The French past conditional, also called the conditional perfect, is used to express what could or would have happened in the past if things had happened differently.

As described in my post on si clauses, the past conditional often can follow the past tense in si clauses. For example, “si j’avais su que le magasin était fermé, je ne serais pas parti en avance.” (If I knew that the store was closed, I wouldn’t have left early.)

But it can also be used without the si clause to mean something like “I should have” or “I would have.” For example, you would use the past conditional in the following example: “J’aurais dû être plus gentille.” (I should have been nicer (feminine)).

You will often read the past conditional in recent French news articles, where it can report on unverified facts. For example, “Selon des temoins, six personnnes seraient mortes.” (According to witnesses, six people have been killed.)

The past conditional is pretty easy to conjugate as long as you know how to conjugate conditional verbs and past participles. Thus, you use the conditional verb form of the auxiliary verb (which would be être or avoir) plus the past participle of the main action verb. (Conditional conjugation will be explained in a separate post.)

Now, let’s take a look at the past conditional in action with Marc Levoine’s song “J’aurais voulu” (I would have liked). Take a look at the video below:

Here are the lyrics:

J’aurais voulu te dire des mots nouveaux

I would have liked to tell you something new
J’aurais voulu t’écrire des lettres à fleur de peau

I would have liked to write you letters brimming with emotion
J’aurais voulu changer le jour la nuit

I would have liked to change day and night