Conditional form of the verb
In English conditional is formed with the helping verb would (or sometimes could / should). Finnish language has it's own ending -isi for conditional. The ending is added between the stem and the personal ending as follows:
| stem | conditional ending | personal ending | other optional suffixes |
|---|---|---|---|
| kysy | isi | n | kö |
| would I ask | |||
| Present singular | Present plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| minä kysyisin | I would ask | me kysyisimme | we would ask |
| sinä kysyisit | you would ask | te kysyisitte | you would ask |
| hän kysyisi | he/she would ask | he kysyisivät | they would ask |
The stem is quite regular:
- if the stem ends with i, you drop it (no double i), for example voida: voin : voisin (I could).
- if the stem ends with a long vowel, it becomes short, for example jäädä : jään : jäisin (I would stay), especially in verb type 2.
- if the stem ends with e, you drop it, for example lukea: luen : lukisin (I would read), especially with verb type 3.
Negative conditional
The idea in negative conditional is the same as in "normal" negative sentence: you use the negative verb (en, et, ei...) and the main verb without the personal enging, but with the conditional ending -isi.
| Present singular | Present plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| minä en kysyisi | I wouldn't ask | me emme kysyisi | we wouldn't ask |
| sinä et kysyisi | you wouldn't ask | te ette kysyisi | you wouldn't ask |
| hän ei kysyisi | he/she wouldn't ask | he eivät kysy | they wouldn't ask |
When to use conditional?
Most typically conditinals are used in if-statements. Note, that in Finnish the verbs in both phrases are in contitional (unlike in English).
- Matkustaisin maailman ympäri, jos voittaisin lotossa.
- I would traval around the world, if I won in the lottery.
Conditional is also used when you want to be polite:
- Sulkisitko ikkunan.
- Would you close the window, please.
- Voisitko auttaa vähän?
- Could you help me a little?
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