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Conjugation
Objective: Analyse past failures or missed opportunities by building Type 3 hypotheses with the correct tense pair in each clause.
| Condition | Result | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Si j'avais su. | Je serais venu. | neutral |
| Si elle avait étudié. | Elle aurait réussi. | neutral |
| Si nous étions partis plus tôt. | Nous aurions évité les embouteillages. | neutral |
| Si tu m'avais prévenu. | J'aurais pu t'aider. | neutral |
| S'il avait fait beau. | Nous serions allés à la plage. | neutral to formal |
| Si le comité avait approuvé le projet. |
The past conditional never appears after si, since the condition clause takes the plus-que-parfait regardless of the main clause.
The result clause of a Type 3 hypothesis takes the past conditional, not the future simple, since the outcome is unrealised.
The condition clause takes the plus-que-parfait, and the result clause takes the past conditional.
The two clauses form the fixed Type 3 pair, and neither tense can be exchanged.
The auxiliary être builds the plus-que-parfait, and the participle agrees with the plural subject.
The modal pouvoir in the result clause takes the past conditional form aurais pu.
A bare condition fragment showing the plus-que-parfait after si, ready to be paired with any result clause.
7 exercises · about 11 minutes
| La réforme aurait été appliquée. |
| formal |
Both clauses of a Type 3 hypothesis cannot take the conditional, since the condition clause requires the plus-que-parfait.
The result clause takes the past conditional, and the imparfait would report a habit rather than the alternative outcome of a single past event.
The result clause of a Type 3 hypothesis takes the past conditional, and the plus-que-parfait cannot stand in for it.
A bare result fragment in the past conditional, ready to be attached to an infinitive.
The weather condition is unrealised, and the past conditional presents the alternative outcome.
A bare past-conditional fragment built on the auxiliary être, with the participle agreeing with the feminine subject.