What would you do? Posted by Tim Hildreth on Apr 25, 2017 in Grammar, Music, Vocabulary
Last summer I asked ‘what I did‘ and ‘what you are going to do‘ (looking at the past and future tenses in song). This week, a look at another French tense – and a new song – to learn about le conditionelle (the conditional).
Le conditionelle is not actually a tense, but a mood (‘mode’ in French).^ The conditional expresses, as its name implies, a wish, a possibility, or something that is contingent (0r conditional) on another thing. In the present, the verb stems are formed the same as for the future tense, and the endings are the same as for l’imparfait (the imperfect).^^
Mourir demain (To die tomorrow) is by the wonderful French singer Pascal Obispo (definitely worth checking out if you’re not familiar with his work) and the Canadian singer Natasha St-Pier.
| Il y a ceux qui prendraient un avion | There are those who would take a play (fly away) |
| D’autres qui s’enfermeraient chez eux les yeux fermés | Others who would shut themselves up at home with their eyes closed |
| Toi, qu’est-ce que tu ferais ? (2x) | You, what would you do? |
| Il y en a qui voudrait revoir* la mer | There are some who would want to see the ocean again |
| D’autres qui voudraient encore faire l’amour | Others who would want to make love again |
| Une dernière fois | One last time |
| Toi, tu ferais quoi ? | You, what would you do? |
| Et toi, tu ferais quoi ? | And you, what would you do? |
| Si on devait mourir** demain | If we should/were to die tomorrow |
| Qu’est-ce qu’on ferait de plus, | What would you do more of |
| Qu’est-ce qu’on ferait de moins | What would you do less of |
| Si on devait mourir demain | If you were going to die tomorrow |
| Moi, je t’aimerai, moi, je t’aimerai^^^ | Me, I will love you, me, I will love you |
| Il y en a qui referaient leur passé | There are those/some who would redo their past |
| Certains qui voudraient boire et faire la fête*** | Some/certain of them who would drink and party |
| Jusqu’au matin | Until morning |
| D’autres qui prieraient (2x) | Others who would pray |
| Ceux qui s’en fichent et se donneraient du plaisir | Those who don’t care and just have fun |
| Et d’autres qui voudraient encore partir | And others who would want to leave again |
| Avant la fin | Before the end |
| Toi, qu’est-ce que tu ferais ? | You, what would you do? |
| Et toi, qu’est-ce que tu ferais ? | And you, what would you do? |
| Si on devait mourir demain | If we should/were to die tomorrow |
| Qu’est-ce qu’on ferait de plus, | What would you do more of |
| Qu’est-ce qu’on ferait de moins | What would you do less of |
| Si on devait mourir demain | If you were going to die tomorrow |
| Moi, je t’aimerai, je t’aimerai, je t’aimerai^^^ | Me, I would love you, I would love you, I would love you |
| Et toi, dis-moi, est ce que tu m’aimeras^^^ | And you, tell me, will you love me |
| Jusqu’à demain et tous les jours d’après | Until tomorrow and all the days after/that follow |
| Que rien, non rien, ne s’arrêtera jamais | That nothing, no nothing, will ever stop |
| Si on devait mourir demain | If we should/were to die tomorrow |
| Moi, je t’aimerai, moi, je t’aimerai^^^ | Me, I will love you, me, I will love you |
| Est-ce qu’on ferait du mal, du bien | Would we do evil, do good |
| Si on avait jusqu’à demain | If we (only) had until tomorrow |
| Pour vivre tout ce qu’on a rêvé | To live all that we dreamt |
| Si on devait mourir demain | If we should/were to die tomorrow |
| Moi, je t’aimerai, moi, je t’aimerai^^^ | Me, I will love you, me, I will love you |
^ Mood or tense? This is one of those areas where languages get complicated! The difference between tense and mood is best understood through lots and lots of practice, but in a nutshell , tenses refer to when in time something occurs (past, present, or future) and mood refers to how / in what manner something happens (or happened . . . or will happen!). There are four moods in French: indicative (for assertions), conditional (for hypothetical statements), imperative (for orders or commands), and the subjunctive (used to express opinions and feelings). To make it even more exciting, French verbs can also have aspect which identifies whether an event happens once, repeatedly, or over a continuous block of time. The most well known examples in French are the imperfect and the passé composé . . . but that’s a story for another day.
^^ This great site helps you conjugate almost any verb in all the different French tenses and moods.
^^^ Notice that there is a shift in tense here to the simple future. Among the uncertainty and doubt, there is a moment of clarity. I will love you.
* ‘revoir’ means ‘to see again’
** The verb ‘devoir’ followed by an infinitive indicates a future occurrence. ‘Devoir’ means ‘to have to’ and indicates a duty or obligation as in something that “must be” or “will occur”. As a noun, it is also one of the average French students least favorite words . . . it means ‘homework’!
*** ‘faire la fête’ is an idiomatic expression that means ‘to party, have fun, carouse’.
Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.
About the Author: Tim Hildreth
Since my first trip to France at 16, I have been a passionate francophile. I love the language, food, music, art, people, and more that make France and la Francophonie in general such an amazing part of our global community. Having lived in France and studied the language and culture for over 35 years, it is my great pleasure to be able to share a little bit of my deep love with you through this blog.