Action words, or verbs, are core elements of communication in any language, and different types of verbs enhance understanding. Le conditionnel (the conditional) can be a French verb tense, but we’re going to focus on the conditional as a verb mood. What’s the difference? We’ll explain below.
There are many uses in French for le conditionnel: hypothetical situations, politeness, and regret. In English, the word “would” is often used to express the conditional mood, although it can be translated in a few different ways:
- I would do my homework if I had enough time.
- Could you pass me that pencil?
- I would like a croissant, please.
Explore different situations where le conditionnel is used, and see how to form the conditional French mood. To use this French verb tone more confidently, Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent speech recognition engine compares your voice to native speakers’ voices, so you’ll be sure to use the right tone.
Table of Contents
What is le conditionnel (the conditional tense) in French?
The conditional in French can refer to a verb tense or a verb mood. In many languages, verb tenses express when an action occurs, but verb moods express a specific intent or attitude for the action. In the case of French moods in grammar (les modes), le conditionnel denotes situations that would only occur given the right conditions.
In French, one verb conjugation is used to signify the conditional, while in English, we often use “would” or “could” with another verb to denote the conditional, such as “would like” or “could do.”
When should you use the conditional mood in French?
The French conditional mood is used to describe theoretical situations, to express politeness, and, less commonly, to express regret. Different sentence structures and verbs are more common in each of these situations. Knowing when to use each will help you better communicate in French.
>>Practice adjusting the verbs in this list of 100+ basic French phrases to the conditional mood.
Hypothetical situations
Most commonly, conditional French is used to describe situations dependent on something else happening. In French and English, the word “si” (“if”) often is used with the imperfect tense to denote this. Some conditions are more realistic and likely to happen than others.
- Si je gagnais à la loterie, je voyagerais autour du monde. = If I won the lottery, I would travel the world.
- Si elle avait un meilleur appareil photo, elle prendrait de meilleures photos. = If she had a better camera, she would take better pictures.
Expressing politeness
Another situation where we use the French conditional is to express politeness, especially when asking questions. In English, the word “could” is often used to express the same meaning. In French, the verb pouvoir (to be able to) is conjugated in the conditional to request something in a question. Pourriez and pourrais are followed by another verb, just like in English.
- Pourriez-vous me donner l’adresse ? = Could you give me the address?
- Tu pourrais m’amener à l’école ? = Could you bring me to school?
In addition to using pouvoir, verbs that express desire, like vouloir (to want) and aimer (to like), can be used in the conditional to be more polite.
- Je voudrais un steak au poivre, s’il vous plaît. = I would like a pepper steak, please.
- J’aimerais bien un verre de vin rouge, s’il vous plaît. = I would like a glass of red wine, please.
In both cases, the conditional forms of vouloir and aimer can be used interchangeably to mean “would like,” especially when ordering at a restaurant or a café.
Expressing regret
We can also use le conditionnel passé (the past conditional) to express regret or remorse. In English, this translates to “would have” or “should have.” The auxiliary verb of the past tense (le passé composé) conjugates into the conditional mood before the past participle.
- J’aurais acheté mon billet en avance. = I should have bought my ticket in advance.
- Il ne serait jamais venu s’il avait su. = He never would have come if he had known.
How to form the conditional mood in French
As is the case with many verb conjugations in French, there are different rules and patterns for forming the conditional mood of regular verbs. And irregular verbs march to the beat of their own drums.
Regular -ER, -IR, & -RE verbs
For common verbs with -ER and -IR endings, the entire verb is used as the stem before adding the conditional ending. For -RE verbs, the same rule applies, but the “e” is dropped.
| Infinitive | Conditional Stem |
| parler (to speak) | parler- |
| finir (to finish) | finir- |
| rendre (to give back or turn in) | rendr- |
The ending used for each subject pronoun is the same ending as the imperfect tense:
| Subject Pronoun | Conditional Ending | Subject Pronoun | Conditional Ending |
| JeI | -ais | Nous (we) | -ions |
| Tu You (informal singular) | -ais | Vous (you, formal and/or plural) | -iez |
| Il, elleHe, sheIel They(non-binary singular)On One (used for speaking generally) | -ait | Ils, EllesThey (masculine, feminine) IelsThey (plural) | -aient |
This is a full chart for the verb parler (to speak) conjugated in the conditional mood:
| je parlerais | I would speak | nous parlerions | We would speak |
| tu parlerais | You would speak | vous parleriez | You would speak (formal and/or plural) |
| il/elle/iel/on parlerait | He/she/they/one would speak | ils/elles/iels parleraient | They would speak (plural) |
Many -ER verbs that end in -YER change to -IER to create the conditional stem:
- essayer (to try): essaier-
- essuyer (to wipe/dry): essuier-
- nettoyer (to clean): nettoier-
Other verbs that follow the same pattern are balayer (to sweep), payer (to pay), appuyer (to press/push), and tutoyer (to address someone with the informal tu).
Irregular verbs
Of course, there are verbs in French with irregular stems in the conditional. These stems are the same irregular stems as the future tense.
These are the conditional stems of the most common irregular verbs in French:
- être (to be): ser-
- avoir (to have): aur-
- aller (to go): ir-
- faire (to do): fer-
- pouvoir (to be able to): pourr-
- vouloir (to want): voudr-
- voir (to see): verr-
- devoir (to have to): devr-
- venir (to come): viendr-
- envoyer (to send): enverr-
- courir (to run): courr-
- tenir (to hold): tiendr-
- appeler (to call): appeller-
- falloir (to be necessary to): faudr-
- pleuvoir (to rain): pleuvr-
Verbs that have prefixes to these infinitives follow the same patterns. For example, the verbs devenir (to become) and revenir (to come back) follow the same pattern as venir (to come) and become deviendr- and reviendr-, respectively.
This is how to conjugate the most commonly used irregular verb, être (to be), in the conditional tense:
| je serais | I would be | nous serions | We would be |
| tu serais | You would be | vous seriez | You would be (formal and/or plural) |
| il/elle/iel/on serait | He/she/they/one would be | ils/elles/iels seraient | They would be (plural) |
Using the conditional with “si” clauses
There are two main types of “si” (“if”) clauses we use with the French conditional:
- “si” + imparfait, conditionnel (“if” + imperfect, conditional).
- “si” + plus-que-parfait, conditionnel passé (“if” + pluperfect, past conditional).
Imperfect + conditional
The French conditional is most often used in conjunction with the imperfect tense in “si” (“if”) clauses. The imperfect tense describes the conditions needed for the conditional mood to become a reality.
- Si elle avait plus de temps libre, elle apprendrait à skier. = If she had more free time, she would learn how to ski.
- Si elles venaient chez moi, nous étudierions. = If they came to my house, we would study.
In both of these examples, the imperfect tense is used to depict the circumstances necessary to guarantee the outcome of the second clause in the conditional mood. The verb in the conditional is possible, but not certain.
Pluperfect + past conditional
The other “si” clause used with the conditional is the “si” + plus-que-parfait, conditionnel passé (“if” + pluperfect, past conditional). This formula is most commonly used to express regret. The English translation is “could have” or “should have.”
- Si nous avions eu plus de temps, nous aurions rendu visite à notre grand-père. = If we’d had more time, we would have visited our grandfather.
- Si j’avais dormi plus, je n’aurais pas été si fatigué. = If I had slept more, I wouldn’t have been so tired.
>> Keep your tenses straight by reviewing how many verb tenses there are in French.
Common mistakes beginner learners make when using the conditional
Learning a new language comes with challenges, and making mistakes is normal. If you can remember these tips, you’ll be able to move past mistakes quickly and confidently.
The conditional should never be used directly after “si”
Even though the conditional is used with many “si” clauses, it should never be the verb that directly follows “si.” Only the imparfait or the plus-que-parfait directly follows “si.” You may even hear native French speakers making this mistake, but avoid making it yourself! Be sure to use the imperfect or pluperfect following “si,” instead of using the conditional twice.
The conditional is only polite in certain situations
Another common mistake is to conjugate every verb in the conditional to make it more polite. The only verbs that should be put in the conditional mood are those expressing wants or requests, such as vouloir (to want), aimer (to like), and pouvoir (to be able to). Do not assume just because a verb is in the conditional mood that it expresses politeness.
Key takeaways
Language learning is a continuous process that requires time and patience. Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method will help you improve more quickly and gain a deeper understanding of the French conditional without memorization.
- Le conditionnel mood is used to describe theoretical situations, to express politeness, and to express regret.
- The verb pouvoir (to be able to) usually translates to “could” in English when conjugated in the conditional.
- The verbs vouloir (to want) and aimer (to like) are often used in the conditional when ordering food or in other situations to politely express a want or desire. This is very useful when traveling!
- The verb devoir (to have to) in the conditional translates to “should” and can be used to give advice or to tell someone what you think they should do.
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