Grammar · Verbs & tenses
The conditionnel — being polite and imagining
Use the conditionnel to ask for something politely (je voudrais, pourriez-vous), give advice (tu devrais), express a wish (j'aimerais), or imagine a different present (s'il faisait beau, je sortirais). Take the stem from the futur — the infinitive itself — and add the imparfait endings.
| parlerto speak | finirto finish | vendreto sell | |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | parlerais | finirais | vendrais |
| tu | parlerais | finirais | vendrais |
| il / elle / on | parlerait | finirait | vendrait |
| nous | parlerions | finirions | vendrions |
| vous | parleriez | finiriez | vendriez |
| ils / elles | parleraient | finiraient | vendraient |
- vendrais — -re verbs drop the final e of the infinitive before adding the ending: vendre → vendr-.
- il / elle / on — on takes the same form as il/elle, even when it means "we".
- The stem is always the futur stem — for regular verbs, that's the infinitive itself (-re verbs drop the final e: vendre → vendr-). The six endings are the same six endings as the imparfait: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
- Many everyday conditionnel forms come from futur stems that are irregular: être → ser- (je serais), avoir → aur- (j'aurais), aller → ir- (j'irais), faire → fer- (je ferais), pouvoir → pourr- (je pourrais), devoir → devr- (je devrais), vouloir → voudr- (je voudrais). The endings never change.
- one fixed word does the job for every verb: would + base (I would speak, I would finish, I would sell)
- there's no separate word — the verb itself changes ending, and that ending is easy to mix up with another tense that looks almost the same
je voudrai un café → je voudrais ✓ (politeness needs the conditionnel, spelled -ais — -ai alone is the futur, "I will want")
The recipe: futur stem + imparfait endings. That's why the irregular futur stems resurface here: être → je serais, avoir → j'aurais, aller → j'irais, faire → je ferais, pouvoir → je pourrais, devoir → je devrais, vouloir → je voudrais.
Three everyday uses. A polite request (je voudrais, pourriez-vous), a piece of advice (tu devrais / vous devriez), or a wish (j'aimerais).
For imagining "what if." Pair it with si + the imparfait to picture a different present: si j'avais le temps, je viendrais ("if I had time, I'd come"). Common, but a notch further along than the everyday uses above.
