{"id":23383,"date":"2016-05-23T23:38:11","date_gmt":"2016-05-23T21:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=23383"},"modified":"2018-02-28T15:02:03","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T14:02:03","slug":"french-grammar-si-clauses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-grammar-si-clauses\/","title":{"rendered":"French Grammar: Si Clauses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Also known as conditional sentences,\u00a0si\u00a0<\/em>clauses in French posit what will happen if something else happens first. In English,\u00a0this would be something like: “If I go to the store, I will get you some dessert.” In conditional sentences, the possibility of the second part of the sentence (the second clause; in this example, “I will get you some dessert”) depends entirely on the first part of the sentence (the first clause; in this example, “If I go to the store”).<\/p>\n

While “then” must be used in conditional sentences in English, there is no equivalent in French. The only word that is necessary in a French conditional is\u00a0si<\/em>, which is the equivalent of “if.” However, there are three different forms of conditional sentences that you can use in French:<\/p>\n

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  1. Potential<\/em>–In this conditional sentence, the second clause is very likely to happen. These sentences always begin with the present tense in the first clause.<\/li>\n
  2. Irr\u00e9el du pr\u00e9sent–<\/i>In this second conditional sentence, the second clause is unlikely or unknown to happen. In this case, the first clause must be in the imperfect tense.<\/li>\n
  3. Irr\u00e9el du pass\u00e9–<\/i>In this last conditional sentence, the second clause is impossible and will not happen because it could have happened in the past but didn’t. Thus, the pluperfect tense is used in the first clause.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let’s look at some examples now:<\/p>\n