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How to form and use the present conditional in French?

By: Agnés Finot Mon May 13 2024
French
Verbs, Conditional Mood

Use the present conditional in French to express a condition, often with the conjunction si(if).

Si je lisais ce blog, le conditionnel n’aurait plus de secret pour moi !

If I read this blog, the conditional would no longer be a secret for me!

The conditional is a mood in French used in the present tense as an equivalent of the English “would,” “could,” or “should” + verb. For example, I’m sure you’ve learned the phrase je voudrais(I would like). Aside from stating conditions, it is also used to express politeness, advice, wishes, and imagined reality. The conditional has two tenses: present and past. In this post, we’ll go over how to form and use the present conditional. Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

    How to form the present conditional in French?

    To form the present conditional in French, you will add the present conditional endings to the stem of the verb. I have two methods for you:

    • One easy way is to take the verb in the infinitive (or the infinitive without the final -e for verbs ending in -re), and to add the endings of the conditional. And I’ve got great news for you: you very likely already know them, because they are exactly the same as the endings of the indicative imperfect tense in French!

      manger → je mangerais

      to eat → I would eat

      vendre → vendr- → elle vendrait

      to sell → she would sell

      Here are the present conditional endings:

      pronoun

      je

      tu

      il/elle/on

      nous

      vous

      ils/elles

      conditional ending

      -ais

      -ais

      -ait

      -ions

      -iez

      -aient

      Tip

      The endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -aient are all pronounced the same way: /ay/.

      Exception!

      This method isn't 100 percent foolproof, as you can’t apply it to irregular verbs, so you would have to learn those by heart.

    • The other method is to take the French future tense stem of your verb (see below), and add the conditional endings. This works 100 percent of the time because verbs that are irregular in the future tense remain irregular in the conditional mood.

      Paragraph content

      future stemfuture ending

      je ferai

      I will do

      • Keep the future stem: fer-

      • Add your ending: -ais

      • And here is your present conditional:

        future stemconditional ending

        je ferais

        I would do

      Important

      Always make sure your stem ends in -r before you add your ending.

    TipSound like a native

    Skip the "e" of the -er ending of the verb!

    Je voyag’rais en fusée ! (=voyagerais)

    vwa·ya·jray vs. vwa·ya·je·ray

    I would travel by space rocket!

    Head to this table for eight common irregular verbs in the French present conditional.

    What are the stem-changing verbs in French?

    Stem-changing verbs in French are verbs which undergo some sort of spelling change or other alteration to the verb stem before they are conjugated. When it comes to writing, there are a few rules to follow. Note that these rules not only apply to the conditional, but also to the simple future.

    Let’s look at stem-changing verbs:

    • Verbs ending in -é...er change the é to è:

      célébrer → je célèbrerais

      to celebrate → I would celebrate

    • Verbs ending in -e...er change the e to è:

      acheter → tu achèterais

      to buy → you would buy

    • Verbs ending in -eler or -eter double the l or t:

      s’appeler → elle s'appellerait

      to be called → she would be called

      jeter → il jetterait

      to throw → he would throw

    • Verbs ending in -yer change their y to i:

      nettoyer → vous nettoieriez

      to clean → you would clean

    • Verbs ending in -ayer have an optional swap of the y for an i:

      Vous me payeriez combien ? / Vous me paieriez combien ?

      How much would you pay me?

      I would suggest keeping the "y" as it is one less rule to remember!

    • Sometimes in -ir verbs, the i disappears:

      courir → tu courrais

      to run → you would run

    👉 If you are ever in doubt, I recommend using this verb conjugator, which my students love!

    Now that you know how to form the present conditional, let’s move on to the next step: understanding when to use it.

    When to use the present conditional in French?

    Use the French present conditional in si(if) clauses, to make polite requests, to show uncertainty or possibility, to make a suggestion or express a wish or advice, to make an assumption, to talk about the future from a past perspective, and sometimes for reported speech. Let’s look at each one by one.

    • I would say that the most common use is in a hypothetical si(if) clause in French. The “if” clause is conjugated in the imperfect, and the other part of the sentence is in the conditional.

      Si

      imperfect

      /
      /

      present conditional

      Si j’avais le temps, je cuisinerais plus.

      If I had time, I would cook more.

      Important

      Be careful never to put a verb in the conditional straight after si.

      Si ❌j’aurais un parapluie, je te le prêterais.

      If I ❌ would have an umbrella, I would lend it to you.

      Si ✅ j’avais un parapluie, je te le prêterais.☔

      If I had an umbrella, I would lend it to you.

    • The present conditional is very handy to make a polite request. I very often hear “Une baguette !” when I’m in a bakery in France. Instead try this:

      Je voudrais une baguette s’il vous plaît. 🥖

      I would like a baguette, please.

      It is also a good way to soften an order:

      Vous pourriez trancher le pain ? 🍞

      Could you slice the bread?

      And combined with a French negative structure, you can make a gentle request in the form of a question:

      Tu ne pourrais pas ranger tes chaussures qui trainent dans le couloir ?

      Couldn’t you tidy your shoes which are lying around in the corridor?

    • How about using it to show uncertainty or a possibility? I often give this hint to my students:

      Je pourrais (bien) faire un test de vocabulaire jeudi !

      I might (well) do a vocabulary test on Thursday!

      You can combine the present conditional with a negative structure to express a possibility in a question form in French:

      Il n’aurait pas perdu ses clés ?

      Could he have lost his keys?

      Another way of expressing a possibility is to use the expression au cas où(just in case):

      Marie-Lou est au café en face, au cas où tu voudrais la rejoindre.

      Marie-Lou is in the café across the road, just in case you would like to meet her.

    • To make a suggestion, express a wish 🌟, or give advice.

      Je m’ennuie. J’irais bien au parc à trampoline.

      I’m bored. I fancy going to the trampoline park.

      → suggestion

      Tip
      We sometimes use bien after the verb, especially when we express a desire, as above. It’s a way to add emphasis.

      Il fait chaud, j’aimerais tellement avoir une voiture décapotable !

      It’s hot, I would like a convertible car so much!

      → wish

      Tu devrais te coucher plus tôt et tu serais moins fatigué.

      Translation

      → advice

    • Journalists and reporters 🎤 often use the conditional when the facts haven’t been verified, to make an assumption, or create a distance with a fact.

      Le malfaiteur aurait un complice à l’étranger.

      Translation

      But you don’t have to be a journalist! You can use it too in normal speech to make suppositions!

      Il est malade.

      He is ill.

      ≠

      Il serait malade.

      He must be ill.

    • People use the conditional when they refer to a moment in the future, viewed from the past.

      Je pensais que le contrôle serait plus facile !

      I thought the test would be easier!

      Je pensais indicates a past point of view

    • If the verb in the main clause is in the conditional and you use a conjunction of time, then the conjunction will be followed by the conditional:

      Pendant que je la surveillerais, elle ferait ses devoirs.

      While I would look after her, she would do her homework.

      • The main clause, elle ferait ses devoirs, uses the conditional so…

      • Pendant que je la surveillerais, which begins with a conjunction of time (pedant) also uses the conditional.

        ↳Sometimes the English translation will use a modal verb (e.g. “would”) but other times this will just be in the past tense (e.g. “While I looked after her, she would do her homework”)

      Other conjunctions of time include:

      Conjunctions of Time
      Translation

      dès que

      aussitôt que

      as soon as

      quand

      lorsque

      when

      pendant que

      tandis que

      when

    • Finally, use it for reported speech in French (also called indirect discourse or speech) when what you are reporting is in the future tense:

      future tensepresent conditional

      «Je t'appellerai demain ! » → Camille a dit qu’elle m'appellerait demain.

      “I will call you tomorrow!” → Camille said she would call me tomorrow.

    Important

    English “would” doesn’t always translate to the conditional mood in French. When it is a past habitual action with the meaning of “used to,” use the imperfect instead.

    Si j’avais assez d’argent, je réserverais des vacances à Marseille.

    If I had enough money, I would book a vacation in Marseilles.

    present conditional → "would" = unreality

    Quand j’étais jeune, je passais toutes mes vacances à Marseille.

    When I was a child, I would spend all my holidays in Marseilles.

    imperfect → "would" = past habit

    If you are not sure, feel free to come back and refer to the above list of uses. 🧐

    Let’s wrap it all up!

    Let’s recap

    To use the present conditional in French, remember the following tips:

    • Form the conditional by using the future stem of the verb and adding the conditional endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

    • Use the conditional when:

      • You want to say “would/could/should” + verb

        BUT keep in mind that “would” is sometimes translated in the imperfect tense in French.

      • There is a condition implied by si(if) + imperfect

      • You want to make a request, a suggestion, or a hypothesis

      • You want to express a wish

      • After a conjunction of time if the main clause is in the present conditional

      • To report speech that was said in the future tense

    How confident do you feel using the present conditional? Test yourself with these fun exercises on the French present conditional!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    How to form and use the present conditional in French~ Present conditional conjugation TableHow to form and use the present conditional in French~Activities

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