The conditional auxiliary (myndi)

To talk about hypothetical situations—what someone would do—Icelandic uses the conditional auxiliary verb myndi with a main verb in the infinitive.

Here is how myndi conjugates:

PronounForm of myndi
ég / hann / hún / þaðmyndi
þúmyndir
viðmyndum
þiðmynduð
þeir / þær / þaumyndu

myndi takes the second position in the sentence, while the main action verb stays in the infinitive.

The pirate would rob the town.
Sjóræninginn myndi ræna bæinn.
The captain would find the treasure.
Kapteinninn myndi finna fjársjóðinn.

Questions

To ask what someone would do, invert the subject and the auxiliary verb, putting the conjugated form of myndi at the beginning of the sentence.

Would you attack the crew?
Myndir þú ráðast á áhöfnina?

Plural Forms

The auxiliary verb changes to match plural subjects (-um, -uð, -u), but the main action verb always remains in the infinitive.

We would hide the treasure in the chest.
Við myndum fela fjársjóðinn í kistunni.
They would kill the crew of the ships.
Þeir myndu drepa áhöfn skipanna.
Would you rob the captain?
Mynduð þið ræna kapteininn?

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