Verb drill
Conditionnel présent: build French conditional forms, then try 18 gaps
Form the French conditional with future stems and imparfait endings. Study regular and irregular patterns, then practise 18 forms and sentence gaps.
- B1
- 18 answers
- Checked all at once
- Accents count
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
Build the present conditional with the future stem and the imparfait endings: parler- + -ais → je parlerais. Regular and irregular verbs use the same six endings.
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Study first: one stem, six endings
| Subject | Ending | parler | vendre |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | -ais | parlerais | vendrais |
| tu | -ais | parlerais | vendrais |
| il / elle / on | -ait | parlerait | vendrait |
| nous | -ions | parlerions | vendrions |
| vous | -iez | parleriez | vendriez |
| ils / elles | -aient | parleraient | vendraient |
For regular -er and -ir verbs, keep the infinitive: parler- and finir-. For -re verbs, remove the final e: vendre → vendr-. The stem already ends in r: add -ais, giving vendrais.
| Infinitive | Stem | Example |
|---|---|---|
| être | ser- | je serais |
| avoir | aur- | j’aurais |
| aller | ir- | j’irais |
| faire | fer- | je ferais |
| venir | viendr- | je viendrais |
| pouvoir | pourr- | je pourrais |
| vouloir | voudr- | je voudrais |
| devoir | devr- | je devrais |
| voir | verr- | je verrais |
| envoyer | enverr- | j’enverrais |
How do you tell the conditional from the future and the imperfect?
| Tense | French | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Imparfait | nous parlions | we were speaking / used to speak |
| Future | nous parlerons | we will speak |
| Conditional | nous parlerions | we would speak |
The conditional keeps the future stem and adds -ions for nous. With je, compare je parlerai (I will speak) and je parlerais (I would speak). Read the written ending carefully; the pronunciation contrast varies between speakers.
Si nous avions plus de temps, nous apprendrions une autre langue.
If we had more time, we would learn another language.
In this hypothesis, avions is imparfait after si; apprendrions is the conditional result.
- Nous parlerais.Nous parlerions.
The subject nous takes -ions. The stem stays parler- when the subject changes.
- Je vendrerais.Je vendrais.
Remove the final e of vendre. The remaining stem vendr- already contains the r you need.
- Vous pourriez de venir demain ?Vous pourriez venir demain ?
After pourriez, use the infinitive directly: venir. This construction takes no de.
For each gap below, write only the missing verb in the present conditional. The first six gaps test regular verbs. The next six test irregular stems. The last six put the forms into requests, advice and imagined situations.
1 · Regular verbs: use the present conditional
- je · parler
- tu · finir
- elle · vendre
- nous · choisir
- vous · attendre
- ils · travailler
2 · Irregular future stems, conditional endings
- je · être
- tu · avoir
- on · aller
- nous · faire
- vous · venir
- elles · voir
3 · Write the conditional in context
- Je vous poser une question. (vouloir)
- Tu relire ce passage. (devoir)
- Elle participer à la discussion. (pouvoir)
- Si nous étions libres, nous avec vous. (aller)
- Avec plus de temps, vous aujourd’hui. (finir)
- À votre place, ils une réponse courte. (envoyer)