# Swedish, unreal past



## 16846516

I wonder if the unreal past works the same way in Swedish as in English.

for example:
1. Hon ser ut som om hon är sjuk = She looks as if she is sick. (she looks sick)
2. Hon ser ut som om hon var sjuk =  She looks as if she was sick. (she looks sick but she isn't sick)

Are the sentences correctly translated?


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## MattiasNYC

"She looks as if she was sick. (she looks sick but she isn't sick)"

I don't think your explanation in the parenthesis is correct. If "she looks as if she _was_ sick", then that doesn't mean that she _currently_ looks sick. Maybe think of a situation where you eat something bad and then can't eat but have to vomit, sweat a lot, and go to the bathroom a lot. So you lose weight (mostly liquids). Then when you're well perhaps you're less pale and look "not sick" but like you're struggling with the after-effects of _having been_ sick. So you can "look as if you _were_ sick". 

So I'm not sure I agree with your interpretation of the English version. I think you might be translating the Swedish to English correctly, but I don't think it's actually "unreal past". I found this explanation.


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## MattiasNYC

From that website with my translation:

_"Supposing an elephant and a mouse *fell *in love." - "Låt säga att en elefant och en mus *blev *kära,"_


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## 16846516

Okay. Could you tell me another way to say that she looks sick but she isn't sick in Swedish, if "Hon ser ut som om hon var sjuk" doesn't mean it? Thanks for your help.
EDIT: I think that I'm trying to say "Hon ser ut som om hon *vore* sjuk." Can't I replace *vore* with *var*? I think it's allowed to do.


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## AutumnOwl

No, if you use "var sjuk" (on kipeä), while "vore sjuk" (olisi kipeä).


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## Warped

I could have said something like, "Hon ser sjuk ut fast hon inte är det."


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## 16846516

Interesting. So the whole way of saying this "as if" conditional has died at the same time when people stopped using *vore *(which can be replaced in some of the conditional sentences). In English, the "as if" conditional is used the same way as in the second sentence. Now, it makes sense why MattiasNYC thought that I wasn't talking about an unreal scenario. Should've written *vore* instead of *var*! Also, there's a very interesting conversation about "as if" conditionals which you may want to check out. Keep learning guys and thanks for your answers!  link


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## MattiasNYC

I think another thing is that your example may not be the best one, meaning we might use something more idiomatic rather than translate it the way you want to (even if that's possible). So it becomes difficult to give a good answer, intuitively. That's why I actually used a different example in Swedish. I think if I really wanted to say that she looks sick but isn't I'd just say "Hon _ser_ sjuk ut." I think it's implied in the words chosen that it's not certain that she actually is sick, just that she looks that way.


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## 16846516

The point wasn't to find the best possible translation. I wanted to know if the unreal past ("as if" conditional) is used the same way in Swedish and looks like it isn't used the same way if we don't take into account *vore. *If you aren't familiar with the "as if" conditional, you should do some research on Google. Maybe it'll help you to interpret the second sentence in a different way that doesn't seem to be used in Swedish. Thanks.


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## MattiasNYC

I don't think you're understanding me. I know the point wasn't to find the best possible translation, I'm saying that because it wasn't the best possible or even possibly the most idiomatic, you might not have gotten the best answer to your actual question.

As for "as if" conditionals, did you read the page I linked to? Obviously I think I understand conditionals within this context, and that's why I linked to that page.

Lastly, you say that it "looks like it isn't used the same way" in Swedish, yet I did in my second post give you a hypothetical example where it was - using a conditional.

So, yes it's used as a conditional in Swedish as well.


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## 16846516

1. The page you linked doesn't even contain words "*as if"*
2. Yes, I said that it isn't used the same way. If "Hon ser ut som om hon *var* sjuk = She looks as if she *was* sick ≠ hon ser ut som om hon *vore* sjuk", then it clearly isn't used the same way.
3. The fact that I said "The point wasn't to find the best possible translation." has nothing to do with the way I interpreted your message.


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## MattiasNYC

16846516 said:


> 1. The page you linked doesn't even contain words "*as if"*
> 2. Yes, I said that it isn't used the same way. If "Hon ser ut som om hon *var* sjuk = She looks as if she *was* sick ≠ hon ser ut som om hon *vore* sjuk", then it clearly isn't used the same way.
> 3. The fact that I said "The point wasn't to find the best possible translation." has nothing to do with the way I interpreted your message.



1. But it still talks about conditionals.
2. This is the conclusion of yours that I think is incorrect. "som om han/hon var" is used in Swedish.
3. Ok, what were you trying to say then?


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## 16846516

After thinking about our conversation for a moment, I think it's time to end it. Let's be real here, this is just a waste of time. Have a good day.


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## MattiasNYC

What a terrible attitude. I was trying to help.

here are examples of the conditional "som om han var"

Han kände sig *som om han var* den mest ensamme i hela världen.
Han pratade oavbrutet och han uppträdde* som om han var *osårbar
*Som om han var* en spelande psykoanalys.
PK drabbades av samma känsla igen: *som om han var* sjuk, som om det var hål i hans huvud
Hans otidigheter vrålades ut precis *som om han var* besatt av onda andar.

and so on.........

They all look like "unreal past" to me, and translate to "as if". What am I misunderstanding here?


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## 16846516

Excellent! That's what I'm looking for. I'm not sure what you're misunderstanding, but I'm misunderstanding why "She looks as if she was sick" can't be translated to Swedish in the same way. Could you tell me? If we replaced every single *var *with *vore* in those sentences, wouldn't it mean the same? It feels very good that we're finally starting to understand each other. 
EDIT: But wait, there's a problem. I'm talking about these kind of sentences "Han *känner* sig *som om han var* den mest ensamme i hela världen." --> "Han *känner* sig *som om han vore* den mest ensamme i hela världen." According to English grammar, those sentences mean the same. That's the problem.

"He feels as if he *were* the loneliest in the whole world." = "Han *känner* sig *som om han vore* den mest ensamme i hela världen.", because both of the verbs are in the subjunctive mood.

Have fun. I have to go to bed now because it's midnight. Bye.


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