Slovak conditionals
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Sign up for freeThere are 2 forms of conditional mode in Slovak language. The one in present tense and past tense. Even though the conditional mode in past tense is used very rarely, and is mistakenly replaced by conditional in present tense, we will show you how both of them look like!
Lesson outline
HideConditional in present tense
Conditional in present tense is created by the verb in past tense together with a particle "by", which is kind of similar to "would" and an auxilliary verb.
verb in past tense + "by" + auxilliary verb
Examples:
- Cestoval by som. = I would travel.
- Spala by som. = I would sleep.
- Prišli by ste? = Would you come?
Note that when there is a subject present in the sentence, the order changes:
subject + "by" + auxiliary verb + verb in past tense
Let´s have a look on an example conjugation of the verb nosiť - to carry.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ja by som nosil (m.), ja by som nosila (f.) | my by sme nosili |
| 2. | ty by si nosil (m.), ty by si nosila (f.) | vy by ste nosili |
| 3. | on by nosil (m.), ona by nosila (f.), ono by nosilo (n.) | oni by nosili |
Here are some more examples - note how the presence of the subject changes the order:
- Skočil by do vody. = He would jump to the water.
- Jano by skočil do vody. = Jano would jump to the water.
- Išli by sme autobusom. = We would go by bus.
- Ja a môj brat by sme išli autobusom. = Me and my brother would go by bus.
- Robili by ste prezentáciu? = Would you do the presentation?
- Kolegovia by robili prezentáciu. = The colleagues would do the presentation.
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Conditional in past tense
Conditional in past tense is rarely used. You can find it mainly in the literature or used among the older generation.
This is how it is created:
past tense of byť + by + auxiliary verb + past tense of main verb
Examples:
- Bol by sa utopil. = He would have drown.
- Boli by ste našli poklad. = You would have found a treasure.
- Boli by sme spievali. = We would have sang.
Note that when there is a subject present in the sentence, the order changes:
subject + "by" + auxiliary verb + past tense of byť + verb in past tense
Let´s have a look on an example conjugation of the verb piť - to drink.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ja by som bol pil (m.), ja by som bola pila (f.) | my by sme boli pili |
| 2. | ty by si bol pil (m.), ty by si bola pila (f.) | vy by ste boli pili |
| 3. | on by bol pil (m.), ona by bola pila (f.), ono by bolo pilo (n.) | oni by boli pili |
Here are some more examples - note how the presence of the subject changes the order:
- Bola by som ťa navštívila. = I would have visited you.
- Ja by som ťa bola navštívila. = I would have visited you.
- Nebola by išla do kina. = She wouldn't have gone to the cinema.
- Alena by nebola išla do kina. = Alena wouldn´t have gone to the cinema.
- Boli by sme napísali čoskoro. = We would have written soon.
- Ja a moja sestra by sme boli napísali čoskoro. = Me and my sister would have written soon.