French grammar · Intermediate (B1)
The conditional: je voudrais, si j'avais…
How to form the conditionnel présent, what it is used for, and how si clauses work, including the conditionnel passé.
How to form it
Take the stem of the futur simple and add the imparfait endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Regular verbs use the infinitive (-re verbs drop the e): , . Verbs with an irregular future stem keep it: .
| Subject | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| (j') | |||
| / / | |||
| / |
What it's for
The conditional says what would happen. It is also the tense of politeness: , , Serait-il possible de… ? With , it gives advice: (You should talk to him).
After a verb of saying in the past, it replaces the future: (He said he would come).
- J'aimerais aller au Japon.I'd like to go to Japan.
- Auriez-vous un RIB, s'il vous plaît ?Would you have a RIB, please?
- À ta place, je lui parlerais.If I were you, I'd talk to him.
Si clauses
(if) is followed by the present, the imparfait or the plus-que-parfait, never by the future or the conditional. The tense after decides the tense of the result.
| Situation | + … | Result |
|---|---|---|
| real, possible | (present) | / |
| imagined now | (imparfait) | (conditional) |
| imagined past | (plus-que-parfait) | (conditionnel passé) |
The conditionnel passé: would have done
The conditionnel passé is or in the conditional + the past participle: , je serais resté(e). The same verbs take as in the passé composé. It says what would have happened, but didn't.
- Si tu m'avais appelé, je serais venu te chercher.If you'd called me, I would have come to pick you up.
- On n'aurait pas perdu une journée.We wouldn't have lost a day.
Mixed si clauses
The condition and the result can be at different times. A past condition can have a result now: + plus-que-parfait, then the conditionnel présent. (If I had planted other vines, I wouldn't be in this situation today).
A general or permanent condition can have a past result: + imparfait, then the conditionnel passé. (If I were more careful, I wouldn't have clicked on that link). (in case) is followed by the conditional: .
- Si on l'avait fait plus tôt, on aurait moins de problèmes aujourd'hui.If we'd done it earlier, we'd have fewer problems today.