French Explained

Learn the conditional constructs with Leo and Audrianna in French.

Summary:

In English: I would speak (je parlerais)

Regular conjugations:

Take the infinitive form of the verb and add the imperfect endings (same ones for all verbs, regular and irregular). For -re verbs, you take the infinitive, remove the -e and add the imperfect endings

Used for: expressing what would happen in the future (if a certain condition is met), expressing hypotheses, making requests more polite

Usages:

Polite requests

• Est-ce que tu pourrais m’aider? Could you help me?
• Voudriez-vous venir chez nous demain? Would you like to come to our place tomorrow?
• Pourrais-tu m’expliquer ce mot? Could you explain this word to me?

In journalism, the conditional is used to express events that “reportedly” or “allegedly” occur.

• Le premier ministre serait ici demain. The prime minister will reportedly be here tomorrow.
• Le directeur signerait un contrat demain. The director will reportedly sign a contract tomorrow.
• Le comedien se présenterait sur scene demain. The actor will reportedly