The Conditional

The Conditional in -čiau

116.The conditional — tariamoji nuosaka — is built from the infinitive stem with a -t- that appears as -č- before the first-person -iau, by the softening already seen in the past (¶95). It is a mood, not a tense: it says what would happen, and stands outside past, present and future alike.

Norėčiau kavos.

I should like some coffee. — genitive after *norėti* (¶39)

Ką tu darytum?

What would you do?

Būtų gerai.

That would be good.

The Conditional as Politeness

117.This is what the mood is chiefly for at A1. Norėčiau is I should like where noriu is the blunter I want, and gal galėtumėte is the standard formula for asking a stranger to do something. Set beside the particle gal (¶111) it gives the learner every degree of politeness the language ordinarily needs.

Norėčiau kavos su pienu.

I should like a coffee with milk.

Gal galėtumėte man padėti?

Could you help me?

Ar norėtumėte arbatos?

Would you like some tea?

Choosing between the Moods

118.The imperative tells; the conditional asks. Between an equal and a stranger the difference matters more in Lithuanian than the words themselves suggest: a bare imperative to a shop assistant is not rude, but a conditional to the same person is markedly courteous, and the learner who has only the imperative sounds abrupt without meaning to. Prašom — please — may be added to either and softens both.

Duok man vandens.

Give me some water. — to a friend

Prašom duoti vandens.

Some water, please. — *prašom* with the infinitive is a polite formula in itself

Norėčiau vandens.

I should like some water. — in a café, the ordinary way to order

The Conditional after Jeigu

118a.With jeigu the conditional says what would follow from an imagined state — if I had, if I were. Both halves of the sentence take the conditional when the condition is unreal or merely imagined: Jeigu turėčiau laiko, eičiau. The same jeigu with the indicative (¶108) remains the ordinary real condition (if I have time, I will go). The mood of the verbs, not the conjunction, tells the two apart.

Jeigu turėčiau pinigų, pirkčiau namą.

If I had money, I would buy a house.

Jeigu būčiau ten, padėčiau.

If I were there, I would help.

Jeigu aš turėčiau ilgus plaukus, būčiau laiminga.

If I had long hair, I would be happy.

• [1] At A1 it is enough to recognise and produce this pattern with common verbs (būti, turėti, norėti, galėti, eiti). Fuller mixed conditions belong later.