Conditionnel Flashcards
When do you use the conditionnel passé or perfect?
The French conditional perfect, or past conditional, is usually used very much like the English past conditional: It expresses action that would have occurred if past circumstances had been different.
How to Construct the French Conditional Perfect
There are commonly two parts to a past conditional sentence: a si clause with the unmet condition in the past perfect, and a result clause in the conditional perfect.
Think a past version of “if…then.”
Si je l’avais vu, je l’aurais acheté.
If I had seen it, I would have bought it.
Il serait venu si nous l’avions invité.
He would have come if we had invited him.
The conditional perfect can also be used when the unmet condition is only implied:
À ta place, je l’aurais dit.
In your place, I would have said it.
Elles auraient dû acheter un plan.
They should have bought a map.
Use the conditional perfect to express an unrealized desire in the past:
J’aurais aimé te voir, mais j’ai dû travailler.
I would have liked to see you, but I had to work.
Nous aurions voulu manger, mais c’était trop tard.
We would have liked to eat, but it was too late.
The conditional perfect can also report an uncertain / unverified fact, especially in the news:
Il y aurait eu un accident dans le métro.
An accident in the subway has been reported.
Six Parisiens seraient morts.
Apparently, six Parisians have been killed.
How do you form the conditionnel perfect?
The French conditional perfect mood, or past conditional, is a compound conjugation, with these two parts:
conditional of the auxiliary verb (either avoir or être) past participle of the main verb
Note: Like all French compound conjugations, the conditional perfect may be subject to grammatical agreement:
When the auxiliary verb is être, the past participle must agree with the subject When the auxiliary verb is avoir, the past participle may have to agree with its direct object
AIMER (auxiliary verb is avoir) j' aurais aimé nous aurions aimé tu aurais aimé vous auriez aimé il, elle aurait aimé ils, elles auraient aimé
DEVENIR (être verb)
je serais devenu(e) nous serions devenu(e)s
tu serais devenu(e) vous seriez devenu(e)(s)
il serait devenu ils seraient devenus
elle serait devenue elles seraient devenues
SE LAVER (pronominal verb)
je me serais lavé(e) nous nous serions lavé(e)s
tu te serais lavé(e) vous vous seriez lavé(e)(s)
il se serait lavé ils se seraient lavés
elle se serait lavée elles se seraient lavées
When do you use the conditionnel?
Conditional, in French le conditionnel, is a verb mood that indicates an event may or may not occur; it is usually dependent on certain conditions and used with a si clause. In short, it expresses a possibility.
The French conditional mood is very similar to the English conditional mood in that it describes events that are not guaranteed to occur. While the French conditional mood has a full set of conjugations, the English equivalent is just the modal verb “would” plus the main verb.
The French conditional is mainly used in if…then constructs; it expresses the idea that if this were to happen, then that would be the result. While French uses the word si in the “if” or condition clause, it does not use a term for “then” per se in the result clause. The conditional verb itself is used in the result (then) clause, while only four other tenses are permitted in the si clause: présent, passé composé, imparfait and plus-que-parfait.
Il mangerait s’il avait faim.
He would eat if he were hungry.
Si nous étudiions, nous serions plus intelligents.
If we studied, (then) we would be smarter.
Je visiterais Luc si j’avais le temps.
I would visit Luc if I had time.
Il mangerait avec nous si nous l’invitions.
He would eat with us if we invited him.
How do you conjugate the conditionnel?
To conjugate an -ER or -IR verb in the conditional, add the appropriate endings to the infinitive. For -RE verbs, remove the final -e and then add the conditional endings. For irregular verbs, add the endings to the irregular conditional stem. For example, here are the conditional conjugations for the regular verbs parler (to speak), finir (to finish), and vendre (to sell) and the irregular verb aller (to go):
je -ais parlerais finirais vendrais irais
tu -ais parlerais finirais vendrais irais
il -ait parlerait finirait vendrait irait
nous -ions parlerions finirions vendrions irions
vous -iez parleriez finiriez vendriez iriez
ils -aient parleraient finiraient vendraient iraient
