- Voisiko joku auttaa minua? - Could someone help me?
- Maksaisin, jos minulla olisi rahaa. - I'd pay if I had money.
- Tulisin, jos en olisi sairas. - I'd come if I wasn't ill.
- Olisipa jo kesä! - I wish it was summer already!
Forming the conditional mood in Finnish is quite simple: just put
isi between the verb stem and the
personal ending. If there is a consonant change in the verb, use the strong grade: make the 3rd person plural and drop the
vat or
vät before
isi.
- nukkua: he nukkuvat - they sleep
- nukkuisin - I would sleep
- nukkuisit - you would sleep
- nukkuisi - s/he would sleep
- nukkuisimme - we would sleep (Spoken language: me nukuttaisiin)
- nukkuisitte - you would sleep
- nukkuisivat - they would sleep
Pay attention to the vowel changes:
O, u, y, a and ä don't change:
- sanoa, sanovat: sanoisin - I would say
- puhua, puhuvat: puhuisin - I would speak
- haluta, haluavat: haluaisin - I would want
- kysyä, kysyvät: kysyisin - I would ask
- antaa, antavat: antaisin - I would give
- päättää, päättävät: päättäisin - I would decide
E and i go away:
- lukea, lukevat: lukisin - I would read
- opiskella, opiskelevat: opiskelisin - I would study
- uida, uivat: uisin - I would swim
- oppia, oppivat: oppisin - I would learn
Long vowel is shortened:
- jäädä, jäävät: jäisin - I would stay
- saada, saavat: saisin - I would get
Certain verb type 2 verbs have a special vowel change, just like in the past tense.
- juoda, juovat: joisin - I would drink
- syödä, syövät: söisin - I would stay
- viedä, vievät: veisin - I would take
Perfect tense
Conditional can also be in
perfect tense. Then you only change the verb
olla into conditional and leave the rest in the
NUT form.
- Olisin maksanut, jos minulla olisi ollut rahaa. - I would have payed, if I had had money.
- Hän olisi tullut, jos hän ei olisi ollut sairas. - He would have come, if he hadn't been sick.
- Olisipa eilen ollut parempi ilma! - I wish it had been a better weather yesterday!
Passive voice
There is also such thing as
passive conditional, and that brings in all the
spoken language madness:
- Mitä tänään syötäisiin? - What should we eat today?
- Suomessa syötäisiin enemmän luomuruokaa, jos se ei olisi niin kallista. - People would eat more organic food in Finland, if it wasn't so expensive.
- Me maksettaisiin tämä, jos meillä olisi rahaa. = Me maksettais tää, jos meillä olis rahaa. - We'd pay this, if we had money.
- Me oltaisiin maksettu tämä, jos meillä olisi ollut rahaa. = Me oltais maksettu tää, jos meillä ois ollu rahaa. - We would have paid this, if we had had money.
Useful links and songs:
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– Hanna