The Conditional

Duh duh DUUUUUHHHHH!

What is the conditional?

• The French conditional is very similar to the English conditional mood. It describes events that are not guaranteed to occur; often they are dependent on certain conditions.

• While the French conditional mood has a full set of conjugations, the English equivalent is just the modal verb “would” + the main verb.

• The French conditional is mainly used in “if…then” statements (si clauses) to express what would happen if a condition were met.

• N.B. The conditional is in the result (then) part of the clause, not the clause that follows si (if).

• Ex. Il mangerait s’il avait faim. • Si nous étudiions, nous serions plus

intelligents.

Vouloir

• The verb vouloir is used in the conditional to express a polite request. – Je voudrais une pomme. – Je voudrais aller avec vous.

• However, you can’t say “si vous voudriez” to mean “if you would like” because the French conditional CAN NEVER be used after si.

Aimer

• The verb aimer is used to express a polite desire, sometimes one that cannot be fulfilled.

• J’aimerais bien le voir!• J’aimerais y aller, mais je dois travailler.

Conjugation

• The conditional has only one set of endings for all verbs, and most of them- even those irregular in the present tense- use their infinitives as a root. Here are the most common irregular stems.

• NB These verbs stems should look REALLY familiar. As they are the same in the future tense. Which means THEY ALWAYS END IN R!!!!!

Infinative Conditional Stem

Aller Ir-

Avoir Aur-

Devoir Devr-

Être Ser-

Envoyer Enverr-

Faire Fer-

Pleuvoir Pleuvr-

Pouvoir Pourr-

Recevoir Recevr-

Savoir Saur-

Tenir Tiendr-

Venir Viendr-

Voir Verr-Vouloir Voudr-

Conjugation

Conditional Endings-ais -ions-ais -iez-ait -aient

WHY DO THESE LOOK FAMILIAR?

Conditional mood in si clauses

• The second conditional expresses something that is contrary to present fact or unlikely to occur. Something that would happen if something else happened.

• Use si + imparfait (stating the condition) + conditionnel (stating what would have happened.

Formula

• Si + imparfait + conditional

• OR

• Conditional + si + imparfait

Examples

• Si j’avais le temps, je le ferais. • Je le ferais si j’avais le temps.

• Si tu étudiais, tu réussirais à l’examen. • Tu réussirais à l’examen si tu étudiais.

• Si elle vous voyais, elle vous aiderait. • Elle vous aiderait si elle vous voyait.