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The conditionnel présent (present conditional) is used to express what would happen. It is often paired with the imparfait in si (if) clauses. The good news is that its formation is highly predictable: it uses the same stem as the futur simple combined with the imparfait endings.
Future stem + imparfait endings = conditional
If you know the futur simple, you already know the conditional stem. If you know the imparfait, you already know the endings.
| Subject | Ending | Same as... |
|---|---|---|
| je | -ais | imparfait |
| tu | -ais | imparfait |
| il / elle / on | -ait | imparfait |
| nous | -ions | imparfait |
| vous | -iez | imparfait |
| ils / elles | -aient | imparfait |
Tip: The endings are identical to the imparfait. The difference is the stem: imparfait uses the nous-stem, conditional uses the future stem.
For regular verbs, the future stem is the infinitive (dropping -e for -re verbs):
| Subject | Conditional | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | parlerais | I would speak |
| tu | parlerais | you would speak |
| il/elle/on | parlerait | he/she would speak |
| nous | parlerions | we would speak |
| vous | parleriez | you would speak |
| ils/elles | parleraient | they would speak |
| Subject | Conditional | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | finirais | I would finish |
| tu | finirais | you would finish |
| il/elle/on | finirait | he/she would finish |
| nous | finirions | we would finish |
| vous | finiriez | you would finish |
| ils/elles | finiraient | they would finish |
| Subject | Conditional | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | vendrais | I would sell |
| tu | vendrais | you would sell |
| il/elle/on | vendrait | he/she would sell |
| nous | vendrions | we would sell |
| vous | vendriez | you would sell |
| ils/elles | vendraient | they would sell |
| Subject | Futur Simple | Conditional |
|---|---|---|
| je | parlerai | parlerais |
| tu | parleras | parlerais |
| il | parlera | parlerait |
| nous | parlerons | parlerions |
| vous | parlerez | parleriez |
| ils | parleront | parleraient |
Key Difference: The "je" form differs by just one letter: future -ai vs conditional -ais. In speech, parlerai and parlerais can sound similar but the conditional tends to have a slightly more open "eh" sound.
The conditional uses the same irregular stems as the futur simple:
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