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 past conditional.
The past conditional is formed with the auxiliary
avoir or
être conjugated into the present conditional and the past participle of the verb.
In this lesson, we will study the form of the past participles of the verbs of the 3
rd group. For more details about the past participles, please review the lessons on the Passé Composé. You can also review the Past Conditional of the Verbs of the 1
st and 2
nd Group for more details about the verbs used with the auxiliary « être ».
The past participles of the verbs ending in “ir”
Don’t confuse the verbs of the third group that end in “ir” with the verbs of the second group. There is ONE important difference between the two categories of verbs: The present participle of all the verbs of the second group end in “issant”, whereas the present participle of the verbs of the third group ending in “ir” end in “ant”.
For example:
The present participle of the verb
dormir is « dormant »
The present participle of the verb
choisir is « choisissant »
The verbs ending in “ir” form their participle either by dropping the final “r” or by dropping the final “ir” and replace it with either: “u” or “is”, or by dropping the final “rir” and replacing it with “ert”. Let’s see this with some examples:
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| accueillir | Il aurait accueilli |
| mentir | J’aurais menti |
| dormir | Tu aurais dormi |
| courir | Nous aurions couru |
| obtenir | Vous auriez obtenu |
| prévenir | Ils auraient prévenu |
| ouvrir | J’aurais ouvert |
| souffrir | Elle aurait souffert |
| acquérir | Tu aurais acquis |
The past participles of the verbs ending in “re”
The verbs ending in “re” form their past participle by dropping the final “re” and replacing it with “u”:
attendre,
battre,
combattre,
conclure,
confondre,
convaincre,
correspondre,
défendre,
détendre,
entendre,
exclure,
fondre,
mordre,
perdre,
prétendre,
rendre,
suspendre,
tendre,
vaincre, and
vendre.
Examples:
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| attendre | J’aurais attendu |
| entendre | Il aurait entendu |
| correspondre | Nous aurions correspondu |
The past participle of the verbs ending in “rendre”
Verbs of the third group ending in “rendre” form their past participle by dropping the “endre” and replacing it with “ is”:
apprendre,
comprendre,
entreprendre,
prendre,
reprendre, and
surprendre.
Remember: The verb “rendre” doesn’t belong to this list. “rendre” forms its past participle with “u”.
Examples:
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| apprendre | Elles auraient appris |
| prendre | Vous auriez pris |
| surprendre | Tu aurais surpris |
The past participle of the verbs ending in “mettre”
Verbs of the third group ending in “mettre” form their past participle by dropping the “ettre” and replacing it by “is”:
admettre,
commettre,
émettre,
mettre,
omettre,
permettre,
promettre,
remettre, and
soumettre.
Examples:
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| mettre | J’aurais mis |
| admettre | Nous aurions admis |
| promettre | Elle aurait promis |
The past participle of the verbs ending in “aître”
Verbs of the third group ending in “aître” form their past participle by dropping the “aître” and replacing it by “u”:
connaître,
paraître,
comparaître,
apparaître,
disparaître,
réapparaître,
reparaître.
Examples:
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| connaître | Vous auriez connu |
| disparaître | Elle aurait disparu |
| apparaître | J’aurais apparu |
The past participles of the verbs ending in “cevoir”
Verbs of the third group ending in “cevoir” form their past participle by dropping “evoir” and replacing it with “u”:
apercevoir,
concevoir,
décevoir,
percevoir, and
recevoir.
Remember: When you look for the past participle of the verbs mentioned above, do not forget la cédille the cedilla, a symbol written under the letter c which tells us that the “c” is pronounced like an /s/ and not like a /k/.
Examples :
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| concevoir | Tu aurais conçu |
| percevoir | Nous aurions perçu |
| recevoir | Nous aurions reçu |
The past participles of the verbs ending in “voir”
Verbs of the third group ending in “voir” form their past participle by dropping “oir” and replacing it by “u”:
entrevoir,
prévoir,
revoir, and
voir.
Examples :
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| voir | Vous auriez vu |
| pévoir | Ils auraient prévu |
The past participles of the verbs ending in “eindre”
Verbs of the third group ending in “eindre” form their past participle by dropping the “dre” and replacing it with “t”:
atteindre,
déteindre,
éteindre,
feindre,
peindre, and
teindre.
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| atteindre | Tu aurais atteint |
| peindre | Nous aurions peint |
The past participles of the verbs ending in “uire”
Verbs of the third group ending in “uire” which form their past participle by dropping the “re” and replacing it with “t”:
conduire,
construire,
cuire,
détruire,
instruire,
introduire,
produire,
traduire.
Examples:
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| conduire | J’aurais conduit |
| cuire | Ils auraient cuit |
The Past participles of special verbs
Infinitive | Past Conditional |
| avoir | J’aurais eu |
| être | Tu aurais été |
| vouloir | Il aurait voulu |
| pouvoir | Nous aurions pu |
| croire | Vous auriez cru |
| devoir | Nous aurions dû |
| faire | Elles auraient fait |
| plaire | Tu aurais plu |
| pleuvoir | Il aurait plu |
| savoir | J’aurais su |