Conditional mood
- The conditional mood in Russian is expressed with a complex
sentence that consist of a conditional clause and a subjunctive
clause.
- The conditional clause begins with the conjunction если бы, followed by
the verb in the past tense.
- The subjunctive clause has a verb in the past tense and the particle бы.
- The sentence can begin with either clause:
Если бы у меня были деньги, я поехал бы на юг.
If I had money, i would go to the south.
or,
Я поехал бы на юг, если бы у меня были деньги.
I would go to the south, if I had money.
- The conditional mood in Russian expresses
unreal conditions. The action in the subjunctive clause cannot take
place because the condition in the conditional clause cannot be
realized.
- Russian also has conditional expressions with
conditional clauses that are realizable. These complex sentences do
not use the particle бы.
Я тебе позвоню, если ты будешь дома.
I'll call you, if you are at home.
Если будет хорошая погода, мы поедем в парк.
If the weather is nice, we'll go to the park.
- In these sentences, the condition in the conditional clause upon which the
situation in the main clause depends is possible, realizable.