French grammar - If… then - Le conditionnel présent |
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In French, we use the conditional mood to express conditionality or possibility. The present tense form of the conditional, le conditionnel présent, can be used to express a possible action in the present or future - often used with an 'if..then' (si) condition. When a sentence is used to express a condition in the present that has an unlikely subsequent outcome then the conditional si clause should in l'imparfait and the (unlikely) outcome in le conditionnel présent. The conditionnel présent conjugation is straight forward - add the imparfait ending to the stem of le futur simple. • je + aimer- + -ias ⇒ j'aimerais - 'I would like' • tu + finir- + -ias ⇒ tu finirais - 'you (familiar) would finish' • il + vendr + -ait ⇒ il vendrait - 'he would sell' • elle + voudr + -ait ⇒ elle voudrait - 'she would want to' • nous + aur- + -ions ⇒ nous aurions - 'we would have' • vous + ser- + -iez ⇒ vous seriez - 'you (formal or plural) would be' • ils + pourr- + -aient ⇒ ils pourraient - 'they would be able to' • elles + ir- + -aient ⇒ elles iraient - 'they (females) would go' |
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Si j'avais le temps, j'aimerais aller en Guadeloupe.
If I had time I would like to go to Guadeloupe. |
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Si tu avais le temps, finirais-tu de construire ton bateau ?
If you (familiar) had time, would you finish building your boat? |
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S'il avait le temps, il vendrait son vélo et en achèterait un nouveau.
If he had time, he would sell his bike and buy a new one. |
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Si elle avait le temps, voudrait-elle retourner à l'université ?
If she had time, would she want to go back to college? |
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Si nous avions le temps, nous aurions plus d'enfants.
If we had time, we would have more children. |
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Si vous aviez le temps, seriez-vous plus heureux ?
If you (formal) had time, would you be happier? |
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S'ils avaient plus de temps, ils pourraient aussi peindre l'arrière de la maison.
If they had more time, they could also paint the back of the house. |
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S'ils avaient plus de temps, ils iraient rendre visite à leurs grands-parents.
If they had more time, they would go visit their grandparents. |
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S'il partait pour les Caraïbes, il pourrait aller à la plage tous les jours.
If he went to the Caribbean, he could go to the beach every day. |
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Je t'appellerais si j'entendais des nouvelles.
I'll call you (formal) if I hear any news. |
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Tu réussirais à l'examen si tu étudiais.
You (formal) would pass the exam if you studied. |
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S'il était fatigué, il irait se coucher.
If he were tired he would go to bed. |
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S'il faisait beau, nous irions nous promener.
If the weather was nice, we would go for a walk. |
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Je l'achèterais si ce n'était pas si cher.
I would buy it if it wasn't so expensive. |
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Si j'avais le temps, je ferais mes devoirs.
If I had time, I would do my homework. |
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Si ce n'était pas si bruyant, je ferais mes devoirs.
If it wasn't so loud, I'd be doing my homework. |
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