When to Use the Conditional

• Polite Requests: e.g., Je voudrais un café. (I would like a coffee.)
• Hypothetical Situations: often with "si" (if) clauses, e.g., Si j'avais de l'argent, j'achèterais une voiture. (If I had money, I would buy a car.)
• Suggestions and Advice: e.g., Tu devrais dormir. (You should sleep.)
• Possible (but uncertain) Future Events: e.g., Il a dit qu'il viendrait. (He said he would come.)

How to Conjugate the Conditional Present

To form the conditional, take the future simple stem and add the imperfect endings.

The stem is usually the infinitive (dropping the final -e for -re verbs). The endings are the same for all verb groups:

Common Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs in the conditional use the same irregular stems as the future tense:

• Avoir: j'aurais
• Être: je serais
• Aller: j'irais
• Faire: je ferais
• Savoir: je saurais
• Pouvoir: je pourrais