Lesson - Section 3: Conditionnel

[garçoncanadien]

PART 3: FUTURE TENSE VERBS

Lesson - Section 3:
Le Conditionnel Présent + Passé
The Vocabulary of Nature on Land

Hi everybody! I do believe the Conditionnel Présent is the easiest tense to conjugate of all the tenses in French. Le Conditionnel is used to express that something would happen. This corresponds to the English construction would + infinitive. This tense is used to express the consequence of something that might happen. Also, this tense is most often seen in use with the conjunction si (if), plus a verb conjugated in imparfait/plus-que-parfait.

Let's see a few examples of the Conditionnel in action.

Si j'avais su que le métro a été fermé aujourd'hui, je n'irais pas à la station. hear it
If I had known that the metro was closed today, I would not go to the station.

Si elle l'avait lu, elle ajouterait du sel. hear it
If she had read it, she would add salt.

Il se demandait si les gens achèteraient des oranges. hear it
He wondered if the people would buy oranges.

The Conditionnel Passé is used to express exactly what it sounds like: that something would have happened. This corresponds to the English construction would + have + verb. Its usage is quite similar to the Conditionnel Présent. Let's see some examples of this Conditionnel Passé in action.

Nous croyions que vous auriez fini les rédactions plus tard. hear it
We thought that you would have finished the essays later.

Elles se demandaient si le train serait parti à l'heure. hear it
The ladies wondered if the train would have left on time.

The actual conjugation goes as follows: you already know the endings, they are the same as in the imparfait. You simply add these endings onto the end of the entire verb. For example:

Je parlerais
Tu parlerais
Il/Elle/On parlerait
Nous parlerions
Vous parleriez
Ils/Elles parleraient

hear it conjugated

Important irregular verbs to remember:
Avoir: add endings to Aur-
Etre: add endings to Ser-
Some -RE verbs that end in E: drop the e first.
Tenir (and verbs with similar spelling): Tiendr-

Commentary

There are some stylistic usages of the Conditionnel. In the journalism business, the conditionnel is used to express a fact that has not yet been confirmed.

Une gigantesque coulée de boue aurait devasté une village près de Sri Lanka. hear it
A giant mudslide could have devastated a village near Sri Lanka.

Also, kids use this tense to imagine things

Si les politiciens auraient écouté la musique d'Alizée, il n'y aurait pas de guerres hear it
If politicians would have listened to Alizée's music, there would not be wars

Now that you know this tense, the age old problem of how to translate would/could into French comes up. There are several rules to discuss here. Please bear with me

1. If the sentence using "would" expressed something that used to happen and that was a habit, would must be translated into the imparfait.
Every day we used to see the old lady.
Tous les jours nous voyions la vieille femme. hear it
2. If the sentence using "would" expressed something that finished already, it is translated into French by the past tense of vouloir.
She asked her to sell her bracelet, but she would not do it.
Elle lui a demandé de vendre son bracelet, mais elle n'a pas voulu le faire. hear it
3. If the sentence using "would" is expressing a question or request, it is translated by the conditionnel (finally
Would you go to France if you had the money?
Iriez-vous en France si vous aviez l'argent? hear it
4. "Could" is generally translated as a form of pouvoir. Meaning, "could" generally expresses the ABILITY to do something; the equivalent of "the ability to do something" in French is pouvoir. If "could" refers to a past event, and a single, short, nonrepetitive event, you translate it by the Passé Composé of pouvoir.
She couldn't do it.
Elle n'a pas pu le faire. hear it
5. If "could" refers to a past event, and a descriptive event, it is translated by the imparfait.
He couldn't start it, but I helped him.
Il n'a pas pu la démarrer, mais je l'ai aidé. hear it
6. If "could" refers to a future event, it is translated by the conditionnel.
Could you come in 3 days?
Pourras-tu venir dans trois jours? hear it

This was a lot to absorb so I will not include a Français Quotidien section for now Here is your vocabulary of Nature on Land:

The Vocabulary of Nature on Land

Un arbre

La colline (hill)

Une feuille

La mer

Le sable (sand)

La plage

Le forêt

La pelouse(uncountable)

Une herbe (countable)

Une cascade

La plaine

Le sol

Une fleur

That's it! Now for your questions.

1. Please conjugate the following verb completely in the Conditionnel Présent: passer.
2. Please conjugate the following verb completely in the Conditionnel Présent: rendre.
3. Please conjugate the following verb completely in the Conditionnel Passé: se laver (remember word order)
4. Please conjugate the following verb completely in the Conditionnel Passé: avoir.
5. Write me a short essay about the scenery outside your home (need not exceed 100 words).
6. Please translate this into French: He could have cooked the food.
7. Please translate this into French: He would have cooked the food.
8. Please translate this into French: She could do the groceries.
9. Please translate this into French: They would not have purchased the watermelon.
10. Please translate this into French: Could you buy me Alizée's DVD? (buy me = m'acheter).