CONTENT
The conditional (le conditionnel) is not a tense but a [object Promise], which means it indicates not the time or period when something happened, but the tone of the sentence, and makes the intentions of the speaking person clear. This mood helps you show the possible outcomes related to a condition.
French
English
Il mangerait s'il avait faim.
He would eat if he was hungry.
Usage of the Conditional in the Present Tense
Rule 1: The conditionnel présent is used for:
- wishes
French
English
Il aimerait pouvoir venir.
He would like to come.
- possibilities
French
English
Nous pourrions aller voir Marc.
We could go see Marc.
- suspicions
French
English
Il serait malade depuis lundi.
He would be ill since Monday.
- advice
French
English
A ta place, j’irais le voir.
I would go see it if I were you.
- polite requests
French
English
Pourriez-vous m‘aider ?
Would you help me?
- main clauses of an unreal conditional sentence
French
English
Si j'étais riche, je partirais plus souvent en vacances.
If I was rich, I would go on vacation more often.
Forming the Conditional
Rule 2: To form the conditional mood with regular verbs, the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient are added to the infinitive.
Here's an example with the verb jouer (to play):
| je jouerais | nous jouerions |
| tu jouerais | vous joueriez |
| il, elle, on jouerait | ils, elles joueraient |
| je jouerais | nous jouerions |
| tu jouerais | vous joueriez |
| il, elle, on jouerait | ils, elles joueraient |
Exception: If the infinitive of the verb ends with -e, it is omitted. For example, prendre (to take): -> je prendrais.
Forming the Conditional: Irregular Forms
Rule 3: The endings of the conditionnel présent don't change (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient), but some verbs' stems change.
French
English
Avoir : j’aurais
To have: I would have
Être : tu serais
To be: you would be
Aller : il irait
To go: he would go
Venir : nous viendrions
To come: we would come
Envoyer : vous enverriez
To send: you would send
Faire : ils feraient
To do: they would do
- Verbs ending with -oir are also irregular:
French
English
Vouloir : vous voudriez
To want: you would like
Pouvoir : ils pourraient
To be able to: they could
Voir : elles verraient
To see: they would see
- For some verbs that end with -rir, the "i" is omitted:
French
English
Courir : je courrais
To run: I would run
- Like in the present tense, sometimes there are other small changes when forming the conditional (accent, boubling of a consonant, changing "y" to "i"):
French
English
Acheter : tu achèterais
To buy: you would buy
Jeter : il jetterait
To throw: he would throw
Payer : nous paierions
To pay: we would pay
Quiz
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