The Past Conditional

Level 4

The past conditional talks about things that would have happened but did not: Bol by som prišiel (I would have come). It uses bol, by and the past l-form.

How It Works

What might have been. The present conditional says what would happen. The past conditional says what would have happened, and implies it did not: Bol by som prišiel, ale ochorel som. (I would have come, but I got sick.)

How to build it. Use bol + by + the l-form. Add som, si, sme, ste for the first and second person:

  • bol by som prišiel / bola by som prišla – I would have come
  • bol by si prišiel / bola by si prišla – you would have come
  • bol by prišiel / bola by prišla – he / she would have come
  • boli by sme prišli, boli by ste prišli, boli by prišli – we / you / they would have come

Both bol and the l-form agree with the subject in gender and number. For the negative, add ne- to bol: Nebola by som to urobila. (I wouldn't have done that.)

With keby. In an unreal past condition, keby already contains by, so the clause is keby + som + bol + l-form: Keby som bol vedel, bol by som ti zavolal.

Word order. By and som are unstressed and come second in their clause: Bol by som prišiel. Včera by som bol prišiel.

In everyday speech. When the context already shows the past, Slovaks often use the simpler present conditional: Keby som to vedel, zavolal by som ti. Both are correct; the past form makes it clear you mean the past. Do not confuse it with the rare past perfect bol som prišiel, which has no by.

Examples (6)

  1. Bol by som prišiel, ale ochorel som.

    I would have come, but I got sick.

    Word by Word: I-would-have come, but I-fell-ill.

  2. Keby som bol vedel, bol by som ti zavolal.

    If I had known, I would have called you.

    Word by Word: If I had known, I-would-have you called.

  3. Keby si bol prišiel skôr, bol by si ju stretol.

    If you had come earlier, you would have met her.

    Word by Word: If you had come earlier, you-would-have her met.

  4. Bola by som išla s vami, ale musela som pracovať.

    I would have gone with you, but I had to work.

    Word by Word: I(fem.)-would-have gone with you, but I-had-to work.

    A woman speaking: bola ... išla.

  5. Nebola by som to urobila.

    I wouldn't have done that.

    Word by Word: Not-I(fem.)-would-have that done.

  6. Keby som to vedel, zavolal by som ti.

    If I had known, I would have called you.

    Word by Word: If I it knew, called would I you.

    The everyday version with the present conditional; context shows the past.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding by after keby.

    Keby by som bol vedel, bol by som prišiel.
    Keby som bol vedel, bol by som prišiel.

    Keby already contains by, so do not add another one.

  • Mixing masculine and feminine forms.

    Bol by som prišla.
    Bola by som prišla.

    Both bol and the l-form agree with the speaker. A woman says bola by som prišla.

  • Starting the main clause with by.

    Keby som bol vedel, by som bol prišiel.
    Keby som bol vedel, bol by som prišiel.

    By and som are unstressed and cannot start a clause. Put bol first: bol by som prišiel.

How It Connects

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

The Past ConditionalLevel 4

Learn This First

Before The Past Conditional, learn The Conditional Mood. The past conditional adds bol to the present conditional.

Words in This Pattern