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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):
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