Unit 3 · 5 lessons
Hypothèses: Conditions and Consequences
Use the conditionnel to request, advise, persuade and report unconfirmed news, build real and imagined si clauses, form the conditionnel passé, imagine a different past, and express regrets and tactful reproaches.
- 50 practice questions
- 40 flashcards
- 2 interactive lessons
Lessons
- 1The Conditionnel Présent: Politeness, Advice and PersuasionA quick formation review (futur stem + imparfait endings), then the conditionnel at work in real interaction: polite requests, asking for opinions, proposing plans, giving advice, expressing wishes, persuading in advertising, and reporting news that has not been confirmed.10 questions
- 2Si Clauses: Real and ImaginedThe full set of si patterns for the present and future: si + présent or passé composé for real conditions, si + imparfait for imagined ones, past habits with si, the four different words spelled si, and the other ways to set a condition (même si, sauf si, si jamais, au cas où).Interactive10 questions
- 3The Conditionnel PasséBuild the conditionnel passé (the conditionnel of avoir or être + past participle) with the right auxiliary and agreement, and use it for what would have happened, for unconfirmed past events in the news, and for a future that was seen as complete from a point in the past.10 questions
- 4Si + Plus-que-parfait: Imagining a Different PastThe third kind of hypothesis: si + plus-que-parfait → conditionnel passé for a past that did not happen, plus the mixed patterns that link a past condition to a present result and a lasting condition to a past result, and ways to imagine the past without si.Interactive10 questions
- 5Regrets, Reproaches and Missed ChancesExpress regret and reproach with the conditionnel passé of devoir, pouvoir, falloir, valoir mieux, aimer and vouloir; tell them apart from the passé composé (j'ai dû, j'ai pu); give tactful feedback; and handle a real conversation where someone apologises, asks why and is forgiven.10 questions