Verbs: Conditional Mood — Polish Grammar

The conditional mood is used to express hypothetical situations, wishes, or polite requests. It corresponds directly to the English auxiliary verb "would".

In this language, the conditional is formed by taking the past tense form of the verb, adding the particle , and attaching personal endings. Because it is constructed from the past tense, the verb endings change depending on the gender of the subject.

Singular Forms

In the singular, the form depends on whether the subject (the speaker or the person being addressed) is male or female.

Masculine Subjects

For male subjects, the verb stem ends in .

I (male) would:
You (male) would:
He would:

Zjadłbym to ciastko.
I would eat this cake.
Kupiłbyś ten samochód?
Would you buy this car?

Feminine Subjects

For female subjects, the verb stem ends in .

I (female) would:
You (female) would:
She would:

Poszłabym do kina.
I would go to the cinema.
Czy ona czytałaby tę książkę?
Would she read this book?

Neuter Subjects

Neuter subjects (usually referring to "it" or a child) use the ending .

Dziecko bawiłoby się tutaj.
The child would play here.

Plural Forms

In the plural, the distinction is not between male and female, but between "groups containing men" and "all other groups."

Virile (Men or Mixed Groups)

If the group "we", "you", or "they" includes at least one male person, use the stem.

We would:
You (plural) would:
They would:

Bylibyśmy szczęśliwi.
We would be happy.
Oni chcieliby to zobaczyć.
They would like to see it.

Non-Virile (Women, Objects, Animals)

If the group consists entirely of women, animals, or objects, use the stem.

We would:
You (plural) would:
They would:

Kobiety rozmawiałyby o pracy.
The women would talk about work.
Te rzeczy leżałyby na stole.
These things would lie on the table.

Polite Requests and Wishes

One of the most common uses of the conditional mood is to express politeness. Instead of saying "I want" (), which can sound demanding, speakers use the conditional form "I would like" ( or ).

Chciałbym zamówić kawę.
I would like to order a coffee.
Chciałabym o to zapytać.
I would like to ask about this.

Hypothetical "If" Clauses

The conditional particle is often attached to the conjunction (when/if) to create . This is used to form hypothetical "if" statements. In these cases, the particle moves away from the verb and attaches to the start of the clause.

Gdybym miał czas, pojechałbym tam.
If I had time, I would go there.
Byłoby miło, gdybyś przyszedł.
It would be nice if you came.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Polish course

9 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 312. A few of them, with the words “Verbs: Conditional Mood” is about in bold:

Chciałabym, żebyś był bardziej oszczędny.
I wish you were more frugal.
Lesson 328

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