The conditional is one of those grammar structures that feels intimidating at first glance, but in Serbian it is actually more transparent than in many European languages once you understand the building blocks. Today we look at the second conditional - the "unreal" or "hypothetical" type - and we do it through a song, because nothing anchors a grammar structure in memory quite like a catchy melody. Get ready to fill some gaps and maybe hum along.
What is the second conditional in Serbian?
In Serbian, the second conditional (sometimes called the "potencijalne uslovne recenice" - potential conditional clauses) is used for hypothetical or unreal situations: things that are possible in theory but not actually happening. The structure maps roughly onto English "If I were... I would...". It is formed using the conditional mood, which is built from the past participle (glagolski pridev radni) plus the auxiliary bi. So the basic pattern is: [condition with "kad/kada" or "ako"] + past participle + bi. For example: Kad bih znao, rekao bih ti - "If I knew, I would tell you." The key building block is the past participle, which changes according to the gender of the subject: -ao for masculine, -la for feminine, -lo for neuter.
The song - fill the gaps
This is a song built around the conditional. Read the lines below and try to fill the blanks before you listen. The missing elements are conditional verb forms - use the pattern you just learned. Think about gender (the speaker changes) and the auxiliary bi.
Ti si ___ čokolada,
ja sam ___ čokolada.
I ___ bila tako mlada,
ja ___ te ___...
Da si ___ uz mene,
ne bih bila sama.
Da ___ mogla da te vidim,
sve bi bilo ___.(Key words to work with: pojeo/pojela - ate/would eat; bila - would be/was; ostao/ostala - stayed; lakse - easier. Try forming the conditional forms with bi + participle.)
The word čokolada (chocolate) is feminine, which affects the past participle forms used with it. And notice mlada - "young" (feminine) - paired with bila (feminine past participle of biti, to be). The conditional auxiliary bi is invariable - it does not change for person or number, which is a nice simplification.
Hear it (carried forward)
Listen to the song now and check your gap-fill answers against what you hear. Even if you cannot catch every word, focus on the word bi - you should be able to hear it recurring, marking each conditional clause.
What to remember
The heart of the Serbian conditional is the glagolski pridev radni - the active past participle. Master this form for a handful of common verbs (biti - bio/bila/bilo, ici - isao/isla/islo, reci - rekao/rekla/reklo, znati - znao/znala/znalo) and you will be able to form both the past tense and the conditional straight away, since both structures share it. Think of it as a two-for-one grammar investment - every participle you learn unlocks twice the expression.
Frequently asked questions
Is the second conditional common in everyday Serbian speech?
Very much so. Serbs use conditional structures constantly in conversation - for polite requests (Mogao bih da pitam... - "I could ask..."), for wishes, for hypotheticals. You will hear bi all the time once you start listening for it. Songs are a particularly good source because songwriters love the conditional for its dreamy, hypothetical quality.
What is the difference between the second and third conditional in Serbian?
The second conditional (as here) refers to hypothetical present or future situations - "If I were chocolate, I would..." The third conditional refers to past hypotheticals - things that did not happen. In Serbian the third conditional uses the auxiliary bio bi / bila bi plus a past infinitive construction. For now, focus on the second - it is far more frequent in songs and everyday speech - and the third will make much more sense once you are comfortable with this one.
Grammar through music is one of my favourite approaches, and the conditional lends itself to it so naturally - hypotheticals and yearning are what songs are made of. I hope this one stays in your head (and your notebook). Until next time, keep imagining in Serbian!
- Marina Petrovic