The conditional

Forming the conditional

To form the conditional in French, you have to use:

Then add the correct ending to the stem, depending on whether you are talking about je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles. The endings are the same for all verbs.

Pronoun Ending Add to stem, Meanings
e.g. donner-,
finir-, attendr-
je (j’) -ais je donnerais I would give
je finirais I would finish
j’attendrais I would wait
tu -ais tu donnerais you would give
tu finirais you would finish
tu attendrais you would wait
il -ait il/elle/on donnerait he/she/it/one would give
elle il/elle/on finirait he/she/it/one would finish
on il/elle/on attendrait he/she/it/one would wait
nous -ions nous donnerions we would give
nous finirions we would finish
nous attendrions we would wait
vous -iez vous donneriez you would give
vous finiriez you would finish
vous attendriez you would wait
ils -aient ils/elles donneraient they would give
elles ils/elles finiraient they would finish
ils/elles attendraient they would wait

Note that you have to be careful not to mix up the future tense and the conditional. They look very similar.

Future Conditional
je donnerai je donnerais
je finirai je finirais
j’attendrai j’attendrais
j’aimerai j’aimerais
je voudrai je voudrais
je viendrai je viendrais
je serai je serais

J’aimerais qu’il neige à Noël. I’d like it to snow at Christmas.
Je serais moins inquiet si je savais où elle est.
I wouldn’t be so worried if I knew where she was.
Je finirais ce travail aujourd’hui s’il n’était pas si tard.
I’d finish this work today if it weren’t so late.

Spelling changes in -er verbs

As with the future tense, a few -er verbs change their spellings slightly in the conditional. The forms with spelling changes have been underlined in the tables below.

With verbs such as appeler (meaning to call), which end in -eler, the l doubles throughout the conditional. The double consonant (ll) affects the pronunciation of the word. In appeler, the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teacher, but in appellerais the first e sounds like the one in the English word pet.

Pronoun Example verb: appeler
j’ appellerais
tu appellerais
il/elle/on appellerait
nous appellerions
vous appelleriez
ils/elles appelleraient

Je l’appellerais si j’avais son numéro de téléphone.
I’d call her if I had her phone number.
Nous appellerions une ambulance s’il était gravement blessé.
We’d call an ambulance if he were seriously injured.
Qui appelleriez-vous en cas de besoin?
Who would you phone if you needed help?

The exceptions to this rule are geler (meaning to freeze) and peler (meaning to peel), which change in the same way as lever.

With verbs such as jeter (meaning to throw), which end in -eter, the t doubles throughout the conditional. The double consonant (tt) affects the pronunciation of the word. In jeter, the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teacher, but in jetterais the first e sounds like the one in the English word pet.

Pronoun Example verb: jeter
je jetterais
tu jetterais
il/elle/on jetterait
nous jetterions
vous jetteriez
ils/elles jetteraient

Je jetterais ces vieux vêtements si j’étais sûr qu’il ne serviront plus.
I’d throw these old clothes away if I were sure they were no longer any use.
Nous jetterions la balle plus fort s’ils pouvaient la rattraper.
We’d throw the ball harder if they could catch it.

The exceptions to this rule include acheter (meaning to buy), which changes in the same way as lever.

With verbs such as nettoyer (meaning to clean), that end in -yer, the y changes to i throughout the conditional.

Pronoun Example verb: nettoyer
je nettoierais
tu nettoierais
il/elle/on nettoierait
nous nettoierions
vous nettoieriez
ils/elles nettoieraient

Il nettoierait le grenier s’il avait le courage.
He’d clean the attic if he had the heart.

Verbs ending in -ayer, such as payer (meaning to pay) and essayer (meaning to try), can be spelled with either a y or an i. So je paierais and je payerais, for example, are both correct.

With verbs such as lever (meaning to raise), peser (meaning to weigh) and acheter (meaning to buy), e changes to è throughout the conditional. In lever the first e sounds like the vowel sound at the end of the English word teacher, but in lèverais and so on the first e sounds like the one in the English word pet.

Pronoun Example verb: lever
je lèverais
tu lèverais
il/elle/on lèverait
nous lèverions
vous lèveriez
ils/elles lèveraient

Nous lèverions la main si nous n’étions pas si timides.
We’d put our hands up if we weren’t so shy.
Je lèverais la vitre s’il ne faisait pas si chaud dans cette voiture.
I’d wind up the window if it weren’t so hot in this car.

Reflexive verbs in the conditional

The conditional of reflexive verbs is formed in just the same way as for ordinary verbs, except that you have to remember to give the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se).

Subject pronoun Reflexive pronoun Example with laver Meaning
je me (m’) laverais I would wash
tu te (t’) laverais you would wash
il/elle/on se (s’) laverait he/she/it would wash
nous nous laverions we would wash
vous vous laveriez you would wash
ils/elles se (s’) laveraient they would wash

Je me laverais si la douche fonctionnait. I’d wash if the shower worked.

Irregular verbs in the conditional

The same verbs that are irregular in the future tense are irregular in the conditional, including: avoir, être, faire, aller, devoir, pouvoir, savoir, tenir, venir, voir, vouloir.

To form the conditional of an irregular verb, use the same stem as for the future tense, for example: avoir > aur-, être > ser-

Then add the usual endings for the conditional.

Infinitive Future stem Conditional endings Conditional form
avoir aur- -ais, -ais, -ait, j’aurais, tu aurais,
-ions, -iez, -aient il/elle/on aurait,
nous aurions, vous auriez,
ils/elles auraient
être ser- -ais, -ais, -ait, je serais, tu serais,
-ions, -iez, -aient il/elle/on serait,
nous serions, vous seriez,
ils/elles seraient
faire fer- -ais, -ais, -ait, je ferais, tu ferais,
-ions, -iez, -aient il/elle/on ferait,
nous ferions, vous feriez,
ils/elles feraient
aller ir- -ais, -ais, -ait, j’irais, tu irais,
-ions, -iez, -aient il/elle/on irait,
nous irions, vous iriez,
ils/elles iraient

J’irais si j’avais le temps. I would go if I had time.
Je voudrais un kilo de poires, s’il vous plaît. I’d like a kilo of pears, please.
Tu devrais t’excuser. You should say you’re sorry.

The most important irregular verbs are shown in full in the Verb Tables at the back of the book.