| Catherine: | J’aurais aimé parler aujourd’hui d’un mystère de l’Histoire de France, celui du maréchal Ney. |
| Bruno: | Le maréchal Ney, tu dis ? Ce n’est pas lui qui aurait prononcé ces paroles célèbres lors de la bataille de Waterloo : « Venez voir comment meurt un maréchal de France ! » ? |
| Catherine: | Si, c’est bien lui. Il aurait préféré mourir durant cette bataille légendaire mais il a survécu. |
| Bruno: | Pourquoi aurait-il préféré mourir ? Il voulait devenir un héros ? |
| Catherine: | Oui, forcément mais aussi parce qu’il n’aurait pas été autant haï et n’aurait pas fini exécuté. Il a souvent changé de camp entre Napoléon et les Bourbons et il a fini par être condamné pour trahison. |
There are four main verb moods (modes de temps) in French: the indicative, the subjunctive, the conditional and the imperative. In this chapter, we will study the conditional. There are two tenses that use the conditional mood: the present conditional and the past conditional.
In this chapter, we will study the past conditional, its form and its use.The first part will be devoted to the form of the conditional past. In this lesson, we will study the form of the verbs of the first and second group.
The past conditional is formed with the auxiliary avoir or être conjugated into the present conditional and the past participle of the verb.
To conjugate the verbs of the first group into the past conditional, we conjugate the auxiliary avoir or être into the present conditional and add the past participle of the verb. The past participle of the verbs of the first group are formed by dropping the final “er” and replacing it with “é”.
Remember: Most of the French verbs use the auxiliary avoir with the past participles. There are, however, a few verbs that use the auxiliary être. And these are the following: descendre, redescendre, advenir, aller, arriver, décéder, venir, devenir, entrer, intervenir, monter, mourir, naître, partir, redevenir, rentrer, ressortir, rester, retomber,retourner, revenir, sortir, tomber.
For example, the past conditional of the verb parler in the 3rd person singular is “aurait parlé”. The past conditional of the verb monter in the 3rd person singular is “serait monté”.
Let’s conjugate the verb pleurer which is a verb that conjugates with the auxiliary avoir.
Let’s conjugate the verb tomber which is a verb that conjugates with the auxiliary être.
Notice that when used with the auxiliary être, the past participle agrees in number and in gender with the subject. In other words, if the subject is feminine plural, then we have to add an “e” and an “s” to the past participle. When the past participle is used with the auxiliary avoir, there is no subject and verb agreement. If the direct object is placed before the verb, then there is an agreement between the direct object and the verb even if the auxiliary avoir is used.
For example:
Ma soeur aurait acheté une voiture bleue.
Apparently, my sister bought a blue car.
La voiture que ma soeur aurait achetée serait de couleur bleue.
Apparently, the car my sister bought is blue.
Notice that in the first sentence there is no subject verb agreement and this is because the auxiliary used is the auxiliary avoir. In the second sentence, even though the auxiliary avoir is used, we notice that there is an agreement between « la voiture » and « acheter ». This is because, la voiture in this sentence is not a subject; it is the direct object of the verb acheter and it is placed before the verb.
To conjugate the verbs of the second group in the past conditional, we conjugate the auxiliary avoir or être into the present conditional and add the past participle of the verb. The past participle of the verbs of the second group are formed by simply dropping the final “r”.
Let’s conjugate the verb finir into the past conditional:
Let’s conjugate another verb choisir :
Remember: The same rule of subject/verb agreement applies to the verbs of the second group as well. Also, the verbs of the second group have the same negative and interrogative form as the verbs of the first group.
In this chapter, we will study the past conditional, its form and its use.The first part will be devoted to the form of the conditional past. In this lesson, we will study the form of the verbs of the first and second group.
The past conditional is formed with the auxiliary avoir or être conjugated into the present conditional and the past participle of the verb.
Verbs of the First Group
The verbs of the first group all end in “er” in the infinitive form. They are called regular because they all follow the same conjugation rule except for a few verbs. Note that even though the verb aller ends in “er”, it does not belong to the first group; it belongs to the third group.To conjugate the verbs of the first group into the past conditional, we conjugate the auxiliary avoir or être into the present conditional and add the past participle of the verb. The past participle of the verbs of the first group are formed by dropping the final “er” and replacing it with “é”.
Remember: Most of the French verbs use the auxiliary avoir with the past participles. There are, however, a few verbs that use the auxiliary être. And these are the following: descendre, redescendre, advenir, aller, arriver, décéder, venir, devenir, entrer, intervenir, monter, mourir, naître, partir, redevenir, rentrer, ressortir, rester, retomber,retourner, revenir, sortir, tomber.
For example, the past conditional of the verb parler in the 3rd person singular is “aurait parlé”. The past conditional of the verb monter in the 3rd person singular is “serait monté”.
Let’s conjugate the verb pleurer which is a verb that conjugates with the auxiliary avoir.
Positive form | Negative form | Interrogative form |
| J’aurais pleuré | Je n’aurais pas pleuré | aurais-je pleuré ? |
| Tu aurais pleuré | Tu n’aurais pas pleuré | aurais-tu pleuré ? |
| Il/Elle/On aurait pleuré | Il/Elle/On n’aurait pas pleuré | aurait-il/elle/on pleuré ? |
| Nous aurions pleuré | Nous n’aurions pas pleuré | aurions-nous pleuré ? |
| Vous auriez pleuré | Vous n’auriez pas pleuré | auriez-vous pleuré ? |
| Ils/Elles auraient pleuré | Ils/Elles n’auraient pas pleuré | auraient-ils/elles pleuré ? |
Let’s conjugate the verb tomber which is a verb that conjugates with the auxiliary être.
Positive form | Negative form | Interrogative form |
| Je serais tombé(e) | Je ne serais pas tombé(e) | Serais-je tombé(e) ? |
| Tu serais tombé(e) | Tu ne serais pas tombé(e) | Serais-je tombé(e) ? |
| Il/Elle/On serait tombé(e) | Il/Elle/On ne serait pas tombé(e) | Serait-il/elle/on tombé(e) ? |
| Nous serions tombé(e)s | Nous ne serions pas tombé(e)s | Serions-nous tombé(e)s ? |
| Vous seriez tombé(e)s | Vous ne seriez pas tombé(e)s | Seriez-vous tombé(e)s ? |
| Ils/Elles seraient tombé(e)s | Ils/Elles ne seraient pas tombé(e)s | Seraient-ils tombé(e)s ? |
Notice that when used with the auxiliary être, the past participle agrees in number and in gender with the subject. In other words, if the subject is feminine plural, then we have to add an “e” and an “s” to the past participle. When the past participle is used with the auxiliary avoir, there is no subject and verb agreement. If the direct object is placed before the verb, then there is an agreement between the direct object and the verb even if the auxiliary avoir is used.
For example:
Ma soeur aurait acheté une voiture bleue.
Apparently, my sister bought a blue car.
La voiture que ma soeur aurait achetée serait de couleur bleue.
Apparently, the car my sister bought is blue.
Notice that in the first sentence there is no subject verb agreement and this is because the auxiliary used is the auxiliary avoir. In the second sentence, even though the auxiliary avoir is used, we notice that there is an agreement between « la voiture » and « acheter ». This is because, la voiture in this sentence is not a subject; it is the direct object of the verb acheter and it is placed before the verb.
The Verbs of the Second Group
The verbs of the second group all end in “ir” and form their present participle with “issant”. They are considered regular verbs because they all have the same conjugation.To conjugate the verbs of the second group in the past conditional, we conjugate the auxiliary avoir or être into the present conditional and add the past participle of the verb. The past participle of the verbs of the second group are formed by simply dropping the final “r”.
Let’s conjugate the verb finir into the past conditional:
| J’aurais fini Tu aurais fini Il/elle/On aurait fini Nous aurions fini Vous auriez fini Ils/Elles auraient fini |
Let’s conjugate another verb choisir :
| J’aurais choisi Tu aurais choisi Il/Elle/On aurait choisi Nous aurions choisi Vous auriez choisi Ils/Elles auraient choisi |
Remember: The same rule of subject/verb agreement applies to the verbs of the second group as well. Also, the verbs of the second group have the same negative and interrogative form as the verbs of the first group.
Conjugate the verbs in parentheses in the past conditional.
- Si elle m’avait laissée, je (travailler) toute la nuit.
- D’après ce que j’ai entendu, le jury (choisir) Miss Marseille pour représenter la France dans les prochaines compétitions.
- Tu (ne pas inventer) cette histoire par hasard ?
- Si vous étiez venus plus tôt, vous (ne pas tomber) sur lui.
- Sans son aide, elle (ne pas finir) le projet à temps.
- Les enfants (rester) deux jours sans boire une goutte d’eau.
- Nous (passer) vous voir si nous avions eu plus de temps.
- On t’en (parler) si on avait pensé que ça pouvait t’aider.
- Si nous avions su que vous aviez besoin de nous, nous (rentrer) plus tôt.
- Les manifestants (casser) toutes les vitrines des magasins de l’avenue Maréchal Pétain.
Choose the correct form of the verb. Pay attention to the gender of the subject, the auxiliary used, and whether the direct object precedes the verb or not.
- Ils (auraient grandi, auraient grandis) ensemble.
- Ma mère et mes soeurs (seraient restées, seraient restés) chez ma grand-mère, si vous le leur aviez demandé.
- Tu (aurais changé, aurais changée) ton avis sur lui si tu l’avais vu hier en train d’aider des personnes âgées à traverser la rue.
- Elles vous (auraient donné, auraient données) plus de temps, si vous leur aviez demandé gentiment.
- Ses cousins (seraient retournés, seraient retournées) à l'hôpital pour le revoir.
- Le jury (aurait trouvé, aurait trouvée) sa tarte aux pommes un peu fade.
- Son intervention (aurait retardé, aurait retardée) l’arrivée des secours.
- Les affiches qu’ils (auraient brandies, auraient brandi) seraient choquantes.
- Les conditions que cette femme (aurait accepté, aurait acceptées) pour que sa fille lui revienne seraient inhumaines.
- Si elle avait obtenu l’accord de ses voisins, elle (aurait converti, aurait convertie) sa maison en hôtel.