EasyCroatian_r47.an

Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 39 Would, Could: Condionals 231 / 600
spellings nebi and like.
To make questions in conditional, just use the normal methods. When the
conditional verb is used in questions, it can be placed at the first position.
Conditional is frequently used in short negative responses, when someone is asked if
he or she wants to do something:
Hoćeš u kino A ? Do you want to go to the cinema? ®
htjeti pres-2
— Ne bih, hvala. I wouldn’t, thanks.
There’s a construction in Croatian that corresponds to the English preference
construction:
cond + radije ... nego ... would rather ... than ...
Both parts – after radije and nego are in conditional, but the conditional verb is not
repeated in the second part. The word radije can be shuffled around a bit, but nego
cannot:
Radije bih čitao knjigu A nego gledao televiziju A . I’d rather read a book than watch
TV.
Pay attention how the verb after nego is also in past forms: both parts are in
conditional, just the second bih is left out.
In both Croatian and English, the verb in the second part is left out if it’s repeated,
however, you have to pay attention to use the right case in Croatian:
Radije bih pio čaj A nego kavu A . I’d rather drink tea than coffee. ®
You can even leave the verb completely if you would like to get something:
Radije bih čaj A nego kavu A .
This is also often used in short responses:
Želiš li kavu A ? Do you want coffee?
— Radije bih čaj A . I’d prefer tea.
Conditionals are also used in special, conditional sentences, corresponding to English
"if I were... I would". They are described in 70 If I Were: Conditional Sentences.
(There’s another form, so-called past conditional, but it’s very rare in everyday
communication. It will be covered in 99 Aorist Tense and Other Marginal Features.)
________
® In Serbian grammars, the conditional is often called potential. The forms are the
same.
Instead of infinitives, in Serbia, especially in speech, da + present prevails, so
examples would usually look like:
Mogu da jedem. I can eat.
moći pres-1 | jesti