Here's a hypothetical situation in English:
-> Here you can see that if is followed by a verb in the Simple Past (won), while the second clause uses the Conditional Present (would buy).
Now look at the French:
-> Here you see that in French, si is followed by a verb in L'Imparfait (gagnait), while the second clause uses Le Conditionnel Présent (achèterait).
Here are more examples:
Si on gagnait au loto, on achèterait une maison.
If we won the lottery, we would buy a house.
Si tu venais avec moi, tu ne le regretterais pas.
If you came with me, you wouldn't regret it.
Je ne saurais pas quoi faire si j'étais toi.
I wouldn't know what to do if I were you.
Si j'étais riche, j'achèterais un appartement à Paris.
If I were rich, I would buy an appartment in Paris.
Note that to express hypotheses in French, you'll use L'Imparfait after si, and Le Conditionnel Présent in the second part of the sentence.
ATTENTION:
See other uses of L'Imparfait:
Expressing continuing action in L'Imparfait (imperfect tense)
Expressing habits or repeated actions in L'Imparfait (imperfect tense)
And to see how to conjugate in L'Imparfait:
Conjugate regular verbs in L'Imparfait (imperfect tense) and Conjugate être in L'Imparfait (imperfect tense)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Si tu venais avec moi, tu ne le regretterais pas.
If you came with me, you wouldn't regret it.
S'ils économisaient plus, ils pourraient se permettre des vacances.
If they saved more, they could afford holidays.
Si tu faisais tes devoirs le vendredi, tu serais libre le reste du weekend.
If you did your homework on Fridays, you would be free the rest of the weekend.
Si j'étais riche, j'achèterais un appartement à Paris.
If I were rich, I would buy an appartment in Paris.
Je ne saurais pas quoi faire si j'étais toi.
I wouldn't know what to do if I were you.
Si on gagnait au loto, on achèterait une maison.
If we won the lottery, we would buy a house.
Q&A
Chris
Kwiziq community member
1/07/18
The Si-clause always uses the imperfect whereas the conditional is used only in the main clause. If you switch the order of clauses, naturally, the verb forms switch places too, so that the imperfect remakns with the Si-clause and the conditional with the main clause.
-- Chris.
David
Kwiziq community member
1/07/18
Chris
Kwiziq community member
2/07/18
Hi David, I see what you mean. There is only one example which has the si-clause come second. Maybe a couple more examples and a sentence alerting the reader to this fact would help.
-- Chris.
Chris
Kwiziq community member
19/03/18
Hi Winfred,
here is the link to one of the conditional-lessons in the library. I think it serves as a good starting point to explore irregular verbs as well.
Greetings, -- Chris.
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/glossary/verb-tense-mood/the-french-present-conditional-le-conditionnel-present
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
4/07/17
Did you mean to say confusing? Please let us know what you're having trouble with and we'll do our best to help.
David
Kwiziq community member
30/06/18
Laura - please see my comment.
David
Gruff
Kwiziq language super star
4/04/17
Venait is l'imparfait not conditionnel .
Hope that helps!
Meghna
Kwiziq community member
4/04/17
I figured it out now. I was conditioned to expect imparfait in the first part and conditionnel in second, hence my confusion.
Realized this one had the ´Si in second part of sentence and it became crystal clear.
Gregory
Kwiziq community member
18 July 2018
2 replies
Other types of "Si" clauses
I'm looking for further information on the other types of "Si" clauses. L'imparfait+conditionnel is just one type. What about "Si" clauses that are placed in the past--e.g. "If you had studied harder, you would have passed the test". Another type: "If you're able, come visit me."
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
19 July 2018
19/07/18
Hi Gregory,
The lesson is still under construction, so I will try and explain:
There are 3 types -
1. To express a likely situation using the present ------future/imperative
Si tu cours, tu auras ton train = If you run, you'll catch your train
Si tu peux, va chercher les enfants à l'école =If you can, go and fetch the children at school
2. To express an unlikely situation using the imperfect ------conditional present
Si tu lui parlais gentiment, il te répondrait = If you spoke nicely to him, he would answer you
Si tu travaillais à l'école, tu réussirais = I you worked at school, you'd succeed
3. To express an impossible situation (as in the past) using the PluPerfect -----Conditional past
Si tu lui avais répondu gentiment, il t'aurait répondu = If you had spoken to him nicely, he would have answered you
Si vous leur aviez donné de meilleures instructions ils ne se seraient pas perdus = If you'd given them better instructions, they wouldn't have got lost
Hope this helps
Gregory
Kwiziq community member
19 July 2018
19/07/18