et + Conditional

Asking Someone to (Et + Conditional)

Level 4

Ma tahan, et sa jääksid means I want you to stay. The wished action goes in the conditional.

How It Works

After verbs such as tahtma (want), paluma (ask), soovima (wish), soovitama (advise) and nõudma (demand), the wished action goes in an et-clause with the conditional:

  • Ma tahan, et sa jääksid. (I want you to stay.)
  • Ema palus, et ma tuleksin koju. (Mom asked me to come home.)

The conditional ending matches the new subject: ma tuleksin, sa tuleksid, ta tuleks, me tuleksime. The short form without an ending is also correct: et sa jääks.

For a negative wish, use ei with the -ks form: Me palume, et te ei suitsetaks siin.

If the person who wants and the person who acts are the same, no et-clause is needed: Ma tahan jääda. (I want to stay.)

With some verbs you can also use the da-infinitive: Ema palus mul koju tulla. The et-clause works with every verb in this group.

Examples (6)

  1. Ma tahan, et sa jääksid.

    I want you to stay.

    Word by Word: I want that you would-stay

  2. Ema palus, et ma tuleksin koju.

    Mom asked me to come home.

    Tuleksin matches ma, the person asked.

  3. Ma ei taha, et sa ära läheksid.

    I don't want you to leave.

  4. Arst soovitas, et ma puhkaksin rohkem.

    The doctor advised me to rest more.

  5. Õpetaja nõuab, et kõik tuleksid õigel ajal.

    The teacher demands that everyone come on time.

    Kõik (everyone) is plural, so the verb is tuleksid.

  6. Me palume, et te ei suitsetaks siin.

    We ask that you do not smoke here.

    A negative wish uses ei and the -ks form.

Common Mistakes

  • Copying the English want someone to do pattern.

    Ma tahan sind jääda.
    Ma tahan, et sa jääksid.

    Tahtma cannot take a person plus an infinitive. Use et, the new subject and a conditional verb.

  • Matching the ending to the wrong person.

    Ema palus, et ma tuleksid koju.
    Ema palus, et ma tuleksin koju.

    The ending belongs to the subject of the et-clause. With ma, use -ksin.

How It Connects

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et + ConditionalLevel 4Asking Someone to (Et + Conditional)

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Requests put the conditional after et.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

et