Breakdown of Трудно представить, что было бы иначе.
трудный
difficult
быть
to be
иначе
otherwise, differently
представить
to introduce; to imagine
Questions & Answers about Трудно представить, что было бы иначе.
Why isn't there a word for "it" at the beginning of the sentence?
In Russian, general states or conditions are often expressed with impersonal sentences. Instead of using a dummy subject like "it," you simply start the sentence with the adverb трудно (hard).
I usually see "to imagine" translated as представить себе. Why is себе missing here?
While представить себе (literally "to present to oneself") is very common, the себе is often dropped in general or abstract statements. Since "it is hard to imagine" is a universal thought rather than a specific person visualizing something, using представить on its own sounds more natural here.
What is the particle бы doing in this sentence?
The particle бы creates the conditional mood, which we often translate as "would" or "could". Without it, что было иначе means the factual "that it was otherwise". Adding бы turns it into the hypothetical "that it would be otherwise".
Why does a hypothetical "would be" use the past tense word было?
The Russian conditional mood is always formed by combining a past tense verb (like было) with the particle бы. This exact same structure is used for any hypothetical scenario, whether you mean "would be" in the present/future or "would have been" in the past. You rely on context to know which one it is!
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