LE CONDITIONNEL
The conditional expresses what would happen if certain condition existed.
(what people would do, what would happen if a certain condition were to be met).
In English, you usually use "would" to indicate the conditional. You need 2 parts, 2 words to form the
English conditional tense.
would + verbe sans “to”
2 distinct words
Exemple: I would travel to Europe.
(1) (2)
The "conditionnel" corresponds to the English "would + verb without to".
In French, unlike in English, it is a simple tense, that means that in French, only one word is necessary: the
verb bearing the appropriate ending.
Conditionnel = Racine du futur + terminaison de l’imparfait
(conditional) (future stem) + (imperfect ending)
1 word
Exemple: Je voyagerais en Europe
(1)
a) La racine (the stem)
You need to use the same stem as the future (simple future).
Conditionnal stem = Future stem
Stem = Infinitif (without “e” for –re verbs)
Exemples: manger je mangerais
parler je parlerais
finir je finirais
partir je partirais
vendre je vendrais
prendre je prendrais
b) Les terminaisons (the endings)
The endings (terminaisons) are the same for all the verbs, regulars and irregulars and they correspond to the
endings of the imperfect tense.
Conditional endings = imperfect endings