Bonjour! My name is David! Welcome! Follow me on In this video tutorial lesson you will learn all about the conditional tense in French. This is the tense that you use when you want to say that you would do something. The conjugations are very simple and there is very little to memorize.
For regular ER, IR and RE verbs all you have to do is add on the conditional endings to the infinitive, or mother forms of the verbs. For example, to say I would like you say, “j’aimerais” with “aimer” being the infinitive form of the verb and “ais” being the ending.
Regular Verbs
| Aimer = To Likej’aimerais - I would like tu aimerais – You would like il/Elle/on aimerait – He/she/on would like nous aimerions – We could like vous aimeriez – You (pl, formal) would like ils/elles aimeraient – They would like |
Finir – To Finishje finirais tu finirais il/elle/on finirait nous finirions vous finiriez ils/elles finiraient |
Vendre = To Sellje vendrais tu vendrais il/elle/on vendrait nous vendrions vous vendriez ils/elles vendraient |
Irregular Verbs
In the video lesson you will also learn the conditional tense for the irregular verbs être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go) and pouvoir (can or to be able to). What’s easy is that while the endings are the same as the regular verbs all you have to do is change the verb stems. For example, the stem of être becomes “ser”, avoir becomes “aur”, aller becomes “ir”, pouvoir becomes “pourr” and faire becomes “fer”.
| être – To beje serais tu serais il/elle/on serait nous serions vous seriez ils/elles seraient |
Avoir – To Havej’aurais tu aurais il/elle/on aurait nous aurions vous auriez ils/elles auraient |
Aller – To Goj’irais tu irais il/elle/on irait nous irions vous iriez ils/elles iraient |
Pouvoir – To Be Ableje pourrais tu pourrais il/elle/on pourrait nous pourrions vous pourriez ils/elles pourraient |
Faire = To Make/Doje ferais tu ferais il/elle/on ferait nous ferions vous feriez ils/elles feraient |
To make the learning process easier you can also read through some example phrases. For further practice you can also try to make your own sentences.
Practice Sentences
J’irais à la plage mais je n’ai pas de temps.
I would go to the beach but I don’t have time.
Je mangerais mais je n’ai pas faim.
I would eat but I’m not hungry.
Il achèterait la maison mais n’a pas d’argent.
He would buy the house he doesn’t have any money.
Je viendrais mais je suis occupé.
I would come but I’m busy.
Je finirais mes devoirs mais je dois aller au magasin.
I would finish my homeword but I have to go tot he store.
Il aimerait vendre sa voiture mais il l’a toujours besoin.
He would like to sell his car but he still needs it.
Nous pourrions y aller s’il n’est pas trop tard.
We would be able to go there if it is not too late.
J’achèterais du fromage français si j’avais plus d’argent.
I would be some French cheese if I had more money.
Il ferait plus d’exercice s’il avait plus de temps libre.
He would do more exercise if he had more free time.
Nous irions en vacances mais mon père doit travailler.
We would go on vacation but my father must work.
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