The Conditional Duh duh DUUUUUHHHHH What is the

The Conditional Duh duh DUUUUUHHHHH!

What is the conditional? • The French conditional is very similar to the English conditional mood. It describes events that are not guaranteed to occur; often they are dependent on certain conditions. • While the French conditional mood has a full set of conjugations, the English equivalent is just the modal verb “would” + the main verb.

• The French conditional is mainly used in “if…then” statements (si clauses) to express what would happen if a condition were met. • N. B. The conditional is in the result (then) part of the clause, not the clause that follows si (if). • Ex. Il mangerait s’il avait faim. • Si nous étudiions, nous serions plus intelligents.

Vouloir • The verb vouloir is used in the conditional to express a polite request. – Je voudrais une pomme. – Je voudrais aller avec vous. • However, you can’t say “si vous voudriez” to mean “if you would like” because the French conditional CAN NEVER be used after si.

Aimer • The verb aimer is used to express a polite desire, sometimes one that cannot be fulfilled. • J’aimerais bien le voir! • J’aimerais y aller, mais je dois travailler.

Conjugation • The conditional has only one set of endings for all verbs, and most of them- even those irregular in the present tense- use their infinitives as a root. Here are the most common irregular stems. • NB These verbs stems should look REALLY familiar. As they are the same in the future tense. Which means THEY ALWAYS END IN R!!!!!

Infinative Conditional Stem Aller Ir- Avoir Aur- Devoir Devr- Être Ser- Envoyer Enverr- Faire Fer- Pleuvoir Pleuvr- Pouvoir Pourr- Recevoir Recevr- Savoir Saur- Tenir Tiendr- Venir Viendr- Voir Verr- Vouloir Voudr-

Conjugation -ais -ait Conditional Endings -ions -iez -aient WHY DO THESE LOOK FAMILIAR?

Conditional mood in si clauses • The seconditional expresses something that is contrary to present fact or unlikely to occur. Something that would happen if something else happened. • Use si + imparfait (stating the condition) + conditionnel (stating what would have happened.

Formula • Si + imparfait + conditional • OR • Conditional + si + imparfait

Examples • Si j’avais le temps, je le ferais. • Je le ferais si j’avais le temps. • Si tu étudiais, tu réussirais à l’examen. • Tu réussirais à l’examen si tu étudiais. • Si elle vous voyais, elle vous aiderait. • Elle vous aiderait si elle vous voyait.