An Overview of the Present Conditional
The present conditional has two main functions: a) to increase the politeness of a statement or request, e.g.: J'aimerais venir ("I would like to come"); and b) to indicate a desired action that would happen under certain circumstances, e.g.: Je le ferais si j'avais assez d'argent ("I would do it if I had enough money"). As in the previous example, it is common to use the present conditional before or after a statement introduced by si. However, it does not immediately follow the word si (use the present or imperfect instead).
How to Form the Present Conditional
The present conditional is formed by attaching an ending to the end of the infinitive. The ending used is identical to the ending for the imperfect tense. This is illustrated in the following table:
| present conditional |
Translation |
je parlerais
|
"I would speak" |
tu parlerais
|
"you would speak" |
il, elle, on parlerait
|
"he, she, one would speak" |
nous parlerions
|
"we would speak" |
| vous parlerions |
"you would speak" |
ils/elles parleraient
|
"they would speak" |
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