Last year you built the three classic si sentences: S'il fait beau, on ira au lac; Si j'avais le temps, je voyagerais; Si j'avais su, je serais venu. Real reasoning is messier. If I had accepted that job, I would be living in Montréal now: the condition is in the past, but the result is in the present. If I were less shy, I would have spoken to her yesterday: the condition is a lasting trait, but the result is a past event. These mixed hypotheses are where Grade 12 writing shows its control. This lesson also adds the other ways French frames a hypothesis (même si, au cas où, à supposer que, si jamais), and the most socially useful tense you know: the conditionnel passé, which lets you give feedback, admit a regret or make a suggestion without sounding blunt.
| Type | Si clause | Result clause | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real or likely | si + présent (or passé composé) | présent, futur or impératif | S'il fait beau, on ira au lac. | If it's nice out, we'll go to the lake. |
| Unreal now | si + imparfait | conditionnel présent | Si j'avais le temps, je voyagerais. | If I had the time, I would travel. |
| Unreal past | si + plus-que-parfait | conditionnel passé | Si j'avais su, je serais venu. | If I had known, I would have come. |
Give each clause the time of its own event
The three patterns are not fixed formulas. Each clause takes the tense that matches when its own event happens (or would have happened). The si clause uses the imparfait for an unreal situation now or always and the plus-que-parfait for an unreal past. The result clause uses the conditionnel présent for a result now and the conditionnel passé for a result in the past. Combine them freely, and you get four unreal patterns instead of two.
Mixed hypotheses: the condition and the result at different times
APast condition, present result: si + plus-que-parfait → conditionnel présent
- Si j'avais accepté ce poste, j'habiterais à Montréal aujourd'hui. — If I had accepted that job, I would be living in Montréal today.
- Si tu avais pris ton médicament hier, tu irais mieux maintenant. — If you had taken your medicine yesterday, you'd feel better now.
- Si nous étions partis à l'heure, nous serions déjà là. — If we had left on time, we would already be there.
BLasting condition, past result: si + imparfait → conditionnel passé
- Si j'étais moins timide, je lui aurais parlé hier soir. — If I were less shy, I would have spoken to her last night.
- Si tu étais plus organisé, tu n'aurais pas oublié ton rendez-vous. — If you were more organised, you wouldn't have forgotten your appointment.
- Si elle parlait espagnol, elle aurait obtenu le poste. — If she spoke Spanish, she would have got the job.
Use the time markers as signposts
Words like hier, l'an dernier, à ce moment-là point to a past event; aujourd'hui, maintenant, déjà, en ce moment point to the present; en général, toujours and personality traits (timide, organisé) describe a lasting situation. Ask two separate questions, when is the condition? and when is the result?, and let the markers answer them.
Other ways to frame a hypothesis
| Structure | Mood or tense | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| même si | same tenses as si | Même si j'avais su, je n'aurais rien changé. | Even if I had known, I wouldn't have changed anything. |
| sauf si | same tenses as si | On ira à pied, sauf s'il pleut. | We'll walk, unless it rains. |
| si jamais | same tenses as si | Si jamais tu passes à Québec, fais-moi signe. | If you ever come through Québec City, let me know. |
| au cas où | conditionnel (présent or passé) | Je te laisse la clé au cas où tu arriverais avant moi. | I'll leave you the key in case you get there before me. |
| au cas où | conditionnel passé for an earlier event | Envoie-lui un rappel au cas où il aurait oublié. | Send him a reminder in case he has forgotten. |
| à supposer que, en supposant que, en admettant que | subjonctif | À supposer que le projet soit accepté, qui le financerait ? | Assuming the project is accepted, who would fund it? |
| gérondif | conditionnel in the result | En partant plus tôt, tu éviterais la circulation. | By leaving earlier, you would avoid the traffic. |
| sans / avec + noun | conditionnel in the result | Sans ton aide, j'aurais échoué. | Without your help, I would have failed. |
Si on its own: suggestions and wishes
A si clause with the imparfait (or the plus-que-parfait) can stand alone. As a question, it makes a friendly suggestion: Et si on allait au cinéma ? (How about going to the movies?) With seulement, it expresses a wish or a regret: Si seulement il faisait beau ! (If only it were nice out!) Si seulement j'avais su ! (If only I had known!) The result clause is simply left unsaid.
Si j'aurais su: a famously quoted mistake
Si j'aurais su, j'aurais pas v'nu is a famous line spoken by a child, Petit Gibus, in the 1962 French film La Guerre des boutons, and it is funny precisely because it breaks the rule (it also uses avoir with venir). You will hear si j'aurais in casual speech in Québec and elsewhere, but in any careful speech or writing the si clause takes the plus-que-parfait: Si j'avais su, je ne serais pas venu.
Tactful feedback with the conditionnel
ADirect (can sound harsh)
- Ce mot est mauvais. — This word is wrong.
- Ta conclusion est trop courte. — Your conclusion is too short.
- Dis-le autrement. — Say it another way.
- Tu dois ajouter des exemples. — You must add examples.
BTactful: conditionnel présent or passé
- J'aurais utilisé un autre mot ici. — I would have used a different word here.
- Ta conclusion aurait pu être un peu plus développée. — Your conclusion could have been developed a little more.
- Pourrais-tu dire cela différemment ? — Could you say that differently?
- Ce serait encore plus convaincant avec un exemple ou deux. — It would be even more convincing with an example or two.
- Il aurait été utile de donner un exemple. — It would have been useful to give an example.
- Tu aurais pu développer davantage ce paragraphe. — You could have developed this paragraph further.
- À ta place, j'aurais mis cette idée dans l'introduction. — If I were you, I would have put this idea in the introduction.
- Je me demande si cette phrase ne serait pas plus forte au début. — I wonder whether this sentence might be stronger at the beginning.
- J'aurais aimé que tu parles davantage du personnage principal. — I would have liked you to talk more about the main character.
Regret and reproach in one tense
The same conditionnel passé expresses your own regrets and gentle reproaches: J'aurais dû t'écouter (I should have listened to you), J'aurais pu partir plus tôt (I could have left earlier), Tu aurais pu me prévenir ! (You could have warned me!). After j'aurais aimé que or j'aurais voulu que, the clause takes the subjonctif présent for an action at the same time (j'aurais aimé que tu viennes) or the subjonctif passé for one already completed before (j'aurais aimé que tu aies fini avant mon arrivée).
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