PrepMyFrench
PrepMyFrench
Also known as: French conditional · conditionnel présent · conditional mood
The conditionnel is a French mood used for hypothetical situations, polite requests, advice, reported future from a past viewpoint, and unreal conditions. The present conditional uses futur simple stems with imparfait endings, as in je voudrais, tu pourrais, and nous irions.
Conditionnel présent expresses what would happen; conditionnel passé expresses what would have happened. It often pairs with si + imparfait or si + plus-que-parfait.
The conditionnel helps candidates sound polite and nuanced in speaking tasks and gives written arguments stronger hypothetical reasoning.
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