Breakdown of Om de skulle spärra gatan, flyr kumpanen om tio minuter.
de
they
gatan
the street
tio
ten
om
in (time from now)
Questions & Answers about Om de skulle spärra gatan, flyr kumpanen om tio minuter.
Why do we use skulle spärra here instead of just the present tense spärrar?
Using skulle plus the bare infinitive spärra creates a tentative conditional. It translates roughly to 'If they were to block' or 'If they should block.' It makes the scenario feel a bit more hypothetical or less likely than if you just used the present tense Om de spärrar (If they block).
The word om is used twice in this sentence. Are they serving the same grammatical purpose?
No, they mean two completely different things here! The first om means 'if' and introduces the conditional clause. The second om in the phrase om tio minuter means 'in' and is used to talk about an amount of time passing before a future event (in ten minutes).
Why is the main clause written as flyr kumpanen (flees the accomplice) rather than kumpanen flyr?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire 'if' clause (Om de skulle spärra gatan) counts as the first block of information. Therefore, the main verb flyr must be placed in the second position, directly after the comma, pushing the subject kumpanen to the third position.
Why does the sentence use the present tense flyr (flees) for an action that hasn't happened yet?