The conditional mood: szeretnék and 'would'

A1 — Igék

Forming the Hungarian conditional with -na/-ne and its personal endings, and using it for polite requests (szeretnék, kérnék) and 'if' sentences.

Examples

Szeretnék egy kávét kérni. — I would like to order a coffee.
Mennél velem a moziba? — Would you go with me to the cinema?
Ha lenne időm, olvasnék. — If I had time, I would read.

VerbsA1

The conditional mood: szeretnék and 'would'

Forming the Hungarian conditional with -na/-ne and its personal endings, and using it for polite requests (szeretnék, kérnék) and 'if' sentences.

Exam Skills:ListeningReadingWritingSpeaking

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Szeretnék egy kávét kérni.

I would like to order a coffee.

Mennél velem a moziba?

Would you go with me to the cinema?

Ha lenne időm, olvasnék.

If I had time, I would read.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

The conditional mood

Where English adds "would" ("I would like", "we would go"), Hungarian adds a suffix to the verb. The marker is -na / -ne (by vowel harmony), followed by the personal ending.

The indefinite forms

Person	Back vowels: olvas (read)	Front vowels: kér (ask for)
én	olvasnék	kérnék
te	olvasnál	kérnél
ő / Ön	olvasna	kérne
mi	olvasnánk	kérnénk
ti	olvasnátok	kérnétek
ők / Önök	olvasnának	kérnének

Note the "I" form: it is -nék after back and front vowels alike (olvasnék, kérnék). The definite forms have their own endings (olvasnám, kérném - I would read it, I would ask for it), but at A1 the indefinite set does most of the work.

Polite requests

The single most useful conditional is szeretnék, "I would like". It turns a demand into a request, just as "I'd like" does in English:

Szeretnék egy kávét. - I'd like a coffee.
Szeretnék fizetni. - I'd like to pay.
Kérnék egy lángost sajttal. - I'd like a lángos with cheese, please.
Tudna segíteni? - Could you help (me)? (polite, to one person)

At a market stall by Lake Balaton, Kérek (I ask for) works, but Kérnék or Szeretnék sounds friendlier.

"If" sentences

For imagined situations, both halves take the conditional, where English uses a past form after "if": Ha sok pénzem lenne, Budapesten laknék. - If I had a lot of money, I would live in Budapest. (lenne is the conditional of "be".) The English-speaker mistake is to put the ha clause in the past tense, copying "if I had".

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Practice Exercises

Common Error Patterns

Using wrong vowel harmony variant of conditional suffix (e.g., -nék instead of -nák for back-vowel verbs).

Using present indicative where conditional mood is required for polite requests or hypotheticals.

Szeretnék egy kávét kérni.

I would like to order a coffee.

'Szeretnék' = 'szeretni' + conditional suffix -nék (1st sg.). Used for polite requests.

Mennél velem a moziba?

Would you go with me to the cinema?

'Mennél' = 'menni' + conditional -nél (2nd sg.). Question intonation makes it a request.

Ha lenne időm, olvasnék.

If I had time, I would read.

Conditional used in both clauses of a hypothetical: 'lenne' (would be) + 'olvasnék' (I would read).

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Frequently asked questions

When do you use The conditional mood: szeretnék and 'would'?: Where English adds "would" ("I would like", "we would go"), Hungarian adds a suffix to the verb. The marker is -na / -ne (by vowel harmony), followed by the personal ending.
How do you form The conditional mood: szeretnék and 'would'?: Note the "I" form: it is -nék after back and front vowels alike ( olvasnék , kérnék ). The definite forms have their own endings ( olvasnám , kérném - I would read it, I would ask for it), but at A1 the indefinite set does most of the work. The single most useful conditional is szeretnék , "I would like". It turns a demand into a request, just as "I'd like" does in English: At a market stall by Lake Balaton, Kérek (I ask for) works, but Kérnék or Szeretnék sounds friendlier. For imagined situations, both halves take the conditional, where English uses a past form after "if": Ha sok pénzem lenne, Budapesten laknék. - If I had a lot of money, I would live in Budapest.

The conditional mood

Where English adds "would" ("I would like", "we would go"), Hungarian adds a suffix to the verb. The marker is -na / -ne (by vowel harmony), followed by the personal ending.

The indefinite forms

Person

Back vowels: olvas (read)

Front vowels: kér (ask for)

én

olvasnék

kérnék

olvasnál

kérnél

ő / Ön

olvasna

kérne

olvasnánk

kérnénk

olvasnátok

kérnétek

ők / Önök

olvasnának

kérnének

Polite requests

The single most useful conditional is szeretnék, "I would like". It turns a demand into a request, just as "I'd like" does in English:

Szeretnék egy kávét. - I'd like a coffee.

Szeretnék fizetni. - I'd like to pay.

Kérnék egy lángost sajttal. - I'd like a lángos with cheese, please.

Tudna segíteni? - Could you help (me)? (polite, to one person)

At a market stall by Lake Balaton, Kérek (I ask for) works, but Kérnék or Szeretnék sounds friendlier.

"If" sentences

Frequently asked questions

When do you use The conditional mood: szeretnék and 'would'?

Where English adds "would" ("I would like", "we would go"), Hungarian adds a suffix to the verb. The marker is -na / -ne (by vowel harmony), followed by the personal ending.

How do you form The conditional mood: szeretnék and 'would'?

Note the "I" form: it is -nék after back and front vowels alike ( olvasnék , kérnék ). The definite forms have their own endings ( olvasnám , kérném - I would read it, I would ask for it), but at A1 the indefinite set does most of the work. The single most useful conditional is szeretnék , "I would like". It turns a demand into a request, just as "I'd like" does in English: At a market stall by Lake Balaton, Kérek (I ask for) works, but Kérnék or Szeretnék sounds friendlier. For imagined situations, both halves take the conditional, where English uses a past form after "if": Ha sok pénzem lenne, Budapesten laknék. - If I had a lot of money, I would live in Budapest.