Ch 28 · Lesson 9French · Chapter 28 · Lesson 9 · Grammar primer
Le ministre aurait démissionné: news, politeness, reported future
The conditional perfect marks an unchecked claim ( ), softens a request ( ) and reports a future perfect ( a ).
The short version
French hedges the news with a tense
.
Why?Hide
Where English writes allegedly or reportedly, the French press simply shifts into the conditional. does not mean he would resign; it means someone claims he has. Read without spotting this and you miss the most important hedge in the article.
: the polite complaint
.
Why?Hide
The conditional perfect softens things that are already over. , I would have liked to speak to you; , I'd have liked to be told. Said in the present, the same complaint sounds like a demand. It is how French turns a grievance into something a receptionist will actually help with.
Job 3: news reports and "reportedly"
French newspapers use the conditional for a claim they have heard but not checked. English adds a word, reportedly or allegedly; French changes the tense.
| Tense | Headline | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
. | He has resigned. We vouch for it. | |
| cond. | . | He has reportedly resigned. |
.- The accident reportedly killed three people.Lyon.- The two men are said to have met in Lyon.
The present conditional does the same for now: . - He is said to be in .
Job 4: politeness, looking back
The present conditional softens a request ( ). The conditional perfect softens it one notch further, as if the wish were already in the past.
- Je veux vous parler.I want to talk to you
- Je voudrais vous parler.I would like a word
- J’aurais voulu vous parler.I was hoping for a word
.- I was hoping for a quick word with you..- I was wondering whether that might be possible..- We would have preferred a quieter room.
The last is the useful pattern: a complaint in this tense lands softly, which is why hotel receptionists hear it all day.
Job 5: the future perfect, seen from the past
In reported speech, a future slides back into the conditional. A future perfect slides back into the conditional perfect.
| Speech | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| direct | . | I will have finished before noon. |
| reported | . | He said he would have finished before noon. |
There is no hypothesis here: he fully expected to finish. Read as a failure and you have misread the sentence.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| | no conditional after |
| | takes |
| | : agree with the subject |
| | the second verb stays infinitive |
, | , | looks at now or later |
One trap no table shows: a news conditional is not a might-have-been. reports a resignation; it does not imagine one.
Going further: How to form it and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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