Eläisi

Eläisi is a Finnish verb form derived from elää, meaning to live. It represents the conditional mood in the third person singular and is used to express hypothetical or desired actions. The form can appear in clauses introduced by jos (if) or in literary and formal contexts to discuss possibilities or wishes.

Morphology and formation: The stem elää- takes the conditional marker isi- in the third-person singular, yielding eläisi. The full paradigm for elää in the conditional present includes: minä eläisin, sinä eläisit, hän eläisi, me eläisimme, te eläisitte, he eläisivät. Thus eläisi corresponds specifically to “he/she/it would live” or, in a generic sense, “would live.” Other persons form regular conditional endings, with plural forms ending in -isivat, -isimme, -isitte, etc.

Usage and nuance: Eläisi is used to describe hypothetical situations, conditional outcomes, or wishes in a more literary or formal register. It often appears in subordinate clauses following if-clauses or in expressions of wishful thinking. In everyday Finnish, speakers may opt for alternative constructions, but eläisi remains correct and recognizable, especially in written Finnish, historical texts, or stylistically elevated prose.

Examples:

- Jos hän eläisi, hän tekisi sen. (If he would live, he would do it; a hypothetical condition.)

- Eläisi hänen toiveensa vielä edes hetken. (Would that his wish could live on for a moment; a wishful, literary phrasing.)

Related forms include eläisin (I would live) and eläisivät (they would live), which together illustrate the broader conditional mood of elää.