Unit 17: St Petersburg 247
4 Я верну�сь к 2 часа�м.
5 Она� оста�лась с 3 детьми�.
6 Мы встре�тимся ме�жду 9 и 10 часа�ми.
7 Есть лю�ди, кото�рые говоря�т на 20 языка�х.
8 Гид прие�хал в музе�й с 50 тури�стами.
9 По�езд прошёл бо�льше 200 киломе�тров.
10 Москве� бо�льше 800 лет, а Петербу�ргу бо�льше 300.
11 В Вене�ции бо�льше 500 мосто�в.
Subjunctive mood
Formation of the subjunctive mood
The subjunctive is formed quite simply in Russian by using the particle
бы with the past tense of the verb:
oн чита�л бы ‘he would read’;
он прочита�л бы ‘he would have read’.Бы cannot be used with any tense other than the past.
Uses of the subjunctive mood
IN CONDITIONAL CLAUSES
The subjunctive is used in conditional clauses with е�сли ‘if’ when the
condition is hypothetical, i.e. cannot be fulfilled. The main clause is also
in the subjunctive. Бы follows е�сли rather than the verb in the condi-
tional clause:
Е�сли бы я была� свобо�днa вчера� ве�чером, я пошла� бы в
кино�
‘If I had been free yesterday evening I would have gone to the
cinema’.When a condition is not hypothetical, i.e. can be fulfilled, the sub-
junctive is not used. Note that, in this type of sentence, if the main
clause is in the future tense the conditional clause will also be in the
future:
Е�сли я бу�ду свобо�дна сего�дня ве�чером, я пойду� в кино�
‘If I am free (lit. shall be free) this evening I shall go to the
cinema’.