French Grammar Guide for non-francophones

Present Conditional (e.g.: je parlerais)

On this page: Description, Questions, Exercises

Description

An Overview of the Present Conditional

The present conditional has two main functions: a) to increase the  politeness of a statement or request, e.g.: J'aimerais venir ("I would like to come"); and b) to indicate a desired action that would happen under certain circumstances, e.g.: Je le ferais si j'avais assez d'argent ("I would do it if I had enough money"). As in the previous example, it is common to use the present conditional before or after a statement introduced by si. However, it does not immediately follow the word si (use the present or imperfect instead).

How to Form the Present Conditional

The present conditional is formed by attaching an ending to the end of the infinitive. The ending used is identical to the ending for the imperfect tense. This is illustrated in the following table:

present conditional Translation
je parlerais
 "I would speak"
tu parlerais
 "you would speak"
il, elle, on parlerait
 "he, she, one would speak"
nous parlerions
 "we would speak"
vous parlerions "you would speak"
ils/elles parleraient
"they would speak"

Questions

Questions about the Conditional

Q: Why is it Si j'avais and NOT Si j'aurais?

While the word si does suggest a condition or the notion of "maybe", it is not followed by the conditional form of the verb, nor is it followed by the subjunctive. Other verb forms can be used, depending on the intended meaning, e.g.: the present (si mon ami vient), the imperfect (si mon ami venait), the passé composé (si mon ami est venu) or the future (si mon ami viendra).

Q: Why is it je voudrais venir and NOT je voudrai venir?

Use the conditional (not the future) with vouloir when indicating what you would like to do (in the same way that in English, one does not say "I will like to come")

 

Exercises

Provide the present conditional for the following:

Nous (demander)
Il (manger)
Elles (savoir)
On (avoir)
Ma soeur (penser)
Mes amis (aller)
Vous (venir)
Elles (aimer)
Richard (devoir)

Choose the correct form:

Il voulait savoir si je venir avec lui (pouvais or pourrais).
Est-ce que tu venir avec moi? (voudrai or voudrais)

Tags: verbs mood infinitive past conditional subjunctive present future simple imperfect
Verb conjugation:
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