Verbs in the conditional mood express a state or an action which was not or cannot be realized. It expresses the disparity between the action and the real state of events.
The marker of the conditional mood is the suffix -त- t with one of the following endings: आ aa, ई ii, ए e, or ईं iiN, depending on the gender and number of the subject. The conditional mood is used only in compound sentences. In such sentences, it can be used both in the main clause and in the subordinate clauses.
Ex: अगर वह अच्छी तरह पढ़ता तो बेकार न होता।
agar vo acchii tarah paRhtaa to bekaar na hotaa.
'If he studied well, he wouldn't be unemployed.'
काश मैं तुम्हारी बहिन होती!
kaaś maiN tumhaarii behin hotii!
'If only I could be your sister!'
The only negative particle the can be used in the conditional mood is न na. It is usually placed before the verbal form.
Along with the simple form of the conditional mood, Hindi also has compound forms of the conditional mood: the Habitual Conditional, the Continuous Conditional, and the Perfect Conditional. They are formed in the same way as the respective forms described in the present habitual tense, the present continuous tense, and the perfect narrative tense, except that they also include the verb 'to be' in the conditional form.
Ex: अगर वह ठीक समय पर आई होती तो हम गाड़ी पकड़ते।
agar vo Thiik samay par aaii hotii to ham gaaRii pakaRte.
'If she had come in time we would have caught the train.'
अगर आप मेरी कहानी ध्यान से सुन रहे होते तो कोई सवाल न होते।
agar aap merii kahaanii dhyaan se sun rahe hote to koii savaal na hote.
'If you had been listening to my story attentively, there wouldn't have been any questions.'
अगर उसे हिंदी आती होती तो वह ख़ामोश न रहता।
agar use hindii aatii hotii to vo kh'aamoś na rehtaa.
'If he knew Hindi, he wouldn't keep silent.'
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