хацеў бы

Polite Wishes with Хацеў Бы

Level 3Sounds Like haceŭ by

Я хацеў бы замовіць столік. (I would like to book a table.) A woman says Я хацела б ...

How It Works

Forms. This is the conditional of хацець:

  • хацеў бы: я or ты for a man, ён
  • хацела б: я or ты for a woman, яна
  • хацелі б: мы, яны, and вы (including polite вы to one person, see agreement with polite Вы)

The particle can also come first: Я б хацеў means the same as Я хацеў бы.

What follows.

  • An infinitive: Я хацеў бы замовіць столік. (I would like to book a table.)
  • A noun: Я хацела б кубак кавы. (I would like a cup of coffee.)
  • A wish about someone else, with каб and the past tense: Я хацеў бы, каб ты прыйшоў. (I would like you to come.) See каб with the past tense.

Asking politely. Што б вы хацелі замовіць? (What would you like to order?) Ці хацелі б вы паехаць з намі? (Would you like to come with us?) The same trick works with магчы: Вы не маглі б мне дапамагчы? (Could you help me?)

Examples (6)

  1. Я хацеў бы замовіць столік.

    I would like to book a table.

    Word by Word: I wanted would to-order table.

    Said by a man.

  2. Я хацела б кубак кавы.

    I would like a cup of coffee.

    Word by Word: I wanted would cup of-coffee.

    Said by a woman.

  3. Мы хацелі б пагаварыць з вамі.

    We would like to talk with you.

    Word by Word: We wanted would to-talk with you.

  4. Што б вы хацелі замовіць?

    What would you like to order?

    Word by Word: What would you wanted to-order?

    Б follows што, which ends in a vowel.

  5. Ці хацелі б вы паехаць з намі?

    Would you like to come with us?

    Word by Word: Whether wanted would you to-go with us?

  6. Я хацеў бы, каб ты прыйшоў на свята.

    I would like you to come to the party.

    Word by Word: I wanted would, that you came to celebration.

    After каб the verb is in the past tense.

Common Mistakes

  • A woman using the masculine form.

    Я хацеў бы кубак кавы.
    Я хацела б кубак кавы.

    When the speaker is a woman, the verb must be feminine: хацела. Хацеў is correct only for a man.

  • Writing бы after the vowel of хацела.

    Я хацела бы кубак кавы.
    Я хацела б кубак кавы.

    Хацела ends in a vowel, so the particle is б. Хацеў ends in the consonant ў, so it takes бы.

  • Using the present or future after каб.

    Я хацеў бы, каб ты прыйдзеш.
    Я хацеў бы, каб ты прыйшоў.

    When you wish something for another person, каб is followed by the past-tense form.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

хацеў быLevel 3Polite Wishes with Хацеў Бы

Learn This First

Polite wishes need the conditional and хацець.

Words in This Pattern

хацецьбыбкаб