Module 13- L’amour et l’argent
Deuxième Partie: Le nid, la grammaire
In this section:
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le conditionnel passé
Screenshot by Sharon Westbrook.
le conditional passé
The past conditional represents, as its name implies, the past of the present conditional mood. In French, the past conditional is called le passé du conditionnel or le conditionnel antérieur. Both the present and past conditional express hypothetical situations or conditions.
formation
The past conditional is a compound tense, i.e. it has two parts, an auxiliary and the past participle. The past conditional is formed with the present conditional of the auxiliary (either avoir or être) and the past participle of the main verb.
Click here to review the formation of regular and irregular past participles.
Past conditional = auxiliary in the present conditional + past participle
| dire ‘to say’ | |
| j’aurais dit, I would have said | nous aurions dit, we would have said |
| tu aurais dit, you would have said | vous auriez dit, you would have said |
| il / elle / iel / on aurait dit, he, she, they, one, we would have said |
ils / elles / iels auraient dit, they would have said |
In the past conditional (as with the passé composé), you have to choose between avoir and être as the auxiliary. While most verbs use avoir as an auxiliary, pronominal verbs and verbs of movement generally use être (see the Alamo of être). Just as for the passé composé with être, in the past conditional with être, the past participle agrees in gender and in number with the subject.
| partir ‘to leave’ | |
| je serais parti(e), I would have left | nous serions parti(e)s, we would have left |
| tu serais parti(e), you would have left | vous seriez parti(s), you would have left |
| il / elle / iel / on serait parti/partie, he, she, they, one, we would have left |
ils / elles / iels seraient partis/parties, they would have left |
uses
- to express regret
Like the present conditional, the past conditional is used for hypotheses. Unlike the present conditional, however, it is used to describe or imagine events and actions that failed to happen. This is why it is often used to express regret about events that did not occur. In most cases, the past conditional is translated as meaning would have as in English. However, j’aurais pu means ‘I could have’; j’aurais dû means ‘I should have’. J’aurais voulu means ‘I would have liked’ or ‘I wish I had (done)’.
| J’aurais aimé être artiste. | I would have liked to be an artist. | |
| J’aurais voulu le lire. | I would have liked to read it./I wish I would have read it. | |
| Je n’aurais pas dû écouter Inèz. | I should not have listened to Inèz. | |
| J’aurais pu être un chef célèbre! | I could have been a famous chef! |
- with the expression “au cas où.” Unlike English, in French, the clause that contains “au cas où” requires the conditional. The verb may be in the present or past conditional.
| Au cas où nous aurions soif, j’ai acheté des jus de fruits.
Au cas où tu aurais trouvé mes clés, envoie-moi un SMS. Au cas où il aurait oublié le livre, j’ai apporté le mien. |
In case we get thirsty, I bought some fruit juices.
In case you found my key, send me a text. In case he forgot the book, I brought mine. |
- possibility or uncertainty, to describe an alleged or rumored action or event in journalism
The past conditional, like the present conditional, gives information on a past event about which the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. It is used by journalists and reporters.
| Un commenteur à la télévision, “Une tornade vient de s’abattre sur la capitale. Elle aurait fait plusieurs victimes. Trois familles auraient été gravement blessés.” | A commentator on television, “A tornado just struck the capital. It is said to have caused several casualties. Three families are alleged to have been seriously wounded.” |
- to reproach someone
Devoir in the conditional past can be used to reproach someone else, that is tell them what they should have done.
| Les profs auraient dû être plus patients avec leurs élèves.
Tu aurais dû étudier pour l’examen. |
The teachers should have been more patient with their students.
You should have studied for the exam. |
