French Conditionnel

The conditionnel is the French "would" tense. It's used for politeness, hypotheses, and reported speech. Formation is mechanical once you know the futur and the imparfait.

How to form it

Take the futur simple stem and add the imparfait endings.

These are exactly the same endings as the imparfait. The stem is what tells you it's the conditionnel: the stem is the future stem, the endings come from the imparfait.

Parler (stem = parler-):

Finir (stem = finir-): je finirais, tu finirais, il finirait...

Prendre (stem = prendr-, dropping the final -e): je prendrais, tu prendrais, il prendrait...

The irregular stems

The same eleven as the future. Memorise them once.

If you can form the futur, you can form the conditionnel by swapping the endings.

Use 1: politeness

The biggest day-to-day use. The conditionnel softens any request or statement.

• Je veux un cafe. (I want a coffee.) -> Je voudrais un cafe. (I'd like a coffee.)
• Pouvez-vous m'aider? (Can you help me?) -> Pourriez-vous m'aider? (Could you help me?)
• J'aime un peu d'eau. (Awkward direct.) -> J'aimerais un peu d'eau. (I'd like some water.)
• Tu peux fermer la porte? -> Tu pourrais fermer la porte? (Could you close the door?)

Two phrases to drill into memory:

• Je voudrais... (I would like...) - for ordering and requesting things
• J'aimerais... (I would like / I would love to...) - slightly warmer, for hopes and preferences

Both are conditionnel forms (vouloir -> voudr- + -ais; aimer -> aimer- + -ais). They're the politeness layer of French.

Use 2: hypotheses

The conditionnel pairs with si + imparfait to express what would happen under a hypothetical condition.

• Si j'avais le temps, j'irais en Italie. (If I had time, I would go to Italy.)
• Si tu etais riche, qu'est-ce que tu ferais? (If you were rich, what would you do?)
• Si on partait maintenant, on arriverait tot. (If we left now, we would arrive early.)

The structure: si + imparfait in the condition, conditionnel in the result. Never use the conditionnel after si itself - "si je serais" is wrong; the right form is si j'etais.

Use 3: reported speech

When you report what someone said in the future, the future shifts back to the conditionnel.

• Direct: Il a dit: "Je viendrai." (He said: "I will come.")
• Reported: Il a dit qu'il viendrait. (He said he would come.)

The shift is automatic - the conditionnel is to the past what the futur is to the present.

A small register note

The conditionnel of devoir translates as "should":

• Tu devrais te reposer. (You should rest.)
• Je devrais partir. (I should leave.)
• Vous devriez essayer. (You should try.)

This is one of the most common uses of devoir at any level - the conditionnel turns "must" into "should", which softens any advice.

Worked examples

• Je voudrais un croissant et un cafe, s'il vous plait. (I would like a croissant and a coffee, please.)
• Pourriez-vous me dire ou est la gare? (Could you tell me where the station is?)
• Si j'avais plus de temps, je lirais davantage. (If I had more time, I would read more.)
• Elle a promis qu'elle ecrirait. (She promised she would write.)
• Tu devrais voir un docteur. (You should see a doctor.)
• Ce serait une bonne idee. (That would be a good idea.)
• J'aimerais aller a Tokyo un jour. (I'd like to go to Tokyo one day.)

Common mistakes English speakers make

Using the conditionnel after si: si je serais riche is wrong, it's si j'etais riche. The hypothesis goes in the imparfait, the result in the conditionnel. Confusing the conditionnel and imparfait forms (they share endings): je parlais is imparfait, je parlerais is conditionnel - listen for the -er- in the stem. And using je veux in shops or restaurants: it's grammatical but blunt; je voudrais is the polite default everywhere in French life.

See also

• The future tense page covers the futur simple and shares the irregular stems.
• The imparfait page covers the imparfait, whose endings the conditionnel borrows.
• The intermediate French grammar page covers the conditionnel passe (would have) and the full si-clause system.