Conditional
chtěl bych, mohl bys, kdybych…
In short
To say "would", take the past -l form and add bych / bys / by / bychom / byste. It's also the polite way to ask for things, so you'll use it a lot.
- Chtěl bych kávu.I would like a coffee.
- Mohl bys mi pomoct?Could you help me?
- To by bylo skvělé.That would be great.
- Kdybych měl čas, šel bych.If I had time, I'd go.
Full explanation
Here's the recipe: the -l form of the verb + bych / bys / by / bychom / byste / by.
| já | bych | my | bychom |
| ty | bys | vy | byste |
| on/ona | by | oni | by |
- Perfect for polite requests: Chtěl bych kávu. (I'd like a coffee.) · Mohl byste mi pomoct? (Could you help me?)
- For "if" sentences, use kdyby-: kdybych, kdybys, kdyby, kdybychom, kdybyste. Kdybych měl čas, šel bych do kina.
- bych, bys… like to sit in second place in the sentence.
In everyday speech you'll often hear bysme instead of bychom. That's fine for chatting, but stick to bychom when you write.