Tutorial
In Course: Russian A2

Hypothetical Situations and Wishes with если бы

Learn how to talk about hypothetical and counterfactual situations using если бы and make polite requests with the particle бы in Russian.

A lone figure stands pensively at a fork in a winding forest path, one route leading into bright, open sunlight and the other disappearing into deep, misty shadows. The scene is captured as a photograph with soft, diffused light, evoking a sense of past decisions and imagined, alternative futures.
en-GB → ru-RU

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Deck Contents

41 Cards
Lesson#1
Russian uses the particle бы together with past-tense verbs to talk about imaginary situations, things that did not happen, and polite wishes. Unlike in English, where you change between 'would' and 'would have', Russian uses the same past-tense pattern for both present and past hypothetical thoughts. In this deck, you will learn to build these sentences and make everyday polite requests.
Lesson#2
To express an unreal condition, Russian combines the conjunction если with the particle бы, followed by a past-tense verb in both clauses. For example, 'Если бы у нас было время, мы бы помогли' means 'If we had time, we would help'.
Quiz#3
Translate into Russian: 'If we had time, we would help.'

Если бы у нас было время, мы бы помогли

Lesson#4
Because hypothetical sentences always use past-tense verbs, the verb must agree in gender and number with the subject. For a male speaker, the verb takes the masculine past ending. For example, 'Если бы я знал, я бы ответил' means 'If I knew, I would answer'.
Quiz#5
Speaking as a man, translate into Russian: 'If I knew, I would answer.'

Если бы я знал, я бы ответил

Lesson#6
A female speaker changes the past verb ending to 'А' in both clauses. For example, 'Если бы я знала, я бы позвонила' means 'If I knew, I would call'.

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