The Conditional (Le Conditionnel)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

• Form the conditional tense for all regular verb types
• Understand when and why to use the conditional
• Express politeness, hypothetical situations, and wishes
• Distinguish between conditional and future tense

What is the Conditional? (Le Conditionnel)

The conditional expresses:

• Politeness: "I would like..." (Je voudrais...)
• Hypothetical situations: "If I had money, I would buy..." (Si j'avais de l'argent, j'achèterais...)
• Wishes and dreams: "I would love to travel" (J'aimerais voyager)
• Reported speech: "He said he would come" (Il a dit qu'il viendrait)

Think of it as the "would" tense in English!

How to Form the Conditional

The conditional combines elements you already know:

FORMULA: Future Stem + Imperfect Endings

Step 1: Find the Future Stem

• -ER and -IR verbs: Use the full infinitive
• -RE verbs: Remove the final -e from the infinitive

Step 2: Add Imperfect Endings

Examples by Verb Type

-ER Verbs: PARLER (to speak)

Future stem: parler-

• Je parlerais (I would speak)
• Tu parlerais (You would speak)
• Il/Elle parlerait (He/She would speak)
• Nous parlerions (We would speak)
• Vous parleriez (You would speak)
• Ils/Elles parleraient (They would speak)

Example sentences:

• Je parlerais français si j'habitais en France. (I would speak French if I lived in France)
• Pourriez-vous parler plus lentement? (Could you speak more slowly?)

-IR Verbs: FINIR (to finish)

Future stem: finir-

• Je finirais (I would finish)
• Tu finirais (You would finish)
• Il/Elle finirait (He/She would finish)
• Nous finirions (We would finish)
• Vous finiriez (You would finish)
• Ils/Elles finiraient (They would finish)

Example sentences:

• Je finirais mes devoirs si j'avais plus de temps. (I would finish my homework if I had more time)
• À ta place, je finirais ce projet aujourd'hui. (If I were you, I would finish this project today)

-RE Verbs: VENDRE (to sell)

Future stem: vendr- (remove the -e!)

• Je vendrais (I would sell)
• Tu vendrais (You would sell)
• Il/Elle vendrait (He/She would sell)
• Nous vendrions (We would sell)
• Vous vendriez (You would sell)
• Ils/Elles vendraient (They would sell)

Example sentences:

• Il vendrait sa voiture s'il avait besoin d'argent. (He would sell his car if he needed money)
• Vendriez-vous votre maison? (Would you sell your house?)

Common Uses of the Conditional

1. Polite Requests

Instead of the direct present tense, use conditional for politeness:

Examples:

• Pourriez-vous m'aider? (Could you help me?)
• J'aimerais un café, s'il vous plaît. (I would like a coffee, please)

2. Hypothetical Situations (Si clauses)

Pattern: Si + imperfect, conditional

• Si j'étais riche, j'achèterais une grande maison. (If I were rich, I would buy a big house)
• Si tu étudiais plus, tu réussirais. (If you studied more, you would succeed)
• Si nous habitions près de la mer, nous nagerions tous les jours. (If we lived near the sea, we would swim every day)

3. Wishes and Dreams

• J'aimerais visiter le Japon. (I would love to visit Japan)
• Nous voudrions apprendre le piano. (We would like to learn piano)
• Elle préférerait travailler à l'étranger. (She would prefer to work abroad)

4. Reported Speech (Past context)

• Il a dit qu'il viendrait demain. (He said he would come tomorrow)
• Elle pensait qu'ils arriveraient en retard. (She thought they would arrive late)

More Example Conjugations

REGARDER (to watch) - ER verb

• Je regarderais la télé si j'avais le temps. (I would watch TV if I had time)
• Nous regarderions un film ensemble. (We would watch a movie together)

CHOISIR (to choose) - IR verb

• Tu choisirais quelle couleur? (Which color would you choose?)
• Ils choisiraient le restaurant le plus proche. (They would choose the nearest restaurant)

ATTENDRE (to wait) - RE verb

Stem: attendr-

• J'attendrais le bus s'il pleuvait. (I would wait for the bus if it were raining)
• Vous attendriez combien de temps? (How long would you wait?)

Key Differences: Future vs Conditional

Future Tense (Certainty)

• Demain, je parlerai à mon professeur. (Tomorrow, I will speak to my teacher)
• Nous finirons nos devoirs ce soir. (We will finish our homework tonight)

Conditional Tense (Hypothetical/Polite)

• Je parlerais à mon professeur si j'avais un problème. (I would speak to my teacher if I had a problem)
• Nous finirions nos devoirs si nous avions plus de temps. (We would finish our homework if we had more time)

Practice Exercises

Time to roll up your sleeves and get dirty. Not that kind of dirty- The IGCSE French kind of course.

Mini Exercise 1: Form the Conditional

Transform these infinitives into the conditional with the given subject:

1. DANSER (je) → Je danserais
2. REMPLIR (tu) → Tu remplirais
3. PERDRE (elle) → Elle perdrait
4. ÉTUDIER (nous) → Nous étudierions
5. RÉFLÉCHIR (vous) → Vous réfléchiriez
6. RÉPONDRE (ils) → Ils répondraient

Mini Exercise 2: Polite Requests

Make these requests more polite using the conditional:

1. Je veux un café → Je voudrais un café
2. Pouvez-vous m'aider? → Pourriez-vous m'aider?
3. As-tu le temps? → Aurais-tu le temps?

Mini Exercise 3: Complete the Si Clauses

1. Si j'avais plus d'argent, je _______ (acheter) une nouvelle voiture.
2. Si tu étais libre ce soir, nous _______ (aller) au cinéma.
3. Si elle parlait français, elle _______ (comprendre) mieux.

Mini Exercise 4: Translation Practice

Translate into French:

1. I would prefer to stay home.
2. Would you like to dance?
3. They would sell their house if they could.
4. We would finish earlier if we started now.

Memory Tips

1. Remember the formula: Future stem + Imperfect endings
2. For -RE verbs: Always drop the final -e before adding endings
3. Conditional = "WOULD": If you can say "would" in English, use conditional in French
4. Politeness marker: Conditional makes almost any request more polite

Common Mistakes to Avoid

According to IGCSE French examiners, these are a few mistakes that students often make when forming conditional sentences.

1. Forgetting to drop -e from -RE verbs
   • ❌ Je vendrerais
   • ✅ Je vendrais
2. Confusing future and conditional endings
   • Future: Je parlerai (I will speak)
   • Conditional: Je parlerais (I would speak)
3. Using wrong tense in Si clauses
   • ❌ Si j'aurai de l'argent, j'achèterais...
   • ✅ Si j'avais de l'argent, j'achèterais...

Answer Key for Exercises

Exercise 3 Answers:

1. Si j'avais plus d'argent, je achèterais une nouvelle voiture.
2. Si tu étais libre ce soir, nous irions au cinéma.
3. Si elle parlait français, elle comprendrait mieux.

Exercise 4 Answers:

1. Je préférerais rester à la maison.
2. Aimeriez-vous danser? / Voudrais-tu danser?
3. Ils vendraient leur maison s'ils pouvaient.
4. Nous finirions plus tôt si nous commencions maintenant.

This is the end of the guide. Are you tired? You deserve a short quick break if you've been going through the material diligently. If you have just skimmed through this, I highly recommend to go through it again!

As always, thank you for using IGCSE Pro. We hope this guide was helpful!

P.S. If you haven't checked out Part 1 of IGCSE French (0520), here's a link:

Indicative Verbs - IGCSE French Revision (0520)

Learn how to conjugate French verbs in five different tenses and understand when to use each tense. Useful to learn IGCSE French basics.

IGCSE Pro - IGCSE Revision NotesIGCSE Pro Team