Grammar · Connectors
If-sentences with si — real and imagined
Use this to say what happens if something is true. The tenses shift depending on whether the situation could really happen or you're only imagining it.
■ after si — present (real) or imperfect (imagined)■ the result — future (real) or conditional (imagined)
S'il fait beau, on ira à la plage.
If it's nice out, we'll go to the beach.
present after si, future in the result — it really might happen.
Scenario
The situation
↑ Flip between could-really-happen and just-imagining — watch both verbs shift together.
English vs French — the key difference
🇬🇧 In English
- the imagined version uses would: If I had time, I would come
- the if-clause itself never takes will or would
🇫🇷 In French
- French mirrors it: imperfect after si, conditional in the result
- never a future or a conditional right after si — this is the single most common mistake
Si j'aurais le temps, je viendrais Si j'avais le temps ✓ — never a -rais form right after si; si takes the imperfect.
Watch it repeat
Si tu veux, on peut regarder un film.
If you want, we can watch a movie.
Si j'étais toi, je ne dirais rien.
If I were you, I wouldn't say anything.
Si on gagnait au loto, on ferait le tour du monde.
If we won the lottery, we'd travel the world.
Good to know
For a general truth, use si + present + present. Si on chauffe l'eau, elle bout. Here si means whenever, and nothing is being imagined.
si + imperfect on its own is a soft suggestion. Si on allait au ciné ? is a friendly way to say "how about the movies?"
One step deeper, for the past (B2): si + pluperfect, then past conditional. Si j'avais su, je serais venu. (If I'd known, I'd have come.) — same logic, one tense back, often a regret.
