B1 · The future
The conditional
«Would», built out of two things you have already learnt.
The conditional takes the stem of the future and the endings of the imparfait: je parlerais, je serais, j'irais. Nothing on this page is new material — it is two known pieces welded together.
It does three jobs: asking politely (je voudrais), saying something unreal (ce serait bien) and reporting something unconfirmed. English uses «would» for the first two and something vaguer for the third, so the mapping is close: je voudrais is «I would like», word for word.
That first use matters more than it looks. Je voudrais un café is not hesitant, it is polite, and it is what people actually say in a shop — exactly as an English speaker says «I'd like a coffee» rather than «I want a coffee». The instinct transfers whole.
Die Form
| I would like | je voudrais |
| you could | tu pourrais |
| one would have to | il faudrait |
| we would like | nous aimerions |
| you should | vous devriez |
| they would be | ils seraient |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
Future stem plus imparfait ending.
Je serais content de venir.I would be glad to come.
A polite request goes in the conditional.
Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît.I would like a coffee, please.
Advice uses devoir in the conditional.
Tu devrais te reposer.You should get some rest.
After si comes the imparfait, never the conditional.
Si j’avais le temps, je viendrais.If I had the time, I would come.
Woran man es erkennt
- je voudrais
- pourriez-vous
- si
- à ta place
Beispielsätze
Pourriez-vous m’aider ?Could you help me?
Ce serait plus simple comme ça.It would be simpler that way.
À ta place, je partirais tôt.In your place, I would leave early.
Il faudrait réserver une table.We ought to book a table.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
After si there is no conditional — the rule broken most often, by native speakers too. It is si j'avais le temps with the imparfait, never si j'aurais. English protects you here, because «if I would have the time» is wrong in English as well; the danger is that French sounds as though it wants a matching form on both sides, and it does not.
Future stem plus imparfait ending: nothing new to learn.
Jetzt selbst
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