The conditional tense in Konkani

(updated )

Comments

Perversely, the conditional tense in the positive sense (e.g. I would sit) sounds very similar to the continuous past tense. Let's look at that in more detail.

As with other tenses, verbs follow some simple rules when said in the conditional tense.

  • They use a base for the verb + an ending based on whether the verb’s subject is singular or plural

  • The ending depends on the gender of the person doing the action

The following table shows the usual construction of verbs using the conditional tense. The gender of the subject determines the endings of the verbs. Note that:

  • would is used purely in the conditional sense and not in the sense of used to.

  • aamci doesn't distinguish between I would do XXX and I would have done XXX – you would use the same construction for either. Similarly for I wouldn't do XXX and I wouldn't have done XXX.

Sense

Singular

Plural .

Positive

I would do XXX (male doer)

positive verb base + -tashilawnh [1]

We would do XXX

positive verb base + -tashileenh

I would do XXX (female doer)

positive verb base + -tashileenh

You would do XXX (male doer) or
He would do XXX

positive verb base + -tashilaw

You would do XXX

You would do XXX (female doer) or
She would do XXX

positive verb base + -tashilee

It would do XXX (neuter doer)

positive verb base + -tashilenh

They would do XXX

Negative

I wouldn't do XXX (male doer)

negative verb base + -shnaashilawnh

We wouldn't do XXX

negative verb base + -shnaashileenh

I wouldn't do XXX (female doer)

negative verb base + -shnaashileenh

You wouldn't do XXX (male doer) or He wouldn't do XXX

negative verb base + -shnaashilaw

You wouldn't do XXX

You wouldn't do XXX (female doer) or She wouldn't do XXX

negative verb base + -shnaashilee

It wouldn't do XXX (neuter doer)

negative verb base + -shnaashilenh

They wouldn't do XXX

Here is a concrete example using bosscAnh (sitting):

English

Konkani

English

Konkani

I would sit (male sitter)

haanhvanh basstashilawnh

I wouldn't sit (male sitter)

haanhvanh baisashnaashilawnh

I would sit (female sitter)

haanhvanh basstashileenh

I wouldn't sit (female sitter)

haanhvanh baisashnaashileenh

You would sit (male sitter)

toonh basstashilaw

You wouldn't sit (male sitter)

toonh baisashnaashilaw

You would sit (female sitter)

toonh basstashilee

You wouldn't sit (female sitter)

toonh baisashnaashilee

He would sit

taw basstashilaw

He wouldn't sit

taw baisashnaashilaw

She would sit

tee basstashilee

She wouldn't sit

tee baisashnaashilee

It would sit

tAnh basstashilenh

It wouldn't sit

tAnh baisashnaashilenh

We would sit

aammi basstashileenh

We wouldn't sit

aammi baisashnaashileenh

Y’all would sit

tummi basstashileenh

Y’all wouldn't sit

tummi baisashnaashileenh

They would sit

teenh basstashileenh

They wouldn't sit

teenh baisashnaashileenh

Compare and contrast

To see how similar the sounds are to the continuous past tense, here they are side-by-side:

English

Konkani (conditional tense)

English

Konkani (continuous past tense)

I would sit (male sitter)

haanhvanh basstashilawnh

I was sitting (male sitter)

haanhvanh bassta-ashilawnh

I would sit (female sitter)

haanhvanh basstashileenh

I was sitting (female sitter)

haanhvanh bassta-ashileenh

You would sit (male sitter)

toonh basstashilaw

You were sitting (male sitter)

toonh bassta-ashilaw

You would sit (female sitter)

toonh basstashilee

You were sitting (female sitter)

toonh bassta-ashilee

He would sit

taw basstashilaw

He was sitting

taw bassta-ashilaw

She would sit

tee basstashilee

She was sitting

tee bassta-ashilee

It would sit

tAnh basstashilenh

It was sitting

tAnh bassta-ashilenh

We would sit

aammi basstashileenh

We were sitting

aammi bassta-ashileenh

Y’all would sit

tummi basstashileenh

Y’all were sitting

tummi bassta-ashileenh

They would sit

teenh basstashileenh

They were sitting

teenh bassta-ashileenh

For this verb, the following should be apparent from the audio:

  • In the conditional tense, the stress is on the first syllable and the second syllable has a normal a vowel sound

  • In the continuous past tense, the stress is more on the second syllable, which has a slightly longer a-a sound

Searchable list of verb bases

For a searchable list of verb bases, see this page.

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