In short

The conditionnel présent is French for “would (do)”. Build it with the futur simple stem + imparfait endings - one stem, one set of endings, and it works for every verb.

The rule

You already know both halves of this tense, so it is mostly assembly.

• The stem is exactly the futur simple stem (see Lesson 25): the infinitive, always ending in -r. For -re verbs, drop the final e (prendre -> prendr-).
• The endings are the imparfait endings (see Lesson 22): -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

So: parler -> je parlerais, finir -> je finirais, prendre -> je prendrais. The tell-tale mark is the -r- of the stem plus an imparfait ending, which also keeps the future/conditional apart from a plain imparfait (je parlais vs je parlerais).

Irregular stems are the same as in the futur simple - if you know the future, you know the conditional:

• être -> ser-, avoir -> aur-, aller -> ir-, faire -> fer-
• pouvoir -> pourr-, vouloir -> voudr-, devoir -> devr-, savoir -> saur-
• venir -> viendr-, voir -> verr-, falloir -> il faudr-, envoyer -> enverr-

Politeness and attenuation

This is the everyday, A2-friendly use: the conditional softens a request, wish, or piece of advice so it sounds polite rather than blunt.

• Wishes / asking for something: Je voudrais un café. (I would like a coffee) is far softer than Je veux un café.
• Polite requests: Pourriez-vous m’aider ? / Est-ce que tu pourrais fermer la porte ?
• Advice / suggestions: Tu devrais te reposer. (You should rest) Vous devriez appeler un médecin.
• Cautious statements / hearsay: Il serait malade. (He is apparently ill) Ce serait une bonne idée.

The three verbs vouloir, pouvoir and devoir in the conditional are the pragmatic core - learn je voudrais, pourriez-vous, tu devrais as ready-made phrases.

Hypothesis: si type 2 (unreal present)

The conditional is the main clause of an unreal / hypothetical sentence about the present or future. The pattern is fixed:

Si + imparfait, conditionnel présent.

• Si j’avais le temps, je voyagerais plus. (If I had time, I would travel more)
• Si nous gagnions au loto, nous achèterions une maison.
• Qu’est-ce que tu ferais si tu étais riche ?

Key rule: the si clause takes the imparfait, never the conditional. The order can flip (Je voyagerais plus si j’avais le temps.) with no change of tenses. Compare with type 1 real conditions - si + présent, futur (Si j’ai le temps, je voyagerai) - covered in Lesson 36.

Forms & patterns

Regular verbs - one stem (the full infinitive, -re loses its e) plus imparfait endings:

Common irregular stems (identical to the futur simple):

Examples

Common mistakes

• Je voudrais… si j’aurais le temps -> si j’avais le temps - the si clause takes the imparfait, never the conditional.
• Je parlais français (meaning “I would speak”) -> je parlerais français - do not drop the -r-; that is what separates the conditional from the imparfait.
• Je veux un café (to a waiter) -> Je voudrais un café - the present sounds blunt; the conditional is the polite form.
• Nous acheterions -> nous achèterions - stem-change verbs keep their futur/conditional accent (achèter-) throughout.
• Tu dois te reposer (as gentle advice) -> Tu devrais te reposer - “should” is devoir in the conditional, not the present.
• Vous prenderiez -> vous prendriez - prendre drops only the final e: the stem is prendr-, not prender-.

Tips

• One formula covers everything: futur stem + imparfait endings. If you can build the futur simple, the conditional is free.
• Every conditional form has an -r- before the ending - hear the r and you know it is future or conditional, not imparfait.
• Memorise three politeness phrases as blocks: je voudrais, pourriez-vous, tu devrais.
• For hypotheticals, chant the frame: si + imparfait -> conditionnel. The two tenses always travel together.
• nous/vous endings are -ions / -iez with an i right after the stem’s r (ferions, feriez) - do not forget that i.
• il faudrait and ce serait are handy fixed expressions for soft suggestions (“we should” / “it would be”).