Lesson 4 - Grammar 2 - French conditional tense - Le conditionnel
Examples/ Exemples: |
---|
Je voudrais louer deux places pour Lille. |
J'aimerais un Dubonnet, garçon. |
Je prendrais bien un peu de pâté. |
Je pourrais très bien y installer mon bureau. |
The conditional tense belongs to the future system; that is, it is based on the future stem (lesson 3, Grammar 2).
Only the endings distinguish conditional from future forms:
Conditional
tense = Future stem + ‘imparfait’ endings
The conditional endings are identical for all the verbs in the language:
Personal
pronoun |
Future ending |
---|---|
je | -ais |
tu |
-ais |
il, elle, on | -ait |
nous | -ions |
vous | -iez |
ils, elles | -aient |
Use of the conditional
1. The conditional corresponds quite well to the English verb phrase ‘would + infinitive’.
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Je voudrais une chambre avec salle de bains. | I would like a room with bath. |
J'aimerais un Dubonnet, garçon. | I would like a Dubonnet, waiter. |
Pourriez-vous commencer demain? | Would you be able to start tomorrow? |
2. The conditional occasionally occurs in a second clause when the verb of the first clause refers to past time:
French / Français | English / Anglais | French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|---|---|
Je sais qu'il viendra. | I know he’s coming. | Je savais qu'il viendrait. | I knew he would be coming. |
Il dit que nous partirons demain. | He says we’ll be leaving tomorrow. | Il a dit que nous partirions demain. | He said we would be leaving tomorrow. |
Here the conditional may correspond to English ‘would be … ing’ and this pattern contrasts with the imperfect in a second clause:
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Nous sommes sûrs qu'ils choisiront quelqu'un. (future) | We are sure they will be choosing someone. |
Nous étions sûrs qu'ils choisiraient quelqu'un. (conditional) | We were sure they would be choosing someone. |
Nous étions sûrs qu'ils choisissaient quelqu'un. (Imparfait) | We were sure they were choosing someone. |
3. With certain verbs, the conditional expresses more deference or reserve than the present tense:
French / Français | English / Anglais | French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|---|---|
Je veux une chambre. | I want a room. | Je voudrais une chambre. | I would like a room. |
Pouvez-vous partir ce soir? | Can you leave tonight? | Pourriez-vous partir ce soir? | Could you leave tonight? |
4. The conditional is also used in reporting style, as in newspapers, to indicate that the information is still uncertain or unofficial:
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
La situation militaire serait critique. | The military situation is said to be critical. |
Selon les dernières nouvelles météorologiques, nous devrions avoir un beau week-end. | According to the latest weather forecast, we should have a nice week-end. |
Elle serait d'accord pour organiser une réunion du comité. | Apparently, she agrees to organize a committee meeting. |
5. 'Si' clauses.
A frequent and automatic use of the conditional is in sentences introduced by ‘si’, when we want to express a possibility contrary to fact:
Si + verb in the
imperfect, verb in the conditional
French / Français | English / Anglais | Meaning |
---|---|---|
S'il faisait beau, nous sortirions. | If the weather were nice, we would go out.' | (We know it is raining and we are not going out.) |
The order of these clauses may be reversed, but the internal arrangement of each clause remains the same.
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Nous sortirions s'il faisait beau. |
(Notice that ‘si’ is followed by the ‘imparfait’, not by the conditional.)
Other si clauses:
a. Si + verb in the present, verb in the future.
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
S'il fait beau, nous sortirons. | If the weather is nice, we will go out. (To express a possibility) |
b. Si + verb in the present, verb in the present / Si + verb in the imperfect, verb in the imperfect.
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
S'il fait beau, nous sortons. | If the weather is nice, we go out. |
S'il faisait beau, nous sortions. | Whenever the weather was nice, we'd go out. |
(To express a repetition in the present or the past. Notice that in this case, si has the meaning of 'when'.)
c. Si + verb in the present, verb in the imperative.
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Si vous êtes pressé, partez vite. | If you're in a hurry, go quickly. |
Note: When ‘si’ has the meaning of 'whether', it can be followed by various verb tenses, including future or conditional:
French / Français | English / Anglais |
---|---|
Dites-moi si vous serez ici demain. | Tell me whether you'll be here tomorrow. |
Je ne sais pas si elle aimerait venir avec nous. | I don't know whether she'd like to come with us. |