The French Conditional: Politeness, Hypotheticals & Dreams

What Is the Conditional Tense?

The conditional (le conditionnel présent) is used for three main purposes: polite requests, hypothetical situations, and reported speech about the future. Once you know how to form it, these uses become very natural.

How to Form the Conditional

Take the infinitive of the verb (the same stem as the future tense) and add the imperfect endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

• parler → je parlerais, tu parlerais, il parlerait…
• finir → je finirais, tu finirais…
• vendre → drop the final e: je vendrais…

Irregular Stems (Same as Future Tense)

• être → ser- : je serais
• avoir → aur- : j'aurais
• aller → ir- : j'irais
• faire → fer- : je ferais
• pouvoir → pourr- : je pourrais
• vouloir → voudr- : je voudrais
• venir → viendr- : je viendrais
• savoir → saur- : je saurais

Use 1: Polite Requests (Essential for Daily Life)

Using the conditional instead of the present tense makes a request instantly more polite — like the difference between "I want" and "I would like" in English.

• Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît. (I'd like a coffee, please.)
• Pourriez-vous m'aider ? (Could you help me?)
• Auriez-vous un stylo ? (Would you happen to have a pen?)

Use 2: Hypothetical Sentences (Si + Imparfait)

This is the classic "if… then…" structure. The si clause uses the imperfait; the result clause uses the conditional.

• Si j'avais le temps, je voyagerais plus. (If I had the time, I would travel more.)
• Si elle pouvait, elle viendrait. (If she could, she would come.)

Common mistake: Never use the conditional in the si clause itself.

Use 3: Reported Future Speech

When reporting what someone said about the future, the future tense becomes a conditional.

• Direct: Il dit : "Je viendrai demain."
• Indirect: Il a dit qu'il viendrait le lendemain.