Learn Polish: Gdybyśmy mieli diament, bylibyśmy bogaci. - If we had a diamond, we would be rich.

In Polish, the conditional particle by and personal endings (like -śmy for "we") are flexible. When a clause starts with a conjunction like gdy (if), the conditional parts almost always attach to it, creating gdybyśmy. The main verb mieli is then left in its standard past tense form without a personal ending.

Why do we use the past tense form mieli if this is about a present or future hypothetical situation?

The conditional mood in Polish is always formed by taking the past tense form of a verb (like mieli) and combining it with the conditional particle by. Together, gdybyśmy mieli expresses the hypothetical "if we had," even though the verb itself is technically in a past tense shape.

Why is the second part bylibyśmy written as one solid word?

The conditional particle by and personal endings are always written as one word when attached directly to the end of a verb. Here, we combine byli (past tense "were"), by (conditional particle), and -śmy ("we") to form the single word bylibyśmy.

Why is the word for rich bogaci rather than bogate?