Home › French Grammar › French Conditional
A2 · Verb Tenses · Published
French Conditional
The French conditional, or conditionnel présent, is the main form for "would" and many polite requests: je voudrais means "I would like". You build it with the same stem as the futur simple plus imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
Its shape explains its meaning: the conditional looks toward a possible future, but keeps it softer, less certain, or dependent on a condition. That is why it appears in requests, advice, imagined situations, and future-in-the-past reporting.
This page covers the present conditional. The past form (j’aurais fait) belongs to conditionnel passé, the full if-clause system belongs to si clauses, and the news-reporting use belongs to the conditionnel journalistique, covered on its own page.
In short
- Conditional = future stem + imparfait endings:
je parlerais,tu finirais,elle vendrait. - Use it for polite requests:
je voudrais,pourriez-vous… ? - Use it for advice and imagined results:
tu devrais partir,si j’avais le temps, je viendrais. - When the result is in the conditional, the si-clause uses the imparfait:
si j’avais…, je ferais…— the full system is on the si clauses page.
conditional formsi clausepolite use· hover a highlighted word for its label
Formation: future stem + imparfait endings
The conditional shares its stem with the futur simple. Regular -er and -ir verbs keep the infinitive; regular -re verbs drop the final e; irregular stems are the same as the future: ser-, aur-, fer-, ir-, pourr-, voudr-, devr-, and so on.
The endings are the imparfait endings. That is the whole recipe.
| Person | parler | finir | vendre |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | je parlerais | je finirais | je vendrais |
| tu | tu parlerais | tu finirais | tu vendrais |
| il / elle / on | elle parlerait | elle finirait | elle vendrait |
| nous | nous parlerions | nous finirions | nous vendrions |
| vous | vous parleriez | vous finiriez | vous vendriez |
| ils / elles | ils parleraient | ils finiraient | ils vendraient |
I would like a coffee, please.
— Voudrais is the classic polite conditional form.
We would like to visit Lyon.
— Aimer uses the future stem aimer- plus the nous ending -ions.
She would sell the apartment in September.
— Vendre drops the final e before the conditional ending.
The irregular stems are future stems
If you already know the futur simple, you know the hard part of the conditional. The same irregular stems take the conditional endings.
| Infinitive | Stem | Conditional example |
|---|---|---|
| être | ser- | je serais |
| avoir | aur- | tu aurais |
| faire | fer- | il ferait |
| aller | ir- | nous irions |
| pouvoir | pourr- | vous pourriez |
| devoir | devr- | elles devraient |
| vouloir | voudr- | je voudrais |
| venir | viendr- | il viendrait |
Could you repeat, please?
— Pouvoir becomes pourr-; vous pourriez is polite and useful.
It would be nice to leave early.
— Être uses the stem ser- plus the ending -ait.
Polite requests and softened wishes
The conditional is often the polite version of a direct present-tense request. Je veux is grammatically correct, but it can sound blunt. Je voudrais is the everyday service-counter form.
The same softening works with pouvoir: pouvez-vous asks directly; pourriez-vous asks more gently.
I would like to change my ticket.
— The conditional softens the request.
Could you open the window?
— Pourriez-vous is more polite than pouvez-vous.
Advice: devoir in the conditional
Devoir in the conditional gives advice: tu devrais means "you should". It is less forceful than tu dois, which means "you must" or "you have to".
You should call your sister.
— Devrais gives advice, not an order.
In your place, I would take the train.
— À ta place naturally introduces a conditional recommendation.
Hypothetical results with si
For an unlikely or imagined present situation, French pairs si + imparfait with the conditional result. English says "if I had time, I would come"; French says the same idea with imparfait after si, then conditional in the result.
si + imparfait + conditional
If I had time, I would come.
— The si-clause uses imparfait; the result uses conditional.
If the apartment were quieter, she would be happier.
— French uses imparfait after si, then conditional for the imagined result.
Future in the past
The conditional can also report a future from a past point of view. In "he said he would come", the coming was future at the moment of saying, so French uses the conditional: il viendrait. Full reported speech belongs to its own guide, but this form is worth recognizing early.
He said he would come after work.
— The coming is future from the past reporting verb a dit.
Common mistakes
✗Je voudrai un café, s’il vous plaît.
✓Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît.
Je voudrai is future, "I will want"; polite requests normally use the conditional je voudrais.
✗Si j’aurais le temps, je viendrais.
✓Si j’avais le temps, je viendrais.
In this si pattern, the condition uses the imparfait. The conditional belongs in the result, not right after si.
✗Tu devrais de partir maintenant.
✓Tu devrais partir maintenant.
Modal verbs such as devoir, pouvoir, and vouloir take the next infinitive directly, without de.
✗Il fairait plus chaud au soleil.
✓Il ferait plus chaud au soleil.
Faire uses the irregular stem fer- in both the future and the conditional.
Check yourself
1 / 4(Politely) Je ___ une table pour deux personnes, s’il vous plaît. (vouloir)
2 / 4For advice, "You should rest tonight" = Tu ___ te reposer ce soir. (devoir)
3 / 4Si nous avions le temps, nous ___ le musée. (visiter)
4 / 4Il a dit qu’il ___ le lendemain. (venir)
Frequently asked questions
How do you form the French conditional?
Use the futur simple stem plus the imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. For example: je parlerais, nous finirions, elle prendrait.
What is the difference between je voudrai and je voudrais?
Je voudrai is future: "I will want". Je voudrais is conditional and is the normal polite form for "I would like".
Is the French conditional the same as the future tense?
No. They share the same stem, but the endings and the meaning differ: je ferai is future, "I will do", while je ferais is conditional, "I would do". The future states what will happen; the conditional presents it as possible, polite, or dependent on a condition.
Is the conditional a tense or a mood in French?
Traditional grammars call the conditionnel a mood, while modern French grammar classes it as a tense of the indicative. In use, it presents an action as polite, possible, reported, or dependent on a condition.
Memory tip
Build it like a hybrid: future stem for the possible action, imparfait ending for the softened or unreal angle.
See this grammar in today's news
Verbalane turns current news into short French stories at your level — so the patterns you study here show up in sentences you actually want to read.
Start reading today's storyRelated topics