| Conditional. | Imperative. | Infinitive. |
|---|---|---|
| mi vidus, I should see | vidu, see! | vidi, to see |
The Conditional Mood is used to express supposition; the three Tenses, on the other hand, are used to express facts or actual happenings. (For examples, see "Conjunctions," page [83].)
The Imperative Mood is used to express an order, desire, wish, will, etc. (See page [84].) Used with the personal pronouns of the 1st and 2nd persons, this mood corresponds to the English let, used as an expression of a wish. Thus: mi pensu, let me think; li venu morgaŭ, let him come to-morrow; ili parolu, let them speak.
Note that let sometimes means to allow, to give leave, in which case the verb lasi is used. Thus: let (allow) him come, lasu lin veni; leave it there, lasu ĝin tie.
The Imperative may be used interrogatively to translate the English shall, with an idea of wish or desire. Thus:
- What shall I give you? Kion mi donu al vi?
- What shall we do to-day? Kion ni faru hodiaŭ?
What will he do? would of course be simply Kion li faros?—for there is here no question of desire or wish, but merely a question of future action.
The Infinitive Mood is used to express the mere idea of the verb, without any limit of person or number, and corresponds to the English to before the verb. Thus: kuri, to run; paroli, to speak.
Note.—In Esperanto, as is largely the case in English, the mood and tense endings of the verb do not vary according to person or number. For instance: mi vidas, I see, li vidas, he sees; also ni vidis, we saw, ili vidis, they saw; vi vidos, you will see; oni vidos, one will see; ŝi vidus, she would see, vi vidus, you would see.