Breakdown of Даже если бы митинг не был массовым, мы бы пришли.
не
not
мы
we
быть
to be
даже
even
прийти
to arrive (on foot, pf)
бы
would (conditional particle) / concessive particle
если
if
митинг
rally
массовый
mass (adjective)
Questions & Answers about Даже если бы митинг не был массовым, мы бы пришли.
Why does бы appear in both halves of the sentence?
When expressing an unreal or hypothetical condition, Russian requires the particle бы in both the condition clause (даже если бы) and the result clause (мы бы пришли). English handles this by changing verb tenses ("had not been" vs. "would have"), but Russian simply uses the past tense verb plus бы in both parts.
The translation uses "had not been" and "would have come". How does the Russian show that this is in the past?
It actually doesn't! The Russian subjunctive mood (past tense verb + бы) is identical whether you are talking about the past, present, or future. Depending entirely on context, this exact sentence could also mean "Even if the rally weren't massive [today], we would come." You just have to know from the surrounding conversation that the rally already happened.
Why is массовым in the instrumental case instead of the nominative массовый?
In the past tense, the verb быть (appearing here as был) usually takes the instrumental case for the adjective or noun that follows it. Using the instrumental (массовым) rather than the nominative emphasizes a state or characteristic at that specific point in time.
Could I put бы after the verb instead, like: Даже если митинг не был бы массовым?
While you might occasionally hear native speakers separate them in casual speech, the standard and most natural rule is to attach бы directly to если, forming даже если бы. As a learner, it is best to treat если бы as a single, inseparable unit.
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