CONSTRUCTIONS WITH „ABY“

The conjunction “ABY“ means "to, in order to, so that". The conjunction “ABY“ is connected with
auxiliary form in the following way:

singular

                   plural

1. abych (studoval)

                   1. abychom (studovali)

2. abys (studoval)

                   2. abyste (studovali)

3. aby (studoval)

                   3. aby (studovali)



The verb used in the sentence with "aby" is always in the —l form (e. g. Chci, abys odešel), no
matter in what person or tense the verb in the first sentence is.

Examples:

·  Budu chtít, abys to věděl.

·  Chtěli, abys to věděl.

·  Chtěli bychom, abys to věděl.


THE CLAUSES WITH “ABY“ express:


a) PURPOSE


Jím ovoce, abych byl zdravý.

Učím se česky, abych mohl mluvit s pacienty.

Vzal jsem si aspirin, aby mě nebolela hlava.


b) REQUEST, ADVICE

(constructions like "I want something to happen" or "I want someone to do something" after verbs of
“telling” and “wishing”, where English has an infinitive with “to”:

Verbs expressing commands, requests or advice taking the conditional with „aby“:

říct, požádat, chtít, radit/poradit, doporučit, dovolit, prosit, navrhnout


·                Řekl jim, aby mluvili pomalu. – He told them to speak slowly.

·                Požádal mě, abych mu pomohl. – He asked me to help him.

·                Chci, abys na mě počkal. –  I want you to wait for me.

·                Radím ti, aby ses vrátil (reflexive verb). – I advise you to come back.

·                Doporučuji ti, aby sis to koupil (reflexive verb). – I recommend you to buy that.

·                Dovolte mi, abych se představil. – Allow me to introduce myself.

·                Požádali nás, abychom jim pomohli. – They asked us to help them.

Remember to always place a comma in front of "aby".