Chapter 07 · would, could, should — and Polish politeness
The conditional
bym, byś, by
The conditional is built on the past tense with one small piece added: by plus a personal ending. It covers English “would”, “could” and “should”, and it is also the main way Polish softens a request. Once you can build the past, you already have most of it.
The shape of it
Take the past-tense form and add -by, then the personal ending on the end of that. The gender of the past form stays, so the conditional reports the speaker exactly as the past does.
| Past | + by | Conditional | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| pisałem | + bym | pisałbym | I (a man) would write |
| pisałam | + bym | pisałabym | I (a woman) would write |
| pisałeś | + byś | pisałbyś | you (a man) would write |
| pisałaś | + byś | pisałabyś | you (a woman) would write |
| pisał | + by | pisałby | he would write |
| pisała | + by | pisałaby | she would write |
| pisaliśmy | + by | pisalibyśmy | we (with a man) would write |
| pisałyśmy | + by | pisałybyśmy | we (women) would write |
| pisaliby | + — | pisaliby | they (with a man) would write |
| robić — to do, to make impf | |
|---|---|
| Present | |
| ja | robię |
| ty | robisz |
| on / ona / ono | robi |
| my | robimy |
| wy | robicie |
| oni / one | robią |
| Past | |
| ja (masc.) | robiłem |
| ja (fem.) | robiłam |
| ty (masc.) | robiłeś |
| ty (fem.) | robiłaś |
| on | robił |
| ona | robiła |
| ono | robiło |
| my (masc. persons) | robiliśmy |
| my (other) | robiłyśmy |
| wy (masc. persons) | robiliście |
| wy (other) | robiłyście |
| oni | robili |
| one | robiły |
| Imperative | |
| ty | rób |
| my | róbmy |
| wy | róbcie |
| Conditional | |
| ja (masc.) | robiłbym |
| ja (fem.) | robiłabym |
| ty (masc.) | robiłbyś |
| ty (fem.) | robiłabyś |
| on | robiłby |
| ona | robiłaby |
| ono | robiłoby |
| my (masc. persons) | robilibyśmy |
| my (other) | robiłybyśmy |
| wy (masc. persons) | robilibyście |
| wy (other) | robiłybyście |
| oni | robiliby |
| one | robiłyby |
Every form from Wiktionary.
Read the long forms from the right: pisa-ła-by-śmy is pisał + feminine -a + conditional -by + -śmy (we). Every piece means one thing and they always come in that order. Nothing is fused or hidden.
bym can stand on its own
The particle does not have to be glued to the verb. In writing and in careful speech it often moves to the front of the clause, attached to another word — usually ja, ty, or the word that carries the emphasis.
| Glued to the verb | Standing apart | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Zrobiłbym to. | Ja bym to zrobił. | I would do it. |
| Zrobiłbyś to? | Czy ty byś to zrobił? | Would you do it? |
| Poszlibyśmy. | My byśmy poszli. | We would go. |
| Chciałbym kawę. | Ja bym chciał kawę. | I would like a coffee. |
The glued form (zrobiłbym) is the one to learn first and the one you will see most in writing. The separated form is what you hear constantly in speech, and it is useful when you want to stress who: Ja bym to zrobił — I would do it, not you.
chciałbym — the politest word in the language
Chcę (I want) is direct. Chciałbym / chciałabym (I would like) is what you say in a shop, a restaurant, an office — anywhere you are asking rather than demanding.
| Direct | Polite | Situation |
|---|---|---|
| Chcę kawę. | Chciałbym kawę. / Chciałabym kawę. | ordering in a café |
| Chcę zapytać. | Chciałbym zapytać. | starting a question at a counter |
| Chcesz iść? | Czy chciałbyś iść? | inviting someone |
| Chcemy płacić. | Chcielibyśmy zapłacić. | asking for the bill |
A man says chciałbym, a woman says chciałabym — always about themselves, whoever they are speaking to. A woman ordering coffee says Chciałabym kawę, never chciałbym.
“could” and “should”
English has separate words for these. Polish uses the conditional of móc and musieć, or of a plain verb with a softener.
| English | Polish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Could you help me? | Czy mógłbyś mi pomóc? / Czy mógłby pan mi pomóc? | gendered: mógłbyś to a man, mogłabyś to a woman |
| I could do it. | Mógłbym to zrobić. / Mogłabym to zrobić. | past form of móc + by |
| You should rest. | Powinieneś odpocząć. / Powinnaś odpocząć. | powinien is a separate word, not a conditional |
| We should go. | Powinniśmy iść. | agrees in gender like an adjective |
| It would be better… | Byłoby lepiej… | neuter conditional for impersonal “it” |
Powinienem, powinieneś, powinien, powinniśmy mean “should” and behave like an adjective with gender. Do not try to add by to them — powinienbym is not a word.
“If” — gdyby and jeśli
Polish distinguishes a real condition from an imagined one. Jeśli (or jeżeli) introduces something that may well happen. Gdyby introduces something that is not the case — and it already contains by, so the verb after it does not take another.
| Type | Polish | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| real | Jeśli będzie padać, zostanę w domu. | If it rains, I'll stay at home. |
| imagined | Gdybym miał czas, poszedłbym. | If I had time, I would go. (I don't.) |
| imagined, woman | Gdybym miała czas, poszłabym. | same, said by a woman |
| imagined, plural | Gdybyśmy mieli czas, poszlibyśmy. | If we had time, we would go. |
Gdybym bym is wrong: gdyby already carries the particle. Say Gdybym miał czas, not Gdybym miałbym czas. This is the commonest conditional mistake there is.
The conditional has only two tenses
Polish has a present conditional (zrobiłbym — I would do) and a past conditional (byłbym zrobił — I would have done). The past conditional is bookish and rare in speech; the present conditional covers almost everything, and context does the rest.
| Form | Example | Register |
|---|---|---|
| present conditional | Zrobiłbym to. | everyday — “I would do it” |
| past conditional | Byłbym to zrobił. | literary; in speech people use the present conditional |
Learn the present conditional properly and treat the past conditional as recognition only. You will meet it in books. You will almost never need to produce it.
Five traps
What to take away
- Conditional = past form + by + the personal ending: pisałbym, pisałabyś, pisalibyśmy.
- The particle can stand alone in front: Ja bym to zrobił.
- Chciałbym / chciałabym is the everyday polite “I would like”.
- Gdyby already contains by — never add a second one.
- “Should” is powinien / powinna / powinni, which takes no by.
Drills
Flashcards
Each card asks for a conditional form. Mind who is speaking.
A 7-day plan
Fifteen minutes a day. Tick the boxes as you go — the ticks are saved.