бы машин было меньше, мы бы забыли про вредные выбросы!
мы
we
машина
car
быть
to be
вредный
harmful, unhealthy
Questions & Answers about Если бы машин было меньше, мы бы забыли про вредные выбросы!
Why does this sentence use the past tense verbs было and забыли when it is talking about a general or present-day hypothetical situation?
To build an unreal or counterfactual condition (meaning 'If X were to happen... Y would happen'), Russian always uses the particle бы combined with the past tense. Even though we are talking about a hypothetical present, the grammar strictly requires the past tense forms было in the 'if' clause and забыли in the main clause.
Why is the verb было in the neuter singular form, rather than the plural были to match the cars?
Because of the word меньше (fewer/less). Words that express a quantity require the noun that follows to be in the genitive case (машин) and force the verb into the default impersonal form, which is the neuter singular (было).
Could we put the second бы after the verb, saying мы забыли бы?
Yes, мы забыли бы is perfectly correct! The particle бы is flexible, but it naturally gravitates to the second position in a clause, right after the subject or another emphasized word. Putting it right after мы is very typical in everyday Russian.
Why use про here instead of о or об for the word 'about'?