Future & conditional
Future
Two of them, and which you use is decided by aspect.
- Imperfective: бу́ду + infinitive. Я бу́ду чита́ть. — I'll be reading, I'll read regularly.
- Perfective: just conjugate it. Я прочита́ю. — I'll read it through.
The perfective future uses present-tense endings, which is why it looks like a present. It is not.
| быть | |
|---|---|
| я | бу́ду |
| ты | бу́дешь |
| он | бу́дет |
| мы | бу́дем |
| вы | бу́дете |
| они́ | бу́дут |
Conditional
There is no conditional mood. Russian uses the past tense plus бы, and that is all.
Я сде́лал бы э́то. — I would do it / I would have done it.
The same form covers both, and only context separates them.
For a full conditional sentence, е́сли бы with the past in BOTH halves:
Е́сли бы я знал, я бы сказа́л. — If I had known, I would have said.
бы can float. It usually sits right after the verb or after е́сли, but it can attach to whatever is being emphasised, and it can appear with no verb at all: Мне бы ко́фе — "I'd like a coffee."
Politeness runs on it
The deferential frames all use this machinery, and usually with a negative in front:
- Не могли́ бы вы… — could you possibly
- Я бы хоте́л… — I would like
- Не подска́жете… — might you tell me
Imperative
- ты: чита́й, скажи́, иди́
- вы: add -те — чита́йте, скажи́те, иди́те
And the aspect matters here too: the imperfective imperative invites (сади́тесь, do sit down), while the perfective demands (сядь, sit). Getting this backwards can sound abrupt.
For "let's", use the perfective future in the мы form: Пойдём! — let's go.
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