French/Grammar/Tenses/Present conditional
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
| () | French Language Course | (discussion) |
| Learning the French Language • Downloadable and Print Versions
Lessons • Grammar • Appendices • Texts • About • Q&A • Planning |
||
Contents |
[edit] Usage of the Conditional (Present)
The conditional tense is used when:
- a hypothetical situation is described. In which case the structure "Si + l'imparfait, le conditionnel" is used.
- e.g. If I saw (or If I were to see) her, I would not recognize her. - Si je la voyais, je ne la reconnaîtrais pas.
- a polite request needs to be made:
- e.g. I would like a small salad, please. - Je voudrais (or J'aimerais) une petit salade, s'il vous plaît.
- an event that had not happened was described:
- e.g. He said Marie would come. - Il a dit que Marie viendrait.
[edit] Formation of the Conditional
[edit] Conditional Stems
- For (regular and irregular) -er or -ir verbs, the infinitive is the future stem.
- For (regular and irregular) -re verbs, the infinitive minus the final e is the future stem.
- Exception: Verbs that are stem-changing in the present are stem-changing in the conditional also.
- Exception: Certain irregular verbs have irregular conditional stems. (Not all irregular verbs have conditional stems).
Stem Changes
|
Verb |
Change From |
Change To |
|---|---|---|
|
-ler verbs |
ler |
ller |
|
-ter verbs |
ter |
tter |
|
-yer verbs |
yer |
ier |
|
verbs with an e in the penultimate syllable |
e in penultimate syllable |
è |
|
verbs with é in the penultimate syllable |
é in penultimate syllable |
è |
Irregular Stems
|
verb |
future stem |
|---|---|
|
aller |
ir- |
|
avoir |
aur- |
|
devoir |
devr- |
|
envoyer |
enverr- |
|
être |
ser- |
|
faire |
fer- |
|
pleuvoir |
pleuvr- |
|
pouvoir |
pourr- |
|
savoir |
saur- |
|
venir |
viendr- |
|
voir |
verr |
|
vouloir |
voudr- |
[edit] Conditional Endings
- To conjugate in the conditional, add the appropriate ending to the future stem.
|
Subject |
Ending |
|---|---|
|
je |
-ais |
|
tu |
-ais |
|
il |
-ait |
|
nous |
-ions |
|
vous |
-iez |
|
ils |
-aient |
|
Tenses & Moods
Auxiliary Verb • Non-finite Forms : Present Participle • Past Participle • Gérondif • Infinitive • Past Infinitive Simple Tenses : Present • Imperfect • Past Historic • Future |
| (edit template) | (discussion) |