By: politeness and the things that never happened
By does not conjugate: one word for everyone. It stands next to the past form: ya khotel by, ona pomogla by, my poekhali by. For example: “Я хотел бы воды, пожалуйста” — I would like some water, please. A rule from the Russian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
By does not conjugate: one word for everyone. It stands next to the past form: ya khotel by, ona pomogla by, my poekhali by.
The first job is politeness. Ya khotel by vody is softer than ya khochu. A question softens the request further: Ne mog by ty pomoch?
The second job is what never was. Esli by znal, by skazal — by lives in both halves of the sentence. About the present and the future by is not needed: Esli znayu — skazhu.
Table
| Who | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| I (a boy) | khotel by | a boy's request |
| I (a girl) | khotela by | a girl's request |
| you | khotel by | a gentle hint |
| we | khoteli by | a shared dream |
| a request | ne mog by ty | the polite question |
| the never-was | esli by znal | about a past that is not there |
By example
- Я хотел бы воды, пожалуйстаYa khotel by vody, pozhaluystaI would like some water, please
- Не мог бы ты повторить?Ne mog by ty povtorit?Could you repeat?
- Если бы знал, я бы позвонилEsli by znal, ya by pozvonilIf I had known, I would have called
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Khotel by: how to be polite in Russian?
By does not conjugate: one word for everyone. It stands next to the past form: ya khotel by, ona pomogla by, my poekhali by.
What by does in a Russian sentence?
The second job is what never was. Esli by znal, by skazal — by lives in both halves of the sentence. About the present and the future by is not needed: Esli znayu — skazhu.
Esli by znal: the sentence that never was?
The second job is what never was. Esli by znal, by skazal — by lives in both halves of the sentence. About the present and the future by is not needed: Esli znayu — skazhu.
A softer request with by?
The first job is politeness. Ya khotel by vody is softer than ya khochu. A question softens the request further: Ne mog by ty pomoch?
What does it look like in a Russian example sentence?
“Я хотел бы воды, пожалуйста” (Ya khotel by vody, pozhaluysta) — I would like some water, please. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.