Le Conditionnel

What does the conditional express?

what you would do/what would happen under certain circumstances

What are the uses of the conditional?

• to make a polite request

• to soften a demand

• to express what someone could/should do

• use with a past-tense verb to express what someone said or thought would happen in the future at a past moment in time

How do you form the conditional for regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs?

• -er and -ir: use the infinitive as the stem and add the correct imparfait ending

• -re: drop the e, then add the correct imparfait ending

imparfait endings

• Je: -ais

• Tu: -ais

• Il/Elle/On: -ait

• Nous: -ions

• Vous: -iez

• Ils/Elles: -aient

Irregular verb stems

• aller: ir-

• avoir: aur-

• être: ser-

• faire: fer-

• pouvoir: pourr-

• vouloir: voudr-