Log inSign up

Om vinsten var verklig, skulle situationen inte vara omöjlig.

Om vinsten var verklig, skulle situationen inte vara omöjlig.
If the win were real, the situation would not be impossible.
From Lesson 196:Unreal conditionals (skulle)·Swedish

Questions & Answers about Om vinsten var verklig, skulle situationen inte vara omöjlig.

Why does the sentence use var (was) when talking about a present situation?
This is the unreal present conditional. To talk about a hypothetical or imaginary situation in the present, Swedish uses om (if) followed by the past tense (preteritum). This is very similar to English using the past tense to say 'if the win were real'.
Why does skulle come before situationen in the second half?
This is the V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire if-clause (Om vinsten var verklig) counts as the first block of information in the sentence. Therefore, the first verb of the main clause (skulle) must take the second position, pushing the subject (situationen) to the third position.
Why is inte placed after situationen instead of right after the verb?
In a main clause, the negation inte normally comes right after the first verb. However, because the V2 rule forced the subject (situationen) to swap places and come after the verb, inte must wait and be placed immediately after that subject.
Why do we use verklig and omöjlig instead of verkligt and omöjligt?
Both vinsten (the win) and situationen (the situation) are en-words. Adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they describe, so we use the standard en-word forms, without the -t ending that ett-words would require.

Learn Om vinsten var verklig, skulle situationen inte vara omöjlig and more in Swedish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Swedish →