Conditional sentences French. Conditionnel is a conditional mood in French. Use in a complex sentence

Thus, in the first, second and part of the third group verbs, the stem in the conditionnel présent is formed from the infinitive.

Most verbs of the third group ending in -re lose the ending -e in conditionnel présent and add endings.

Many verbs of the third group in conditionnel présent have a special stem.

You can additionally familiarize yourself with the conjugation of verbs of the first, second and third groups on the page Typical conjugation of French verbs.

Meaning and use

Conditionnel présent is used to express an action that could occur in the present or future tense under certain conditions.

Si j "avais le temps en ce moment, je le ferais.
If I had time now, I I would make this is.

Je le ferais si j "avais le temps demain.
I AM I would make that if I had time tomorrow.

It should be noted that if conditionnel présent is used in the main clause, then the subordinate clause after the conjunction si ( if) you need to use imparfait.

Si tu étais prêt, on irait au ciné dans cinq minutes.
If you were ready, we would have gone to a movie in 5 minutes.

Je pourrais partir dans trois jours si tout allait bien.
I could leave in three days if all goes well.

Conditionnel présent is often used to express a polite request, wish, desire, advice. In this case, the most commonly used verbs are vouloir to want, aimer be in love, devoir be to, pouvoir be able.

J "aimerais revoir ce film.
I would like to see this film again.

Pourriez-vous me montrer ce souvenir?
Could you show me this souvenir?

In press language, conditionnel présent can be used to report current or future events, the accuracy of which is not guaranteed. When translating such messages into Russian, the words are used: Maybe, as if, ostensibly, apparently, as reported, it is believed etc.

L "avion serait tombé en panne.
On the plane there was allegedly a breakdown of equipment.

Plusieurs militaires feraient partie du nouveau gouvernement.
Many military personnel are reported to be part of the new government.

Initially, a division should be made, since the conditional mood is a general concept. There are Conditionnel présent and Conditionnel passé, which we will consider separately. Each of these forms is based on the forms of the future tense, which we will also analyze in more detail, so that everything becomes extremely clear. Let's start with the conditional mood of the present tense.

Conditionnel présent

Can express assumptions, doubts.

• It is used both in writing and in oral speech.
• Its use is possible both in a complex and in a simple short sentence.
• The intended action refers to either the present moment or a moment in the future tense.

For example:

Ce serait étrange d'en penser maintenant. It would be strange to think about it now.

Tu voudrais les appeler demain? Would you like to call them tomorrow?

Conditionnel présent differs from Futur dans le passé by the use of tense in context. For example:

Present or future tense is Conditionnel présent.

Marie pense qu'elle pourrait faire ce travail. Marie thinks she could do the job.

The past tense is Futur dans le passé.

Marie a dit qu'elle pourrait faire ce travail. Marie said she could do the job.

So, the meaning and forms of the formation of the conditional mood. Conditionnel présent has the same forms as the French tense Futur dans le passé: for example, je préférerais for the first group, je finirais for the second group, je recevrais for the third group verbs. Now let's take a closer look at Futur dans le passé.

Futur dans le passé is a temporary form that is formed from the initial form of the verb, that is, infinitive, by adding the endings of the French tense imparfait:

• ions,
• aient.

This tense is applicable to express a future event or action, when the verb expressing it is in the subordinate clause, while the past tense verb is used in the main sentence. Indicates a future event in relation to a moment in the past. For example:

Elle a dit qu'elle viendrait dimanche. She said she would come on Sunday.

There are also some deviations from the rules that are worth remembering, for example the verb envoyer changes its stem in the future tense envoyer - enverr. For most verbs of the 3rd group, this rule applies, but those that end in -re drop the final letter -e, for example: attendre - j'attendrais. And some verbs of the same 3rd group completely change their stem. Let's consider them:

• aller - ir,
• venir -viendr,
• vouloir - voudr,
• voir - verr,
• pouvoir - pourr,
• devoir - devr,
• falloir - faudr,
• faire - fer,
• pleuvoir - pleuvr,
• savoir - saur,
• avoir - aur,
• être - ser,
• mourir - mourr.

Group 1 verb conjugation

Conjugation of the 3rd group verb:

Conditionnel présent Futur dans le passé

Je pense qu'il pourrait faire ce dessin. I think he could have done this drawing.

Il a dit qu'il pourrait faire ce dessin. He said he could do this drawing.

Conditionnel passé

Has me the same forms as Futur antérieur dans le passé: l'aurais préféré - for verbs of the 1st group, l'aurais fini - for the 2nd group, and, finally, an example of the verb of the 3rd group - l'aurais reçu.

The action refers to the past moment: Il serait déjà parti. He, apparently, has already left.

For a better understanding, let's analyze the time of Futur antérieur dans le passé. It represents a complex future tense in the past, and is formed by putting the auxiliary verb avoir or être in the form of the above tense futur dans le passé, and after it a past participle is added - participe passé. Let's see exactly how this looks like in an example:

Future antérieur dans le passé is most often used in subordinate clauses or when agreeing on tenses. Like futur antérieur, futur antérieur dans le passé indicates an action in the future if it precedes another in the future. More often it is used when agreeing on tenses, therefore, in this case, the main sentence should be in the form of the past tense. For example:

Marie a dit que Marc arriverait dès qu'il aurait envoyé la lettre. Marie said that Mark would be back as soon as he sent the letter.

Conditionnel passé differs from Futur antérieur dans le passé directly in the context of the sentence itself.

Conditionnel passé, his context is in the past or present tense in a complex or simple sentence without clauses.

A mon avis elle aurait pu dire ce phrase il y a trois jours. In my opinion, she could have said this three years ago.

Futur antérieur dans le passé, its context in the past tense, where there is a complex subordinate clause.

Marie a dit qu'elle ferait ce dessin dès qu'elle en aurait fini un autre. Marie said that she would do this drawing after finishing the first one.

Conditionnel simple sentence

May indicate desire, use verbs: vouloir, aimer, préférer, désirer, etc.

Je voudrais voyager. I would like to go on a trip.

Can express a wish or a request, a wish. The verbs used are: pouvoir, devoir, vouloir, etc.

Pourriez-vous me laisser seul? Could you leave me alone?

Indicates a suggestion of something.

Cerait au mois au week-end. It will probably be on the weekend.

Use in a complex sentence

The conditional clause is introduced using the union si. Futur simple, as well as Conditionnel after this union have no place to be !! The condition is limited to unreal and real action. The actual action in a sentence has the following formula:

Si - Présent - Fntur simple

For example:

Sil elle travaille bien, elle réussira. If she does a good job, she will be successful.

An unreal condition is associated with the present or future time and acts according to the scheme:

Si - Imparfait - Conditionnel présent

For example:

Si elle travaillait bien, elle réussirait. If she did a good job, she would be successful.

Also, an unrealistic condition may be associated with the past tense, then the scheme is as follows:

Si - Plus-que-parfait - Conditionnel passé

Si l'année passée elle avait bien travaillé, elle aurait réussi. If she did a good job last year, she would be successful.

The subject of conditional mood is very large and complex. You will have to devote a lot of time to studying it in order to understand and learn how to use verb forms without prompting and peeping into the rules. We hope we helped you, now it's up to you. Good luck!