Si clause

Judy B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

The phrase “if you could run” uses L’imparfait. But the phrase “if you run” uses the present tense. Could you explain this difference to me? Thanks.

Asked 6 years ago

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

So "if I could run" is a hypothetical case (#2). Therefore:

Si je pouvais courir.

The other two cases are:

Si je peux courir. -- If I can run

Si j'avais pu courir. -- If I could have run (If I had been able to run).

Like06 years ago

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

There are three levels of "probability" with si-clauses:

If I run. -- Si je cours. (Possible)

If I ran. -- Si je courais. (Hypothetical)

If I had run. -- Si j'avais couru. (Impossible, it already happened.)

This is pretty much parallel what you would use in English.

Like06 years ago

The phrase “if you could run” uses L’imparfait. But the phrase “if you run” uses the present tense. Could you explain this difference to me? Thanks.

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