Unreal Conditions With Hvis

Level 3

Danish uses 'tense backshifting' to express unreal conditions. For the present, use the past tense. For the past, use the pluperfect.

How It Works

In Danish, hvis (if) clauses can describe both real possibilities and unreal (counterfactual) scenarios. To signal that something is purely hypothetical, we use a 'backshift' in tense.

1. Unreal Present (Counterfactual Now)
To talk about something that is not true right now (e.g., 'If I were rich...'), use the past tense in the hvis-clause. This includes regular verbs ending in -ede or -te, as well as strong verbs (irregular past forms). In the main clause, use ville + infinitive.
Example: Hvis jeg havde tid, ville jeg hjælpe dig.

2. Unreal Past (Counterfactual Then)
To talk about something that didn't happen in the past, use the pluperfect in the hvis-clause. In the main clause, use ville have + participle (or ville være + participle for certain verbs of motion).
Example: Hvis du havde spurgt, ville jeg have hjulpet dig.
Example: Hvis han var kommet, ville vi være gået i biografen.

3. Word Order and the 'så' Crutch
Because of the V2 rule, if you start with the hvis-clause, the main clause must start with the verb. To make this easier, Danes often use så (then) to bridge the two clauses.
Example: Hvis det regner, så bliver vi hjemme.
In the hvis-clause itself, ikke must come before the verb.

4. Conditional Inversion (Hvis-less clauses)
You can also express a condition by omitting hvis and starting with the verb (inversion). This is common in both spoken and written Danish for emphasis.
Example: Havde jeg vidst det, var jeg ikke kommet. (Had I known that, I wouldn't have come.)

Examples (4)

  1. Hvis jeg vandt i lotto, ville jeg rejse jorden rundt.

    If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.

    Word by Word: If I won in lottery, would I travel world around.

    This is an unreal present condition. The past tense 'vandt' shows it is a hypothetical scenario.

  2. Hvis det ikke regnede, kunne vi gå en tur.

    If it weren't raining, we could go for a walk.

    Word by Word: If it not rained, could we go a walk.

    Note that 'ikke' comes before the verb 'regnede' in the subordinate clause.

  3. Hvis jeg havde vidst det, ville jeg have sagt noget.

    If I had known that, I would have said something.

    Word by Word: If I had known it, would I have said something.

    This is an unreal past condition using the pluperfect 'havde vidst'.

  4. Ville du hjælpe mig, hvis jeg bad om det?

    Would you help me if I asked for it?

    Word by Word: Would you help me, if I asked about it?

    When the main clause comes first, there is no inversion in the main clause, but the 'hvis' clause still uses the past tense for the hypothetical.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting V2 inversion in the main clause.

    Hvis jeg var rig, jeg ville købe et hus.
    Hvis jeg var rig, ville jeg købe et hus.

    When the 'hvis' clause comes first, it occupies the first position. The verb 'ville' must come second.

  • Using 'hvis' for indirect questions (meaning 'whether').

    Jeg ved ikke, hvis han kommer.
    Jeg ved ikke, om han kommer.

    Use 'om' for 'whether'. 'Hvis' is only used for conditional 'if' statements.

  • Placing 'ikke' after the verb in the 'hvis' clause.

    Hvis jeg var ikke træt, ville jeg komme.
    Hvis jeg ikke var træt, ville jeg komme.

    In Danish subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like 'ikke' must come before the finite verb.

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Unreal Conditions With HvisLevel 3

Learn This First

To learn unreal hvis-clauses, you must first understand how to form basic conditional sentences with 'hvis'. You also need a strong grasp of past and pluperfect tenses, as Danish uses the past tense to indicate a hypothetical present and the pluperfect to indicate a hypothetical past. Finally, you must know how to use 'ville' and 'ville have' to express the hypothetical consequences in the main clause.

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hvis