The Past Conditional in French: Structure, Uses, and Examples

The past conditional in French is an essential tense that expresses regret, hypothetical past situations, advice, and reported information. In English, it translates to phrases like “would have gone,” “should have done,” or “could have done.”

This guide will show you:

• how to form the past conditional
• when to use it
• and how auxiliary verbs and agreement rules affect your conjugation.

With clear examples, tips, and common traps to avoid, you’ll gain confidence in French using this tense in conversations and writing.

The past conditional is a compound tense formed with:

Conditional present of an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) + past participle of the main verb

Pick the auxiliary just like in passé composé.:

• Most verbs use avoir

• Motion verbs (aller, venir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, arriver, partir,..) and all reflexive verbs  use être

Present conditional forms of auxiliaries:

Avoir: j’aurais, tu aurais, il/elle aurait, nous aurions, vous auriez, ils/elles auraient
Être: je serais, tu serais, il/elle serait, nous serions, vous seriez, ils/elles seraient

Choosing the correct auxiliary is crucial because it affects past participle agreement.

1. Conjugate avoir or être in the conditional present

2. Add the past participle of your main verb

Examples:

• Je ne serais pas venu → I wouldn’t have come

• Tu aurais fini ton travail → You would have completed your work

Regular past participles follow patterns:

• -er → -é

• -ir → -i

• -re → -u

Irregular past participles include:

• être → été

• avoir → eu

• faire → fait

• prendre → pris

• With avoir: past participle usually does not change unless a direct object comes before the verb (then it agrees in gender and number)

• With être: past participle always agrees with the subject:

  • Masculine singular: allé

  • Feminine singular: allée

  • Masculine plural: allés

  • Feminine plural: allées

Six verbs can take avoir or être depending on context: passer, retourner, rentrer, sortir, monter, descendre. Agreement rules depend on which auxiliary is used.

The past conditional in French allows you to:

1. Talk about regrets, advice, or criticism

2. Express reported or unverified information

3. Describe hypothetical past situations

Use phrases like:

• “Tu aurais dû” → You should have

• “J’aurais aimé” → I would have liked

Example:

• Tu aurais dû partir plus tôt → You should have left earlier

• J’aurais aimé te voir → I would have liked to see you

Other common forms:

• aurais pu → could have

• aurais dû → should have

These forms convey regret, criticism, or advice, so choose your verbs carefully depending on context.

The past conditional can report unverified information or rumors:

Example:

• Selon les témoins, il aurait quitté la ville → He is said to have left the city

This use is common in journalism and media like TV5 Monde to distance the speaker from the claim, maintaining neutrality.

Use the past conditional for imagined past scenarios. Combine it with a si-clause in the pluperfect:

Structure:

• si + plus-que-parfait→ unreal past condition

• main clause in past conditional → imagined result

Example:

• Si j’avais su, j’aurais agi autrement → If I had known, I would have acted differently

Remember to match auxiliaries (avoir/être) and apply past participle agreement where needed.

The past conditional in French is essential for expressing regret, hypothetical actions, advice, and reported information.

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