lyg / tarsi + conditional

As if with Lyg and Tarsi

Level 4

Lyg and tarsi mean as if or as though. This pattern uses the conditional: Jis kalba taip, lyg viską žinotų (He talks as if he knew everything).

How It Works

1. The pattern. Say what really happens, add a comma, then lyg or tarsi and a verb in the conditional:

  • Jis kalba taip, lyg viską žinotų. (He talks as if he knew everything.)
  • Ji žiūrėjo į mane, tarsi manęs nepažinotų. (She looked at me as if she did not know me.)

The word taip (so, in such a way) often comes before the comma, but it is not required.

2. The verb follows the person. The conditional has a form for each person: būčiau, būtum, būtų, būtume, būtumėte. Choose the one that fits the subject of the as-if clause: Elgiesi taip, tarsi būtum vaikas (You are behaving as if you were a child). See The Conditional Mood.

3. Past, present and earlier. The simple conditional does not show time by itself. The surrounding context, including the main verb, helps locate it in time: Atrodo, tarsi niekas nevyktų (It seems as if nothing were happening) and Atrodė, tarsi niekas nevyktų (It seemed as if nothing were happening). For something that would have happened earlier, use the past conditional: Jis atrodė taip, lyg būtų visą naktį nemiegojęs (He looked as if he had not slept all night).

4. Common frames. As-if clauses often follow taip (so), atrodo (it seems) and jaučiuosi (I feel): Jaučiuosi, lyg būčiau namie (I feel as if I were at home).

5. Before a single word. Lyg and tarsi can also stand before just a noun or a phrase, with no verb. Then they mean like, and there is no conditional: Ji dainuoja lyg lakštingala (She sings like a nightingale). This is close to kaip. The words tarytum and tartum mean the same as tarsi and belong to literary style; see Literary As If.

Examples (6)

  1. Jis kalba taip, lyg viską žinotų.

    He talks as if he knew everything.

    Word by Word: He talks so, as-if everything would-know.

    Žinotų is the conditional of žinoti (to know).

  2. Atrodė, tarsi niekas nevyktų.

    It seemed as if nothing were happening.

    Niekas takes a negated verb, here the conditional nevyktų.

  3. Ji žiūrėjo į mane, lyg manęs nepažinotų.

    She looked at me as if she did not know me.

    The negated verb puts its object in the genitive: manęs.

  4. Elgiesi taip, tarsi būtum vaikas.

    You are behaving as if you were a child.

    Būtum is the you (tu) form of the conditional of būti.

  5. Jaučiuosi, lyg būčiau namie.

    I feel as if I were at home.

  6. Jis atrodė taip, lyg būtų visą naktį nemiegojęs.

    He looked as if he had not slept all night.

    Būtų + a past participle points to an earlier imagined event.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a conditional form for the wrong person.

    Elgiesi taip, tarsi būtų vaikas.
    Elgiesi taip, tarsi būtum vaikas.

    The intended meaning is "as if you were a child". Būtų is the form for he, she or they, so the sentence no longer talks about you. Use the tu form būtum.

  • Leaving out the comma before lyg or tarsi.

    Jis kalba taip lyg viską žinotų.
    Jis kalba taip, lyg viską žinotų.

    An as-if clause with its own verb is a subordinate clause, so a comma separates it from the main clause.

How It Connects

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

lyg / tarsi + conditionalLevel 4As if with Lyg and Tarsi

Learn This First

Lyg and tarsi can introduce an imagined comparison with the conditional.

Words in This Pattern

lyg