How to use the Present Conditional in French

You use the present conditional in French when you want to talk about actions that would happen under certain conditions, make polite requests, or express wishes. This article shows how to form the tense, when to use it, and which verbs matter most so you can start making clear, natural sentences right away. You form the present conditional by taking the future stem of a verb and adding the imparfait endings, and it often translates to “would” or “could” in English.

The present conditional tells you what would happen, what someone would like, or what might be true in a hypothetical situation. It uses a special set of endings and often appears after “si” in conditional sentences.  It is less direct and more polite than the imperative or the present. It is also very useful to know the conditional for French conversation.

Le conditionnel is a mood, not just a tense. That means it expresses the speaker’s attitude toward an event: hypothetical, polite, or uncertain. The conditional mood has two main tenses: the conditional present and the conditional perfect (for actions that would have happened). Here we will focus on the conditional present.

First, you form the present conditional by combining the future stem with the imparfait endings. Master the regular endings, learn common irregular stems, and watch for spelling or pronunciation changes. For most verbs, take the infinitive as the stem and add the imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

Examples: parler → je parlerais, tu parlerais, il parlerait,…

For regular -re verbs, drop the final -e before adding endings.
Example: vendre → je vendrais, tu vendrais,…

Note : Endings -ais, -ait and -aient sound the same in speech.

Great news! The irregular verbs in the conditional tense are the same as those in the future simple. Additionally, to help you learn and review all your irregular verbs, I suggest using a Bescherelle.

You will see or hear the conditional mainly in if-then ideas, polite requests, reported or uncertain facts, and when the future is described from a past viewpoint.

Firstly, we use the conditional to soften requests and offers. Verbs like vouloir and pouvoir often appear in the conditional to make a question more polite especially in shops and French restaurants.
Examples:

• Je veux un verre d’eau = I want a glass of water (a bit rude)
• Je voudrais un verre d’eau = I would like a glass of water

• Vous pouvez m’aider = Can you help me ? (just neutral)
• Vous pourriez m’aider = Could you help ?  (more polite)

• Avez-vous des pains au chocolat = Do you have chocolate croissants ?
• Auriez-vous des pains au chocolat = Would you have chocolate croissants ?

We can also use le conditionnel with Devoir, Faire Mieux et À ta/votre place to give advice :

• Tu ne devrais pas aller si souvent au McDonalds : You shouldn’t go to McDonalds so often
• Vous feriez mieux d’économiser : It would be wise for you to save
• A ta place, j’emménagerais dans un autre quartier moins bruyant : If I were you I would move in to another area less noisy

You can also express a dream or unreal wish with the conditional, such as :

• Nous habiterions à Tahiti et nous pécherions toute la journée : We would live in Tahiti and would go fishing all day long (it’s a dream)
• Je changerais de métier : I would change job (it’s a wish but first I need to study/resign/..)

Use the conditional to report something you doubt or to show uncertainty in indirect speech. It signals that you are not stating a confirmed fact.
Example:

• Le president arriverait demain matin au Caire = The president would arrive tomorrow morning in Cairo (not yet confirmed)

This use often appears in news, gossip, or cautious statements. It pairs well with verbs like sembler, paraître, and se demander. The conditional helps separate what you heard from what you know.

We use the conditional for the result part of conditional sentences. When you pair a si clause that uses the imperfect (si + imparfait), the result clause uses the conditional present.
Example pattern: Si + imparfait → conditional present.
This expresses things that are unlikely or imagined now:

• Si je gagnais au loto, je ferais un tour du monde : If I won the lottery, I’d go around the world
• J’irais le voir si j’avais assez de temps : I’d go to see him if I had the time

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. Feel free to browse more articles in my blog or get in touch for more personalized French lessons.