Module 13- L’amour et l’argent
Première Partie: L’argent, la grammaire
In this section:
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Review : Le conditionnel – formation
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Le conditionnel – irregular “stems”
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Review : Le futur simple
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.
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).
| jouer ‘to play’ | |
| je jouerais, I would play | nous jouerions, we would play |
| tu jouerais, you would play | vous joueriez, you would play |
| il, elle,iel / on jouerait, he, she (it) /would play |
ils / elles/iels joueraient, they would play |
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.
Le conditionnel – irregular stems
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:
| infinitive | stem | conditional | translation |
| aller | ir- | j’irais | I would go |
| avoir | aur- | j’aurais | I would have |
| courir | courr- | je courrais | I would run |
| devoir | devr- | je devrais | I would be obliged to |
| envoyer | enverr- | j’enverrais | I would send |
| être | ser- | je serais | I would be |
| faire | fer- | je ferais | I would do |
| falloir | faudr- | il faudrait | it would be necessary |
| mourir | mourr- | je mourrais | I would die |
| obtenir | obtiendr- | j’obtiendrais | Iwould obtain |
| pleuvoir | pleuvr- | il pleuvrait | it would rain |
| pouvoir | pourr- | je pourrais | I would be able |
| recevoir | recevr- | je recevrais | I would receive |
| savoir | saur- | je saurais | I would know |
| tenir | tiendr- | je tiendrais | I would hold |
| venir | viendr- | je viendrais | I would come |
| voir | verr- | je verrais | I would see |
| vouloir | voudr- | je voudrais | I would want |
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.
| infinitive | stem | conditional | translation |
| préférer | préférer- | je préférerais | I would prefer |
| espérer | espérer- | j’espérerais | I would hope |
| manger | manger- | je mangerais | I would eat |
| commencer | commencer- | je commencerais | I would start |
Verbs with spelling changes like appeler, employer and acheter add -r to the present of the je form to create their future stem.
| present tense | stem | conditional | translation |
| j’appelle | appeller- | j’appellerais | I would call |
| j’emploie | emploier- | j’emploierais | I would use |
| j’achète | achèter- | j’achèterais | I would buy |
Uses of the conditional tense
• 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:
D’habitude, il allait à la banque toutes les semaines.
(Normally, he would/used to go to the bank every week).
| Un couple se trouve à la banque. | A couple is at the bank. | |
| Le guichetier : Bonsoir Madame, Monsieur. Aimeriez–vous ouvrir un compte bancaire aujourd’hui ? | The bank teller: Good evening, would you like to open a bank account today? | |
| Oh oui! Pourrions-nous ouvrir un compte d’épargne ? Ensuite, mon mari voudrait vous poser quelques questions. . | Oh yes, could we have open a savings account? Then, my husband would like to ask a few questions. | |
| Le guichetier : pourrais-je voir vos documents, s’il vous plaît ? | The teller Could I see your documents, please? |
• 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.)
| Deux hommes regardent la télé. ‘Le gros lot’ se monte à 30 millions de dollars. Que feriez-vous si vous gagniez?’ | Two men are watching television. ‘The Lottery is at 30 million dollars. What would you do if you won?’ | |
| homme 1: Moi, je continuerai mes études et je ferai un master. | I would continue my studies and do a master (degree) | |
| homme 2: Moi j’achèterais une nouvelle voiture de sport. | I would buy a new sports car. |
• 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.
• 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.
| Il a dit qu’il rentrerait bientôt. | He said he would be home soon. |
Le futur simple
The ‘simple’ future (le futur) is so-named because it is a one-word tense. In other words, its formation is simple because there is no auxiliary (helping verb).
The endings for the simple future are:
-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.
The future stem for -er and -ir verbs is the infinitive. For example, parler – je parlerai
For regular -re verbs, the stem is the infinitive minus the final e. In all cases, the future stem ends in -r: this sound characterizes the future and the conditional.The French simple future tense is generally translated into English with the modal auxiliary ‘will.’
Listen carefully to the future conjugation of regular -er verbs, where the e of the infinitive changes in pronunciation.
| nager ‘to swim’ | |
| je nagerai, I will swim | nous nagerons, we will swim |
| tu nageras, you will swim | vous nagerez, you will swim |
| il, elle, iel / on nagera, he, she (it) / one will swim |
ils / elles/ iels nageront, they will swim |
Many verbs which are irregular in the present tense have regular formations in the future. Their future stems are the infinitive or the infinitive minus the final e. Such verbs include sortir (je sortirai), partir (je partirai), dormir (je dormirai), boire (je boirai), dire (je dirai), écrire (j’écrirai), lire (je lirai), mettre (je mettrai), prendre (je prendrai), and suivre (je suivrai).
The simple future is used to refer to future events, that is, to make predictions. It is more formal than the immediate future, although both tenses may be used in most contexts. For further details, see future: usage.
