Le Conditionnel Présent
Form the present conditional using the futur simple stem plus imparfait endings. Use it for polite requests (je voudrais, pourriez-vous), hypotheticals, and softened statements (ce serait bien).
A lesson of French A2 — Elementary, in Futur & Projets, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will form the present conditional and use it for polite requests, hypothetical statements, and softened suggestions.
What Is the Conditionnel Présent?
The present conditional corresponds to "would do" in English. It describes what someone would do or what would happen under certain conditions.
Je voudrais un café. — I would like a coffee. Ce serait bien. — That would be nice. Pourriez-vous m'aider? — Could you help me?
Formation
The conditional uses the futur simple stem (infinitive, or irregular stem) + imparfait endings.
Futur stem + -ais / -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient
This means you already know everything you need — just combine the two patterns you learned.
Regular Verbs
| Verb | Stem | je | tu | il | nous | vous | ils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| parler | parler- | parlerais | parlerais | parlerait | parlerions | parleriez | parleraient |
| finir | finir- | finirais | finirais | finirait | finirions | finiriez | finiraient |
| vendre | vendr- | vendrais | vendrais | vendrait | vendrions | vendriez | vendraient |
Irregular Stems (same as futur simple)
| Infinitive | Stem | je/tu | il | nous | ils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aller | ir- | irais | irait | irions | iraient |
| avoir | aur- | aurais | aurait | aurions | auraient |
| être | ser- | serais | serait | serions | seraient |
| faire | fer- | ferais | ferait | ferions | feraient |
| venir | viendr- | viendrais | viendrait | viendrions |