Bih, bi, bismo: how to say "I would"
English "would" is one frozen word for every person: I would, you would, they would. The Serbian one changes with the person, and that is all you have to learn: bih, bi, bi, bismo, biste, bi. Then comes the same -o/-la form as in the past, agreeing with the speaker in gender and number: ja bih došao (a man), ja bih došla (a woman), mi bismo došli. For example: “Хтео бих да отворим штедни улог” — I would like to open…
How it works
English "would" is one frozen word for every person: I would, you would, they would. The Serbian one changes with the person, and that is all you have to learn: bih, bi, bi, bismo, biste, bi. Then comes the same -o/-la form as in the past, agreeing with the speaker in gender and number: ja bih došao (a man), ja bih došla (a woman), mi bismo došli.
The construction has three jobs. The first and commonest is politeness. Hteo bih da otvorimo račun — I would like to open an account — instead of a bare hoću; Da li biste mogli da mi pomognete?; Voleo bih da probam. At the bank, at the doctor's and at a job interview Serbs speak almost only this way; a person who demands with hoću sounds like the queue, not the office. English plays exactly this card with "would like" — Serbian simply makes it the grammar.
The second is the unreal condition, and here you need the pair. The condition is introduced by da with a past tense, the consequence by bih: Da sam znao, otišao bih kod lekara — had I known, I would have gone to the doctor. Note: Serbian da here means "had I", and the usual ako will not do — ako opens a possible condition, da an impossible or unfulfilled one. Compare: Ako budem imao novca, kupiću stan (it may happen) and Da sam imao novca, kupio bih stan (it did not, and it will not) — the same wall English builds with "if I had had", only by switching the word.
The third is a repeated past action — where English says "would" of habit: Deda bi svakog jutra čitao novine — granddad would read the papers every morning. Same form, nothing conditional about it.
Bih takes second position, like every short word: Ja bih to uradio, Uradio bih to — but never "Bih uradio". The negation is written separately, in front: ne bih došao. And the commonest mistake of all: bih with a to-form. No: after bih comes the -o/-la form; a to-form exists only after hteo bih da….
Table
| person | the form | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | bih | ja bih došao | I would come |
| ti | bi | ti bi došao | you would come |
| on, ona | bi | ona bi došla | she would come |
| mi | bismo | mi bismo došli | we would come |
| vi | biste | da li biste mogli | could you |
| oni | bi | oni bi došli | they would come |
| the condition | da + past | da sam znao | had I known |
| negation | ne bih | ne bih to radio | I would not do it |
By example
- Хтео бих да отворим штедни улогHteo bih da otvorim štedni ulogI would like to open a savings account
- Да сам знао за симптоме, отишао бих ранијеDa sam znao za simptome, otišao bih ranijeHad I known the symptoms, I would have gone earlier
- Да ли бисте могли да поновите објашњење?Da li biste mogli da ponovite objašnjenje?Could you repeat the explanation?
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
Bih, bi, bismo: how does it work in Serbian?
English "would" is one frozen word for every person: I would, you would, they would. The Serbian one changes with the person, and that is all you have to learn: bih, bi, bi, bismo, biste, bi. Then comes the same -o/-la form as in the past, agreeing with the speaker in gender and number: ja bih…
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Хтео бих да отворим штедни улог” (Hteo bih da otvorim štedni ulog) — I would like to open a savings account. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.