Konditionaali <> The Conditional
The Conditional Present Tense <> Koditionaalin Preesens
Back in October 2012, after studying Finnish for about a month, I asked my teacher what the Finnish words are for would, could and should, expecting to get 3 simple words back that I could then write in my notebook and remember forever. He wasn't quite sure how to answer. I could tell that he didn't want to tell me the truth, that it's nowhere near as simple as that and that a new student like myself would be traumatised by the reality of the situation. He did however write something down in my book for me but I can't remember what it was, maybe I still have it somewhere, it would be interesting to see what he came up with.
The reality is this.
"I Could" can either be voisin, osaisin, pystyisin, kykenisin or saisin. These are all verbs that mean can (but all in different ways) put into the conditional present tense
And we've already gone over the word should in the section entitled "The Necessive". Remember? Kannatta and pitäisi??? You remember!
That leaves us with one word.... would.
Think for a moment about how this word is used in English. Let's look at some English sentences containing the word would:
I would like a cup of tea but I need all of my change for the bus.
We would go to the beach if it would stop raining.
The world would be a better place if people were not so greedy.
I would do anything for love but I won't do that.
I'd like you to take notice of 2 things. Firstly, after the word would, there is always a verb. And secondly, there are actually 2 sentences, joined together by either the word if or the word but.
In Finnish the structure of this kind of sentence is almost exactly the same, except instead of having one word meaning would, we alter the verb that in English would come after the word would.... Perhaps that's a little difficult to understand, let me show you with some simple examples:
Haluan (I want) becomes Haluaisin (I would like)
Luen (I read) becomes Lukisin (I would read)
Syömme (We eat) becomes Söisin (We would eat)
As you can see, the basic trait of the conditional tense is -isi-.
The Formation of the Conditional Present Tense / Konditionaalin Preesensin Rakenne
So you know already that we add -isi- to the verb. But how do we get there?
First you have to find the he form of the verb.
Then, just follow these simple rules:
a, ä, o, ö, u, y pysyvät (stay) +isi
puhua ---> he puhuvat ---> puhuisi- ---> minä puhuisin, sinä puhuisit, hän puhuisi
me puhuisimme, te puhuisitte, he puhuisivat
antaa ---> he antavat ---> antaisi- ---> minä antaisin, sinä antaisit, hän antaisi
me antaisimme, te antaisitte, he antaisivat
sanoa ---> he sanovat ---> sanoisi- ---> minä sanoisin. sinä sanoisit, hän sanoisi
me sanoisimme, te sanoisitte he sanoisivat
kysyä ---> he kysyvät ---> kysyisi- ---> minä kysyisin, sinä kysyisit, hän kysyisi
me kysyisimme, te kysyisitte, he kysyisivät
e, i, otetaan pois (take away) +isi
lukea ---> he lukevat ---> lukisi- ---> minä lukisin, sinä lukisit, hän lukisi
me lukisimme, te lukisitte, he lukisivat
hankkia ---> he hankkivat ---> hankkisi- ---> minä hankkisin, sinä hankkisit, hän hankkisi
me hankkisimme, te hankkisitte, he hankkisivat
valita ---> he valitsevat ---> valitsisi- ---> minä valitsisin, sinä valitsisit, hän valitsisi
me valitsisimme, te valitsisitte, he valitsisivat
opeskella ---> he opiskelevat ---> opiskelisi- ---> minä opiskelisin, sinä opiskelisit, hän opiskelisi
me opiskelisimme, te opiskelisitte, he opiskelisivat
juosta ---> he juoksevat ---> juoksisi- ---> minä juoksisin, sinä juoksisit, hän juoksisi
me juoksisimme, te juoksisitte, he juoksisivat
VV otetaan ensimmäinen vokaali pois +isi
syödä ---> he syövät ---> söisi- ---> minä söisin, sinä söisit, hän söisi
me söisimme, te söisitte,, he söisivät
viedä ---> he vievät ---> veisi- ---> minä veisin, sinä veisit, hän veisi
me veisimme, te veisitte, he veisivät
Vi +si
voida ---> he voivat ---> voisi- ---> minä voisin, sinä voisit, hän voisi
me voisimme, te voisitte, he voisivat
tupakoida ---> he tupakoivat ---> tupakoisi- ---> minä tupakoisin, sinä tupakoisit, hän tupakoisi
me tupakoisimme, te tupakoisitte, he tupakoisivat
Verbityyppi 4
2 samaa vokaalia = otetaan yksi pois +isi 2 vowels the same = Remove one +isi
pelata ---> he pelaavat ---> pelaisi- ---> minä pelaisin, sinä pelaisit, hän pelaisi
me pelaisimme, te pelaisitte, he pelaisivat
osata ---> he osaavat ---> osaisi- ---> minä osaisin, sinä osaisit, hän osaisi
me osaisimme, te osaisitte, he osaisivat
2 eri vokaalia = +isi 2 different vowels +isi
inhota ---> he inhoavat ---> inhoaisi- ---> minä inhoaisin, sinä inhoaisit, hän inhoaisi
me inhoaisimme, te inhoaisitte, he inhoaisivat
haluta ---> he haluavat ---> haluaisi- ---> minä haluaisin, sinä haluaisit, hän haluaisi
me haluaisimme, te haluaisitte, he haluaisivat
Huom!
The verb käydä is an exception to the rule. Käydä becomes kävisi-
Minä kävisin olueella sinun kanssa mutta minulla ei ole rahaa. I would come for a beer with you but I have no money.
And the Negative...
Simply remove the suffix that relates to the pronoun and of course remember to add en, et, ei, emme, ette or eivät
Olisin (I would be) becomes En olisi (I would not be)
Tekisit (You would do) becomes Et tekisi (You would not do)
Harjoittelisimme (We would practise) becomes Emme harjoittelisi (We would not practise)
He nauttisivat (They would enjoy) becomes He eivät nauttisi (They would not enjoy)
The Polite Conditional / Kohtelias Konditionaali
The conditional form is also used when you want to be polite. We do the same thing in English. We say "I would like" instead of "I want".
In Finnish, "Haluaisin" is more polite than "Haluan".
"Voisitko auttaa minua?" is more polite than "Voitko auttaa minua".
It's basically used in exactly the same way as in English :)
I'm pretty sure my teacher didn't write all that down in my book as a translation for would... But it doesn't matter now. Now you know how to form the conditional present tense. It's not really that difficult. Now let's move on to the conditional perfect tense.
The Conditional Perfect Tense / Konditionaalin Perfekti
If you're not sure what this is, here is an example in English:
I would have come home sooner if it hadn't rained.
Basically, you use this tense when talking about something the would have/would not have happened if something else would have/would not have happened.
The Formation of the Conditional Perfect Tense / Konditionaalin Perfektin Rakenne
This part is simple. It's the same as the normal perfect tense except that the verb "olla" is in the conditional present form.
For example:
Olen syönyt (I have eaten) becomes Olisin syönyt (I would have eaten)
Olet voittanut (You have won) becomes Olisit voittanut (You would have won)
Olemme keskustelleet (We have discussed) becomes Olisimme keskustelleet (We would have discussed)
He olivat päättäneet (They have decided) becomes He olisivat päättäneet (They would have decided)
And the Negative....
Just put the verb "olla" into the negative conditional present form.
En ole syönyt (I have not eaten) becomes En olisi syönyt (I would not have eaten)
Et ole voittanut (You have not won) becomes Et olisi voittanut. (You would not have won)
Emme ole keskustelleet (We have not discussed) becomes Emme olisi keskustelleet (We would not have discussed)
He eivät ole päättäneet (They have not decided) becomes He eivät olisi päättäneet (They would not have decided)
And there you have it. I'll give you a few sentences just to finish off.
Olisin rikas nyt jos olisin opiskellut ahkeraammin koulussa.
---> I would be rich now if I would have studied harder at school.
En söisi niin paljon jos minulla olisi työpaikka.
---> I wouldn't eat so much if I had a job.
Emme olisi muuttaneet pois Suomesta jos olisimme tienneet, että netissä on niin hyvä opettaja.
---> We wouldn't have moved away from Finland if we had known that there was such a good teacher on the internet.
Back in October 2012, after studying Finnish for about a month, I asked my teacher what the Finnish words are for would, could and should, expecting to get 3 simple words back that I could then write in my notebook and remember forever. He wasn't quite sure how to answer. I could tell that he didn't want to tell me the truth, that it's nowhere near as simple as that and that a new student like myself would be traumatised by the reality of the situation. He did however write something down in my book for me but I can't remember what it was, maybe I still have it somewhere, it would be interesting to see what he came up with.
The reality is this.
"I Could" can either be voisin, osaisin, pystyisin, kykenisin or saisin. These are all verbs that mean can (but all in different ways) put into the conditional present tense
And we've already gone over the word should in the section entitled "The Necessive". Remember? Kannatta and pitäisi??? You remember!
That leaves us with one word.... would.
Think for a moment about how this word is used in English. Let's look at some English sentences containing the word would:
I would like a cup of tea but I need all of my change for the bus.
We would go to the beach if it would stop raining.
The world would be a better place if people were not so greedy.
I would do anything for love but I won't do that.
I'd like you to take notice of 2 things. Firstly, after the word would, there is always a verb. And secondly, there are actually 2 sentences, joined together by either the word if or the word but.
In Finnish the structure of this kind of sentence is almost exactly the same, except instead of having one word meaning would, we alter the verb that in English would come after the word would.... Perhaps that's a little difficult to understand, let me show you with some simple examples:
Haluan (I want) becomes Haluaisin (I would like)
Luen (I read) becomes Lukisin (I would read)
Syömme (We eat) becomes Söisin (We would eat)
As you can see, the basic trait of the conditional tense is -isi-.
The Formation of the Conditional Present Tense / Konditionaalin Preesensin Rakenne
So you know already that we add -isi- to the verb. But how do we get there?
First you have to find the he form of the verb.
Then, just follow these simple rules:
a, ä, o, ö, u, y pysyvät (stay) +isi
puhua ---> he puhuvat ---> puhuisi- ---> minä puhuisin, sinä puhuisit, hän puhuisi
me puhuisimme, te puhuisitte, he puhuisivat
antaa ---> he antavat ---> antaisi- ---> minä antaisin, sinä antaisit, hän antaisi
me antaisimme, te antaisitte, he antaisivat
sanoa ---> he sanovat ---> sanoisi- ---> minä sanoisin. sinä sanoisit, hän sanoisi
me sanoisimme, te sanoisitte he sanoisivat
kysyä ---> he kysyvät ---> kysyisi- ---> minä kysyisin, sinä kysyisit, hän kysyisi
me kysyisimme, te kysyisitte, he kysyisivät
e, i, otetaan pois (take away) +isi
lukea ---> he lukevat ---> lukisi- ---> minä lukisin, sinä lukisit, hän lukisi
me lukisimme, te lukisitte, he lukisivat
hankkia ---> he hankkivat ---> hankkisi- ---> minä hankkisin, sinä hankkisit, hän hankkisi
me hankkisimme, te hankkisitte, he hankkisivat
valita ---> he valitsevat ---> valitsisi- ---> minä valitsisin, sinä valitsisit, hän valitsisi
me valitsisimme, te valitsisitte, he valitsisivat
opeskella ---> he opiskelevat ---> opiskelisi- ---> minä opiskelisin, sinä opiskelisit, hän opiskelisi
me opiskelisimme, te opiskelisitte, he opiskelisivat
juosta ---> he juoksevat ---> juoksisi- ---> minä juoksisin, sinä juoksisit, hän juoksisi
me juoksisimme, te juoksisitte, he juoksisivat
VV otetaan ensimmäinen vokaali pois +isi
syödä ---> he syövät ---> söisi- ---> minä söisin, sinä söisit, hän söisi
me söisimme, te söisitte,, he söisivät
viedä ---> he vievät ---> veisi- ---> minä veisin, sinä veisit, hän veisi
me veisimme, te veisitte, he veisivät
Vi +si
voida ---> he voivat ---> voisi- ---> minä voisin, sinä voisit, hän voisi
me voisimme, te voisitte, he voisivat
tupakoida ---> he tupakoivat ---> tupakoisi- ---> minä tupakoisin, sinä tupakoisit, hän tupakoisi
me tupakoisimme, te tupakoisitte, he tupakoisivat
Verbityyppi 4
2 samaa vokaalia = otetaan yksi pois +isi 2 vowels the same = Remove one +isi
pelata ---> he pelaavat ---> pelaisi- ---> minä pelaisin, sinä pelaisit, hän pelaisi
me pelaisimme, te pelaisitte, he pelaisivat
osata ---> he osaavat ---> osaisi- ---> minä osaisin, sinä osaisit, hän osaisi
me osaisimme, te osaisitte, he osaisivat
2 eri vokaalia = +isi 2 different vowels +isi
inhota ---> he inhoavat ---> inhoaisi- ---> minä inhoaisin, sinä inhoaisit, hän inhoaisi
me inhoaisimme, te inhoaisitte, he inhoaisivat
haluta ---> he haluavat ---> haluaisi- ---> minä haluaisin, sinä haluaisit, hän haluaisi
me haluaisimme, te haluaisitte, he haluaisivat
Huom!
The verb käydä is an exception to the rule. Käydä becomes kävisi-
Minä kävisin olueella sinun kanssa mutta minulla ei ole rahaa. I would come for a beer with you but I have no money.
And the Negative...
Simply remove the suffix that relates to the pronoun and of course remember to add en, et, ei, emme, ette or eivät
Olisin (I would be) becomes En olisi (I would not be)
Tekisit (You would do) becomes Et tekisi (You would not do)
Harjoittelisimme (We would practise) becomes Emme harjoittelisi (We would not practise)
He nauttisivat (They would enjoy) becomes He eivät nauttisi (They would not enjoy)
The Polite Conditional / Kohtelias Konditionaali
The conditional form is also used when you want to be polite. We do the same thing in English. We say "I would like" instead of "I want".
In Finnish, "Haluaisin" is more polite than "Haluan".
"Voisitko auttaa minua?" is more polite than "Voitko auttaa minua".
It's basically used in exactly the same way as in English :)
I'm pretty sure my teacher didn't write all that down in my book as a translation for would... But it doesn't matter now. Now you know how to form the conditional present tense. It's not really that difficult. Now let's move on to the conditional perfect tense.
The Conditional Perfect Tense / Konditionaalin Perfekti
If you're not sure what this is, here is an example in English:
I would have come home sooner if it hadn't rained.
Basically, you use this tense when talking about something the would have/would not have happened if something else would have/would not have happened.
The Formation of the Conditional Perfect Tense / Konditionaalin Perfektin Rakenne
This part is simple. It's the same as the normal perfect tense except that the verb "olla" is in the conditional present form.
For example:
Olen syönyt (I have eaten) becomes Olisin syönyt (I would have eaten)
Olet voittanut (You have won) becomes Olisit voittanut (You would have won)
Olemme keskustelleet (We have discussed) becomes Olisimme keskustelleet (We would have discussed)
He olivat päättäneet (They have decided) becomes He olisivat päättäneet (They would have decided)
And the Negative....
Just put the verb "olla" into the negative conditional present form.
En ole syönyt (I have not eaten) becomes En olisi syönyt (I would not have eaten)
Et ole voittanut (You have not won) becomes Et olisi voittanut. (You would not have won)
Emme ole keskustelleet (We have not discussed) becomes Emme olisi keskustelleet (We would not have discussed)
He eivät ole päättäneet (They have not decided) becomes He eivät olisi päättäneet (They would not have decided)
And there you have it. I'll give you a few sentences just to finish off.
Olisin rikas nyt jos olisin opiskellut ahkeraammin koulussa.
---> I would be rich now if I would have studied harder at school.
En söisi niin paljon jos minulla olisi työpaikka.
---> I wouldn't eat so much if I had a job.
Emme olisi muuttaneet pois Suomesta jos olisimme tienneet, että netissä on niin hyvä opettaja.
---> We wouldn't have moved away from Finland if we had known that there was such a good teacher on the internet.
