Would vs. could

Rebecca L.C1Kwiziq community member

Would vs. could

I always understood "le conditionnel présent" to mean "could," but here you're indicating that it means "would," which has a completely different meaning.  Is that just true with "aller" or how do you tell when it's could or would?

Asked 2 years ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Rebecca, 

The conditional of any verb is 'would' -

I would go = J'irais

I would eat = Je mangerais

We would talk = Nous parlerions

Le Conditionnel Présent

 

To say you could do something you will use pouvoir -

Je pourrais vous voir I could see you 

Vous pourriez repasser demain = You could call again tomorrow

Take a look at the following lesson for more examples -

Conjugate pouvoir in the conditional mood in French = could (Le Conditionnel Présent)

Hope this helps!

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Rebecca,

Interesting point.

As I understand the situation  --  "could" is the past tense of "can"

Whereas "would" is the conditional of "will"

So I'm not sure if I can agree with you that "could" is conditional present.

Let's see what others may comment.

Bonne journée

Jim

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

To make this issue less ambiguous, use "to be able to" instead of "can":

Je pourrais vous voir -- I would be able to see you = I could see you

Would vs. could

I always understood "le conditionnel présent" to mean "could," but here you're indicating that it means "would," which has a completely different meaning.  Is that just true with "aller" or how do you tell when it's could or would?

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