The conditional: The conditional (le conditionnel présent) is how French says would.
When you use it
- To be polite: je voudrais un café, pourriez-vous m'aider ?
- For hypothetical situations: je voyagerais davantage.
- For the future seen from the past: il a dit qu'il viendrait.
- As the natural partner of the si clause: Si j'avais le temps, je lirais plus.
The good news: It is built from two things you may already know: the futur stem plus the imparfait endings. The same set of endings works for every verb.
- le conditionnel présent
- the (present) conditional (would + verb)
- le radical du futur
- the future stem — the base the conditional is built on (for -er/-ir verbs it is the whole infinitive)
- la terminaison
- the ending — for the conditional these are the imparfait endings -ais/-ais/-ait/-ions/-iez/-aient
- le radical irrégulier
- the irregular stem — the same short list as the futur (être → ser-, aller → ir-)
- hypothétique
- hypothetical — describing something imagined or unreal
- la politesse
- politeness — softening a request (je voudrais…, pourriez-vous… ?)
When you reach for it: If you want to say would, be polite (je voudrais, pourriez-vous… ?), or describe what you would do if something were true — it's the conditional. It's the tense that makes your speaking and writing sound mature and courteous.
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Futur stem + the imparfait endings: To form the conditional, take the futur stem and add the imparfait endings -ais / -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient.
The futur stem is easy
- -er and -ir verbs: the whole infinitive (parler → parler-, finir → finir-).
- -re verbs: drop the final -e (prendre → prendr-).
- So je parlerais, je finirais, je prendrais all share the same endings.
| Personne | -er (parler) | -ir (finir) | -re (prendre) |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | parlerais | finirais | prendrais |
| tu | parlerais | finirais | prendrais |
| il / elle / on | parlerait | finirait | prendrait |
| nous | parlerions | finirions | prendrions |
| vous | parleriez | finiriez | prendriez |
| ils / elles | parleraient | finiraient | prendraient |
| Infinitif | Radical irrégulier | Exemple (je) |
|---|---|---|
| être | ser- | je serais |
| avoir | aur- | j'aurais |
| aller | ir- | j'irais |
| faire | fer- | je ferais |
| pouvoir | pourr- | je pourrais |
| vouloir | voudr- | je voudrais |
| venir | viendr- | je viendrais |
| devoir | devr- | je devrais |
| voir | verr- | je verrais |
Same irregular stems as the futur: If you learnt the futur, you already know the conditional: it uses the exact same irregular stems (être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-), just with the imparfait endings instead of the futur endings.
So je serai (I will be) becomes je serais (I would be) — only the ending changes.
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Four everyday jobs: The conditional does several jobs. Here are the four you meet most in the exam — each with a French example. The first two (politeness and the si hypothesis) are by far the most useful for your speaking and writing.
Emplois du conditionnel
- Politeness — Je voudrais réserver une table, s'il vous plaît. Pourriez-vous m'aider ? (I would like to book a table, please. Could you help me?)
- Hypothetical would (the si rule) — Si j'avais le temps, je lirais davantage. (If I had time, I would read more.)
- Future seen from the past — Elle m'a dit qu'elle arriverait à huit heures. (She told me she would arrive at eight.)
- Advice / a softened suggestion — À ta place, je parlerais à un conseiller. (In your place, I would talk to an adviser.)
The si rule — learn it cold: For an unreal if, French puts the imparfait after si and the conditionnel in the result clause:
Si + imparfait → conditionnel — Si je gagnais au loto, je voyagerais partout.
The conditional never goes inside the si clause itself — never si je voudrais. Keep si with the imparfait and would with the conditional.
The polite phrases worth memorising: Two conditional chunks earn easy marks for tone: je voudrais + infinitif (I would like to…) and pourriez-vous / pourrais-tu + infinitif ? (could you…?). They turn a blunt je veux into a courteous request — exactly the register the examiners reward.
What I would do, sentence by sentence: Here's a short paragraph about an imagined life, built one sentence at a time. Every verb is in the conditional.
How to read it
- Watch the irregular stem in je devrais and the polite j'adorerais.
- Read it once for the meaning.
- Then tap Voir la traduction for the English or the audio button to hear it.
Le conditionnel en action
Ce que je ferais, phrase par phrase
- Si j'avais plus de temps libre, j'apprendrais à jouer du piano.
- Je voyagerais dans toute l'Amérique du Sud et je découvrirais des cultures différentes.
- J'adorerais vivre près de la mer, alors je chercherais une maison sur la côte.
- Mes amis et moi monterions une petite entreprise et nous travaillerions ensemble.
- Bien sûr, je devrais économiser beaucoup d'argent, mais cela en vaudrait la peine.
Steal this for Que ferais-tu ?: Notice the pattern: Si j'avais… (an unreal if in the imparfait) + a string of conditional verbs (apprendrais, voyagerais, chercherais). Swap in your own dreams and you have a ready-made answer for Que ferais-tu si… ? Keep an -ais/-ait ending on every verb.
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The slips to watch for: Two traps catch most English speakers with the conditional, plus one spelling slip.
The slips to watch for
- The biggest trap: putting the conditional inside the si clause. French never does this: si takes the imparfait and the conditional goes in the result clause.
- Mixing up the je and nous endings: je voyagerais (-ais) vs nous voyagerions (-ions).
- Don't drop the silent final -s on the je/tu forms.
Correct
- Si j'avais le temps, je voyagerais.
- Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.
- Nous devrions partir plus tôt.
Erreur fréquente
- Si je voudrais voyager…
- Je voudrai un café. (futur)
- Nous devrais partir.
Keep si on the imparfait and mind the endings: For an unreal if, put the imparfait after si and the conditionnel in the other clause: Si j'avais…, je ferais…, never si je ferais.
And match the ending to the person: je/tu → -ais, il → -ait, nous → -ions, vous → -iez, ils → -aient. The silent -s on je/tu still has to be written.