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Croatian grammar. Conditional.
Is it common for literary style to use the conditional mood for describing past events that used to take place regularly, habitually etc., as in the following sample where a character is sharing his childhood memories:
Majka bi, za svojih šejtanskih dana, sjedila za kuhinjskim stolom, gorko plakala, ne bi joj bilo utjehe i nikoga nije mogla pogledati u oči. Otac bi izlazio ispred kući i s rakijskom bocom pokraj sebe šutio i svako malo otpuhivao, kao da će, bude li dovoljno uporan, iz sebe ispuhati vraga?
Majka bi, za svojih šejtanskih dana, sjedila za kuhinjskim stolom, gorko plakala, ne bi joj bilo utjehe i nikoga nije mogla pogledati u oči. Otac bi izlazio ispred kući i s rakijskom bocom pokraj sebe šutio i svako malo otpuhivao, kao da će, bude li dovoljno uporan, iz sebe ispuhati vraga?
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Correct. (In fact I don't think I have read a single book where conditional was not used for such a purpose... I'd have to think long and hard to find any examples that oppose this common practice.)
And you can find it even in the normal-everyday spoken language too, like:
"Tijekom praznika bih se ustajala oko 10 sati ujutro i sporo ispijala kavu".
"During holidays I would get up around 10 o'clock in the morning and slowly sip my coffee."
It sounds a bit lyrical but not too weird for the everyday lingo.
:-D
And you can find it even in the normal-everyday spoken language too, like:
"Tijekom praznika bih se ustajala oko 10 sati ujutro i sporo ispijala kavu".
"During holidays I would get up around 10 o'clock in the morning and slowly sip my coffee."
It sounds a bit lyrical but not too weird for the everyday lingo.
:-D
I agree with previous answer and would just add that conditional, when used for past, expresses the repetitiveness of action, something you used to do often.
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