In this section:

• Le conditionnel

• Si Clauses with the conditional

• Les verbes du monde du travail

Le conditionnel

The conditional is used to refer to hypothetical events. It occurs in polite requests and most frequently with if clauses. In French, it is called le conditionnel and is most often translated by would in English.

Uses

1. Wishes or requests – The conditional expresses potentiality. It is used to express a wish or a suggestion, to make a request, or to accept or extend invitations. It is less direct and more polite than the imperative. The verbs ‘pouvoir’, ‘vouloir’, and ‘devoir’ are often found in the conditional to diminish the strength of a command.

In most cases, the conditional is translated as meaning would in English. However, je pourrais means ‘I could’, je devrais means ‘I should’ and je voudrais means ‘I would like’.

Also do not confuse ‘would’ in English meaning ‘used to’ which should be translated as an imparfait in French, and NOT as the conditional.

2. Hypothetical action – The conditional is used when making statements which are contrary to present facts. It expresses a hypothethical result which depends on (stated or implied) circumstances which do not exist. In order for the action expressed by the conditional to occur, something else must take place first. Note that the condition in the si or if clause, is always stated in the imparfait. (See ‘si’ clauses for further examples.)

3. Possibility or uncertainty – The conditional is also used to give information whose accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Journalists often use it to report events which are not known to be true.

4. • Reported speech (indirect discourse)- In addition, the conditional is used to represent the future in relation to a narration in the past when reported speech is used to tell what someone said.

Formation
The stem used to form the conditional is the same as the stem of the future (usually the infinitive).

The conditional endings are -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient (These are also the imperfect endings).

The above formation works for -er verbs (aimer, j’aimerais), -ir verbs (finir, je finirais) and -re verbs (vendre, je vendrais).

Remember to drop the final e from the infinitive stem of -re verbs .

Pronunciation
The r in the stem is representative of the conditional, as well as the future. Only the difference in the pronunciation of the endings distinguishes the two. The difference between the je forms is subtle. Can you hear the differences? Note also how the e of the infinitive of -er verbs changes in the future and conditional forms.

Irregular stems
Verbs with irregular future stems use the same irregular stems in the conditional. Here is a list of the most common irregular stems:

Verbs with spelling changes
Some verbs with spelling changes in the present form their future/conditional stem regularly. These include verbs like préférer, espérer, manger, and commencer.

Verbs with spelling changes like appeler, employer and acheter add -r to the present of the je form to create their future stem.

Si Clauses with the conditional

Si clauses (if clauses in English) indicate possibilities, which may or may not become reality. They refer to the present, past, and future. These conditional sentences have two parts: the condition, or si clause, and the main or result clause which indicates what will happen if the condition of the si clause is met.

The tense of the result clause depends on the tense of the si clause. In other words, the tense of the two clauses follow a prescribed sequence.

Si + imperfect (imparfait)

This second type of si clause is contrary to fact in the present. The consequence is thus seen as impossible. Note that in French, the imperfect is used in the si clause, never the conditional.

Les verbes

Il y a trois types de verbes en français :  ceux qui terminent en -ER, -IR et -RE

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