Thread: бы???

I know,I must sound like a complete idiot now,but what does "бы" mean??
I once had to study that in school,but... yeh,I just learned the sentence what I had to write in the test.
What does it mean,and how is it used?Is it in connection with like ya,tы,on,ona,mы,vы,oni?

no, it is not a personal pronoun.

it is used with past tense verbs, and when used correctly, it means "Would".

for example Я туда поехал - i went there.
я туда бы ехал - i would have gone there.

when used with мочь it means could

Ты бы (c)мог - you could have
мы бы смогли нашего друга побывать, но решили лучше бы мы остались дома.

We could have visited out friend, but we decided it would be better to stay home.

Originally Posted by Dogboy182

мы бы смогли нашего друга побывать, а решили лучше бы мы остались дома.

We could have visited out friend, but we decided it would be better to stay home.

Мы бы могли побывать у нашего друга, но решили, что лучше остаться дома.
(If you say "лучше бы мы остались дома", it sounds like you regret you have not stayed home)

you have to visit AT somebody ?

it sounds like you regret you have not stayed home

maybe they didn't visit him cuz they don't like him
Anyways, i was trying to use Бы as much as possible

anyways thanks !

посетить кого-то
побывать у кого-то
пойти в гости к кому-то

i should have realized that it побывать needs a preposition after reading an article about RR the other day. This sentence stuck out in my memory too.

"С этим материалом мы побывали несколько раз в Америке и Европе."


Yea, my mistake.

Originally Posted by Dogboy182

no, it is not a personal pronoun.

мы бы могли у нашего друга побывать, но решили, что лучше бы нам остаться дома.

We could have visited out friend, but we decided it would be better to stay home.

Sorry but without "У" it's wrong.

oops, i'm late a bit
didn't refresh it for a while, sorry

Originally Posted by Alware

oops, i'm late a bit
didn't refresh it for a while, sorry

А я тем временем аж сама призадумалась, какой же сложный этот русский

Thanks for help!
'would' makes sense...