Verbs: Conditional Mood — Finnish Grammar

The conditional is the "would" form. It marks something as non-factual - a possibility, a wish, a hypothetical, or a polite request - rather than a plain statement of fact. In everyday Finnish its single most common job is making requests and offers sound polite, so it is worth learning early and using often.

Its signal is -isi- inserted between the stem and the personal ending: (I go) becomes (I would go). The usual person endings (-n, -t, -mme, -tte, -vat) remain, so the conditional reads just like the present with an extra -isi- slotted in.

How the Conditional Is Formed

mennä → menisin
to go → I would go
ostaa → ostaisin
to buy → I would buy
Mitä sinä tekisit?
What would you do?
He tulisivat mielellään.
They would gladly come.

Polite Requests and Offers

This is the standard way to soften a request, comparable to English "could you" and "I would like" in place of a blunt imperative. You will hear it constantly in shops, cafés and service situations, and using it makes you sound markedly more natural.

Voisitko auttaa minua?
Could you help me?
Haluaisin kupin kahvia.
I would like a cup of coffee.
Saisinko laskun?
Could I have the bill?
Voisimmeko tavata huomenna?
Could we meet tomorrow?

Hypothetical "if" Sentences

When the situation is imagined rather than real, both halves of the sentence usually take the conditional - unlike English, which keeps the past in the "if" clause. The conjunction means "if".

Jos minulla olisi aikaa, lukisin enemmän.
If I had time, I would read more.
Jos voittaisin, ostaisin talon.
If I won, I would buy a house.
Olisi mukavaa nähdä sinut.
It would be nice to see you.

Giving Advice

The conditional of "should" verbs softens advice, much like English "you should".

Sinun pitäisi levätä.
You should rest.
Meidän kannattaisi lähteä.
It would be worth our while to leave.

The Negative Conditional

En menisi sinne yksin.
I wouldn't go there alone.
Hän ei tekisi niin.
He/she wouldn't do that.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Finnish course

21 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 46. A few of them, with the words “Verbs: Conditional Mood” is about in bold:

Toivon, että olisit säästäväisempi.
I wish you were more frugal.
Lesson 328

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