We use the conditional tense to express:
- wishes and requests, for example: Jak dorosnę chciałbym być strażakiem. (When I grow up, I would like to be a fireman.)
- hypothetical conditions, for example: Zrobiłabym zakupy, gdybym miała pieniądze. (I would do shopping if I had some money.)
- polite commands, for example: Mógłbyś zrobić mi herbatę? (Could you make me a cup of tea?)
To create the conditional tense we use the third person singular and plural of the past tense. This table should help us understand the conditional tense formula:
| Conditional Tense = Past Tense + bym (m, -ś, -śmy, -ście) | |||
| chciałby (would) | mógłby (could) | ||
| I | ja (m) (f) | chciałbym chciałabym | mógłbym mogłabym |
| you | ty (m) (f) | chciałbyś chciałabyś | mógłbyś mogłabyś |
| he she it | on ona ono | chciałby chciałaby chciałoby | mógłby mogłaby mogłoby |
| we | my (m) (non-masculine ) | chcielibyśmy chciałybyśmy | moglibyśmy mogłybyśmy |
| you pl. | wy (m) (non-masculine ) | chcielibyście chciałybyście | moglibyście mogłybyśmy |
| they | oni (m) (non-masculine ) | chcieliby chciałyby | mogliby mogłyby |
Most of the verbs used in the conditional tense are used in their perfective form as the speaker imagines the action to be completed.
The ending bym is mobile and changes position as it can stand by itself in the sentence. It often joins with a particle czy or conjunction gdy. More often, however, bym joins with a verb which sounds more natural.