Past Conditional Yay…
French Conditional Perfect Also known as the past conditional. Used like the English conditional perfect- to express action that would have occurred if the past circumstances had been different. Conditional perfect is often used for the RESULT CLAUSE (then) in si clauses with the unmet condition in the past perfect.
Formula Si (pqp) + conditional past (then )= third conditional
Examples Si je l’avais vu, je l’aurais acheté. Il serait venu si nous l’avions invité.
Conditional Past (without si) The conditional perfect can be used in a sentence where the unmet condition is only implied. – À ta place, je l’aurais dit. – Elles auraient dû acheter un plan. Use the conditional perfect to express an unrealized desire in the past. – J’aurais aimé te voir, mais, j’ai dû travailler. – Nous aurions voulu manger, mais c’êtait trop tard.
Cont. The conditional perfect can also report an uncertain/ unverified fact, especially in the news. – Il y aurait eu un accident dans le métro. – Six Parisiens seraient morts.
Conjugation The French conditional perfect/ past conditional is a compound conjugation which means it has 2 parts. 1. Conditional of the auxillary verb (avoir/être) 2. pp of the main verb.
Formula Conditional auxillary + pp= conditional perfect * The same rules for agreement of past participles in the passé composé apply to the conditional perfect. Ex. J’aurais aimé BUT Je serais devenu(e)
Le Plus-que-parfait Le plus-que parfait is known as the past perfect in English. To say something happened even farther in the past than another event, use the past perfect tense. To form the plus-que-parfait use the imparfait form of the appropriate helping verb (être/ avoir) and the past participle of the completed action.
Formula Imparfait of être/avoir + pp = pqp
Examples Il m’a dit qu’il avait fait ses devoirs. Tu n’as pas dit où tu étais allée. The same rules for agreement of past participles in the passé composé apply to the pqp. Je t’ai dit que nous étions allés au cinéma.