What the conditional is for
The conditionnel turns a statement into a polite request, a wish, a piece of advice or a possibility. It is the French counterpart of would (I'd like, you should, we could), but it is a single verb form, not an extra word.
How it is built
For -er and -ir verbs you add the endings to the full infinitive. For -re verbs the final -e drops first: prendre → prendr-.
parler, finir, prendre
| Person | parler | finir | prendre |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | parlerais | finirais | prendrais |
| tu | parlerais | finirais | prendrais |
| il / elle / on | parlerait | finirait | prendrait |
| nous | parlerions | finirions | prendrions |
| vous | parleriez | finiriez | prendriez |
| ils / elles | parleraient | finiraient | prendraient |
Conditionnel présent
Verbs with an irregular future stem keep that stem and only take the conditional endings: je serai → je serais, j'irai → j'irais, je pourrai → je pourrais, je voudrai → je voudrais.
Watch the je form: only an -s separates je parlerai (future: I will speak) from je parlerais (conditional: I would speak). In speech you do not always hear the difference, so the context decides.
Regular forms in a sentence
À ta place, je lui parlerais tout de suite.
If I were you, I'd talk to him right away.
Nous finirions plus tôt avec un peu d'aide.
We'd finish earlier with a bit of help.
Elle prendrait volontiers un dessert.
She'd happily have a dessert.
The three main uses
Requests and wishes
Je veux sounds like a demand, je voudrais like a request. Wishes with aimer stay non-committal in the same way.
Pourriez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît ?
Could you help me, please?
Je voudrais réserver une table pour deux.
I'd like to book a table for two.
J'aimerais vivre au bord de la mer.
I'd love to live by the sea.
Advice and suggestions
Devoir in the conditional means should, and pouvoir turns a possibility into a suggestion (could).
Tu devrais lui envoyer un message.
You should send him a message.
On pourrait dîner ensemble vendredi.
We could have dinner together on Friday.
Hypothesis
Something that is only true under a condition or only in the imagination. The condition can also be given with avec or sans.
Avec plus de temps, je finirais ce soir.
With more time, I'd finish tonight.
Sans toi, ce projet ne marcherait pas.
Without you, this project wouldn't work.
